Cholesterol

[Octopus37]

Hi, posting in here for traffic rather than health, hope ok. I had a blood test last week cause I was feeling run down, I'm nearly and though it might be the start of the change. Found out that my cholesterol is 5.2, I had an NHS health check in June and was told it was ok (think it was 3.something). I have read up on diet and have decided to make the following changes:

1. More fruit and veg
2. Switch to olive oil instead of sunflower for roasting veg etc
3. Cut out pastries and cakes
4. Switch to dark chocolate
5. Eat nuts for lunch (am on the go a lot)
6. Cut out processed meats, only really eat sausages
7. Cut out crisps
8. Use lean beef mince (5% or less) for chilli etc
9. Go for lower fat cheese (Babybel lights, feta rather than cheddar).

At the moment I walk a lot but am very time pressed, might be moving house, lots of work on etc, but know I could do with upping my exercise. I have been on Sertraline for 6 months and have found out that there is a link between taking it and high cholesterol. Have had a tough few months (years), but have decided to come off it. All it seems to do is take the edge off things, stop me crying (feel as if I am going to cry but its like I cant physically at the moment) and gain weight. Thinking of reducing my dose very gradually, over a few weeks, have done this before. Know this is partly my own fault for being a stress eater etc but there's no point on dwelling on that. Any advice would be welcome.

That all sounds very sensible. I didn't know about the link between Sertraline and cholesterol. I have high cholesterol too, though have been told it's genetic so no lifestyle changes will work (they tell me!). Upping your exercise could indeed make a difference - what kind were you thinking of?

There's also the spreads which are supposed to help lower cholesterol too. And some supplements, such as allicin, a garlic compound. And obviously stopping smoking, if you smoke

How are your vitamin D levels? There has been some research that suggests low vit D and high cholesterol may be linked. Essentially, vit D from sunlight needs cholesterol to be absorbed. So, it may be that the body overproduces cholesterol in an attempt to get more vit D.

However, this isn't confirmed. But a supplement may help lower cholesterol levels.

In a similar position I discovered a love for porridge which is supposed to be helpful to lower cholesterol

As I understand it, it’s not as simple as high cholesterol = bad. The GP will look at a range of factors to assess your cardiovascular health, including your LDL/HDL ratio.

My cholesterol is higher than I’d like it to be and I’m working on getting it down, but my overall risk is very low and my LDL/HDL ratio is fine.

Ps I may have familial high cholesterol, as mentioned by pp

Porridge.

Try adding oats to your diet, also beans and lentils.

Dh found his cholesterol was 12! As a vegetarian of 25 years he thought he had dodged that bullet. It has now dropped to 6. (Mine is 3 btw)

We switched from dairy to oat milk and to olive oil vegan spread rather than butter (in fairness we only eat butter very occasionally as we don’t often have bread). Cut down on cheese.
We now try to eat vegan about 3 days a week.

Thanks for all the advice. Luckily I don't smoke which helps. Also I cannot stand butter or margarine (eat bread dry) so unfortunately or fortunately the spreads aren't applicable. Also don't drink milk or have it on cereal, totally hate it. Its interesting regarding the vitamin D, before I had the blood test my GP advised me to start taking a supplement so I did start taking it two weeks ago. I will try to increase pulses, I was vegetarian for over 20 years but started eating meat again due to low iron. The only oats I can really manage are oat cakes cause I hate milk and therefore don't like porridge, idea of it turns my stomach. Its difficult with exercise cause I have tried and failed at the gym a few times due to lack of time, also money is tight so I guess its a case of increasing my steps and doing youtube work outs. Hoping I can turn it round.

(Lack of) Exercise and stress is bad for cholesterol too. I don’t think food has a huge load to do with it - exercise - relax - porridge/oats all good.

Try porridge with oat milk, or water. Oats actively lower your cholesterol.

You can try muesli with yogurt or apple juice, Bircher style.