OK, explain this to me: I'm at risk of heart disease because my cholesterol is too LOW?

[KatyMac]

I thought it was all about being too high

Apparently my bad cholesterol is 4.4 (which is great because I have got it down from about 8 or 9) and my good cholesterol is now too low & this is a problem

Why?

Think of it like this - good cholesterol (HDL) is like a taxi service, it picks up the bad cholesterol (LDL), ferries it to the liver where it gets broken down. LDL however skulks around in your body, getting deposited in arteries causing narrowing.

& what do I eat that has good cholesterol (I'm assuming it's on my 'DO NOT EAT' list btw)

Go for oily fish, foods high in soluble fibre (oats, fruit n veg,pulses and beans)monounsaturated fats in small amounts (eg avocados, olive oil and nuts like cashews) and a moderate amount of alcohol if you drink

Mostly on the banned list
No pulses, nuts, fruit & veg (except carrots/swede etc), oats & I'm teetotal

Oily fish here I come

Thanks

No pulses, nuts, fruit & veg (except carrots/swede etc), oats

why are they on your banned list?

I'm on a FODMAP diet - it's for IBS - it's supposed to exclude things & then reintroduce, but when I reintroduce everything goes wrong - so I'm stuck with the exclusion

& I get hungry & I get bored

But I'm not sure returning to going to the loo 12+ times a day is worth eating more variety