Available at 
Tweet
I just got back from the doctor and he said my levels are sky rocket high and I have to go on medication ASAP. I'm totally freaking out now. I never eat junk food or fast food, but do use butter a lot for cooking. He said that it's not related to my diet for the most part but to the bad genes I inherited from my dad (who has horrible cholesterol and has been taking pills for years). But I'm still freaking out. I don't want to limit my food choices too much but is there anything I should be avoiding aside from the obvious? Should I increase my intake of red wine?
-
-
Re: Cholesterol freak out
My grandmother died of heart disease and both my parents have had high cholesterol for years, and have been on meds for a while. Both of them have low BMI's, and eat relatively well with a lot of fruits, veggies and grains, but it's just bad genetics all around. This may be obvious, but the best things you can do is take care of your heart with exercise and monitor your bad cholesterol intake in the foods you consume. Start exercising regularly, if you don't already, and cut back on the sodium, cigarettes and anything else that could increase your blood pressure. Also, stress is bad, so anything you can do to live a more peaceful life is good, too. If that includes red wine, go for it! -
Re: Cholesterol freak out
Thanks, I'd love those website. I already eat/not eat most of the things you mentioned. I guess the only thing left for me to do is limit my cheese consumption, but most of the cheese I eat is artisanal type from the farmers market (not processed supermarket kind). I'm very much against switching from butter to margarine, I'd rather switch to more canola/olive oil. That's why I'm so surprised that it's so high, since I don't eat crap. I guess I'll stop by the wine store on the way home and get a case of red to drown my freakout.
My blood pressure is normal, so no worries there but I watch my sodium intake anyway. And I do yoga once a week and tennis once a week. All my grandparents lived into late 70s-early 80s and didn't get major health problems until well into 60s, so I don't think I have terrible genes, just not so great ones.
I guess I was just wondering if there's something obvious that I didn't realize had high cholesterol that I was gobling up but it doesn't seem so.Comment
-
Re: Cholesterol freak out
Sounds like you're doing what you need to do (maybe consider adding walking a few days a week to the exercise routine) but thanks the genetic card you've been played, you may have to take the meds anyway.
My dad is in much the same situation as you are- he runs miles, he's never been overweight, he's never smoked, etc. but he does eat quality cheese and butter because taste does matter, too.
He's on lipitor and it's made a significant difference for him. Also, he has low blood pressure and everything else is fine.
JennComment
-
Re: Cholesterol freak out
Jenn, yup that me. I could use to loose about 10lb or so, but I'm not significantly overweight and the doctor specifically said that this is not related to what I'm eating but purely a gene factor. Since my current number is over 300, I doubt that giving up cheese and butter will alone take that down enough and if I have to take medication anyway, I might as well keep the food I love.
Once it gets warmer and DH is done with stupid boards, I'm hoping to up tennis to twice a week, and add more veggies and fruits from the local farmers markets. I have a follow up in 3 months, so we'll see if any of that helps.
Thanks for words of encouragement. I guess there's no fighting genetics. Between my dad's cholesterol and my mom's blood pressure, I'm not sure which is the worse offender.Comment
-
Re: Cholesterol freak out
Vishenka -
Possible bright side? Last I'd heard, the cholesterol-lowering drugs were unsafe for pregnant women. You can tell your mom she has to back off about you reproducing b/c you have to take these meds because of your cholesterol.
:huh:
Just trying to help!Comment
-
Re: Cholesterol freak out
That's awesome Jenn, I'll have to further look into this. Dr didn't mention anything but he knows I'm on a patch. Thanks!Originally posted by JaneComment
-
Re: Cholesterol freak out
I just know a friend had to put off going on her cholesterol meds until after she'd gotten pregnant / had her last kid. Her doctors thought it was a big risk, b/c her problems also seemed to stem from genetics rather than diet.
Worse comes to worse, you could just tell your mom that. She won't know one way or another!Comment
-
Re: Cholesterol freak out
So it turned out that I'm allergic to the cholesterol meds and had to quit taking them after only a month. But I've also made some minor changes to my diet and my cholesterol dropped by almost 50 points in 3 months. Now I know that I can do better than that and all my changes weren't for nothing. My goal is to go another 50 points in the next 3 months. Hopefully I can do it. The changes I made really weren't all that bad (I am still attached to good artisanal cheese), so with some more minor tweaks, I may not need meds at all.
I've also realized that if I take my iron supplement regularly, I don't crave red meat at all.
Now if there was a way not to crave cheese. Calcium supplement?
Comment
-
Re: Cholesterol freak out
Keep up the great work! I'm happy to hear it's going down!Comment
Comment