Cholesterol high ...... why?

[TomAllenWife]

I had blood tests last week and have been told my cholesterol is elevated.

I hardly eat red meat, maybe once every 6m
I eat turkey mince, chicken, veg etc

I make the odd pie (like once a month), maybe 2-4 eggs per week, cheese on a jacket potato

But I'm fit, 59kg, BMI is 21. I run 3 x per week, strength training twice per week

So what am I doing wrong?????

Sometimes it’s genetic. It is in my family. My brother has been vegan for 30+ years and his cholesterol is higher than mine!

Have you recently had a child? This can elevate it

No, youngest is 15.

I'm wondering about the hereditary thing.
My mother has high cholesterol buts she's been overweight for years and eats a lot of processed food (cakes, biscuits etc)

Yet another fun symptom of perimenopause apparently

Yep, genetics.

DH has just started on statins, also BMI 21, etc.

Mine has been high since I was really young, done everthing you should do and had genetic testing now.

Pharmacist here... Your body makes cholesterol at night while you sleep. Very little of the circulating cholesterol comes from dietary sources. Your doctor should look at your cholesterol alongside your other risk factors - age, gender, ethnicity, blood pressure, bodyweight and calculate your QRisk score - a measure of your risk of a heart attack or stroke over the next 10 years. If you risk is > 10% you may benefit from cholesterol lowering with a statin. Also important to maintain your healthy lifestyle. Only exception is if your cholesterol is exceptionally high > 7.5mmol/l - in which case you may have e a genetic issue which needs further investigation and more aggressive treatment and your family would need to be tested too.

Are you taking any medication? A member of my family had a high cholesterol level when taking anxiety medication. When he came off the medication his cholesterol level returned to a healthy level.

Thanks for that, really interesting

I would imagine I'm low risk statistically, weight, exercise, diet etc
But I'll find out just how 'elevated' they were

I'm on lots of HRT, could this be cause? And sertraline but I've been on that for 14 years so not new

Pretty much once you're a certain age, blood tests are your friend.

Whilst you can stack the deck in your favour, you will still have some issues. In this case, it can be mitigated.

There is a diet that does help cholesterol but it's quite specific. Have a look at the Zoe podcasts on this subject.

Mine is genetic despite being an unfit fatty.
You will be given a score which tells you how much more likely our are than the average woman you age to have a problem in the next 10 years if they've done a full lipid panel. My risk is low. Although all the men on my fathers side died in their 60's of heart disease, I don't drink or smoke. Drinking is a risk factor for health issues in women as they age.
They don't factor in having breastfed for years or being on hrt, both of which lower the risk so I reckon my risk is average.

The website Heart UK has great resources for understanding blood tests and diet.

It isn't necessarily the fat. There is a body of evidence that sugar can be a big contributor for some. Like many things, what causes the high cholesterol in your particular case will vary and yes genetics is a major factor. Might be worth trying to reduced the processed food to see if that works.

www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=www.lancastergeneralhealth.org/health-hub-home/2022/january/is-sugar-or-fat-worse-for-your-heart%23:~:text%3DThe%2520Dietary%2520Guidelines%2520Advisory%2520Committee,than%2520saturated%2520(bad)%2520fat.&ved=2ahUKEwiPgN6_u7OJAxWKQ0EAHYVJLSsQFnoECEwQBQ&usg=AOvVaw3MaL1U17u1-ZIVEVjrR2Df

It’s mainly genetics. Dh is slim, fit , exercises, doesn’t eat processed foods, is vegetarian, doesn’t drink. His cholesterol is a bit high. His mothers is through the roof. A dietitian told me that diet will only account for a small proportion of your cholesterol.

What are your results? I've become a bit obsessed as I got my blood test results back recently.

There's a zoe podcast about cholesterol which some people have said has helped them reduce their levels. Worth a listen? Seems to be a fair bit about eating more plants and crucially eating enough of the right kind of fat so that your body doesn't manufacture cholesterol (which it needs to function).

Mine more than doubled at the start of the year, I was told it could be related to a recent covid infection/long covid.

I will definitely check out the podcast thank you.

I don't really eat much sugar, honestly there are not many dietary changes I think I could make.

They won't tell me the result over the phone 🙄 I have to go in and sign a bloody form before they tell me

Oh, that's worrying for you. Have they been uploaded onto the NHS app? That's where I spotted mine.