All of a sudden I am prediabetic, high cholesterol and higher blood pressure, help!

[caramata]

Was told yesterday by my GP that I am prediabetic, have high cholesterol and my blood pressure is on the up although ok for now. All these things run in my family and my younger sister already has all three issues although I have a healthier lifestyle no booze, wholefood diet and regular exercise but I am still overweight.

Been looking at my diet today, I have been using lurpak spreadable but should I switch to flora proactive with plant sterols? I remember reading years ago that seed oils were bad and to stick to butter but now my cholesterol is high, Lurpak spreadable is a UPF anyway so perhaps the flora active is a good switch? I also use the Carotino Healthy Oil except its high in saturated fats so I should switch to cold pressed rapeseed oil for frying most things?

I have 6 months to get my levels down or I will have to go on a Statin and BP med which I don't want and I might be diabetic by then or in the future. I am aiming to lose weight and build muscle as I do cardio but zero weight training so I need to start that and cut out the sweet treats.

Also going to start berberine and logging my food in an app.

Any other ideas?

My mother was in the same situation but with dangerously high BP. She is on medication for that, but has manage to move out of prediabetic and considerably reduced the cholesterol.

She started having a Benecol yoghurt drink every day. She uses olive oil or butter, and cooks most things in the air fryer with no oil. She cut out biscuits and chocolate for a while, and very rarely has alcohol. She found some other nibbly snacks to eat instead of chocolate but can't remember what! She doesn't eat meat (hasn't for years), and eats lots of fish. Fingers crossed you can start to see a difference!

@Latenightreader Thanks, I already do a lot of that to be honest I don't really fry food and have never drank alcohol. I'd still like to have the odd sweet treat but I know I need to cut right down. I also don't eat meat but also no fish. Hopefully the plant sterols will make a difference!

Glad your Mum is doing better!

Can I ask how old you are op? I recently saw a cardiologist after a high cholesterol test who told me only a small part of cholesterol is influenced by our diet, most of it is genetic. So change your butter by all means and definitely make all the changes you can, but if you need to go on statins it’s not the end of the world and much better than not going on them.

i had a scan of my heart and arteries and strangely enough, despite the high result i had zero calcification in both, meaning the cholesterol has not settled and is doing no damage. Despite this, I decided to take 20mg statins for my peace of mind. I am 57.

I was going to say some of it is genetic - it may have to be the medication route.

I don’t know enough about nutrition to advise on much but I thought olive oil was meant to be better ?

It's very hard to make a meaningful change to cholesterol with diet alone. You'd be better off reducing calories, increasing leafy green vegetables and drastically cutting back on salt. The only way to reverse pre-DM is weight loss.

It could be genetic in part but I am late 40's and never had high cholesterol before. I personally would rather avoid statins. I think it is likely due to my being overweight and having poor muscle tone and that is negatively affecting my metabolic health.

I was told I had high cholesterol, but as theor were no familial indicators, it wouldn't be treated! We are in Scotland so maybe advice.is different. There's no history.of heart disease etc in either parents families.
My great aunt reversed her type 2 diabetes by.following slimming world, she found everything she needed online! As far as I am aware she never needed medication, lived to be 93.

Yes I know weight loss is key and say this in my OP. I am looking at all angles. I already eat a diet high in leafy green veg and I don't eat a lot of salt.

If you're overweight, weight loss injections may be an option if you can afford them. Usually BMI of 27 is all that's required if you have a condition that weight loss would alleviate.

@Orangeandpurpletulips Yes I would qualify, I tried them last year but I already suffer from slow transit due to another condition so I had to stop them.

@Whenwillyoumakemyphonering That is good news about your aunt!

Ah no annoying.

What is your sugar intake like?
Sugar not only raises risk for diabetes newer research shows it also raises cholesterol.

Traditionally people think of fat=higher cholesterol but that’s only part of the problem.

And by sugar I don’t just mean actual sugar but also carbs which when eaten in excess convert to sugar in the body.

What age are you? Menopause can certainly affect cholesterol - im not sure if hrt can help but it is certainly worth looking into

@healthyteeth Yes I do need to tackle my sugar intake as well, however cutting out sugary snacks and drinks is relatively low hanging fruit so as long as I can do that I should see a benefit. I think my saturated fat intake is a bit too high from milk and butter use even if my diet is good overall.

I'm on HRT all transdermal and will stay on it!

My cardiologist said the same to me. Op have you had your thyroid checked my cholesterol goes really high when my thyroid is of hypothyroidism

They are moving away from only treating if you have risk factors to actually treating the cholesterol before it’s done the damage.
TBH it’s genetic by the sounds of it. I would go on the statin as you are highly unlikely to get it down to a decent level without a statin.

I’d advise some weight training though, building up to some decent heavy weights.

Avoid processed foods. People who manage to get cholesterol down are usually those with shockingly bad diets.

I’d aggressively lose weight. I missed what your BMI is (if you said, don’t if you don’t want to), but that’s the real “fix” as far as I can see.

@Rhubarbandgooseburycrumble If I am still high in 6 months then I will but I am hoping I won't have to, only time will tell.

@Ohthatsabitshit Yes I think that is the real fix, its not great right now.

@feelingbleh Not had my thyroid checked, I don't have any other symptoms but will ask about that next time I am in.

My adult DS was found to be prediabetic. It shocked him so much he went on a diet. His problem is he is a long distance lorry driver so sitting on his bottom for hours every day, finishes work late and tired so not much exercise until weekends. He cut back the amount of food he ate and especially crisps and sweet snacks. His last blood test showed he's just moved out out prediabetic zone, but only just. He'll have to keep to diet

@caringcarer Glad your son reversed it, kudos to him! I have a very sedentary job and I am sure that is a factor, also my breaks often involve a cup of tea and a biccy. I need to quit that and try and get more movement in during the day. Not easy for your son though. Good luck to him!

I agree the lack of movement must be a contributory factor. I've let him borrow my exercise bike so he can cycle for 15-20 mins before work but I don't think he uses it often. I keep trying to encourage him. He does a lot of walking and even hiking at weekends it's just weekdays that are the problem. It's very hard. I've encouraged him to swap crisps for a punnet of raspberries and biscuits for a low fat yogurt. He doesn't like many vegetables or salad which makes it harder.

Friends on a pre diabetes course told me about the Yuka app its free and gives food a health score when you scan it.