"THREAD OF THE WEEK" cholesterol....

[thinsgreat]

Today i had some very discouraging news, my cholesterol has soared.

I started this program in Oct. ,2003. I weighed 259, my cholesterol was 214.
Three months later it was 241.

Today, (seven months from beginning) i weigh 199 and have a cholest.reading of 292 :
62- tri, 74- hdl and 206 -ldl (up from 169- 3 months ago)

There is no history of high chol. is my family. I have never had problems with it before eating this way.

My exercise has been low in the last month--- typically i'm fairly active.. Actually, more than i was when it was good.

typical daily menu:

B- protein shake

l-- huge salad-: varied greens, celery, cucumbers, flaxs, sprouts, radishes, scallions...3-4 oz. protein--usually, dark meat--chicken or turkey. strawberries...sometimes very small amount of hard cheese

d- just protein--- usally 2-3 chicken thighs, or porkchops,or dark turkey.

I drink water all day.

It is clear that my diet is heavy in saturated fat--(dark meat). :anger

my doctor wants me on lovastatin-- 40 mg/daily..

what do you think?

[not2late]

Cut back on the really saturated fats. Eat more poultry and fish, use olive oil instead of butter, limit bacon/ham/sausage.

Are you taking your supplements?

[Perry]

I say follow your Dr.'s advice until you get this under control. Your tri number looks good!

[Bren]

What phase of Atkins are you in? Dr. Atkins tells us our figures will decrease over a period of time, but this in contingent on moving up the carb ladder, as you progress on the carb ladder your fat percentages automatically decrease. Also, check out the FAQ's forum regarding fats. All fats are not created equal. For many, exercise is mandatory to keep readings in control.

[Janice]

I was also wondering if you were taking any supplements along the way.

Cutting saturated fats is another thing to "adjust" --- BUT ---

you need to follow your doctor's recommendations.

Possibly, after a while of normal range readings, you could ask to come off the meds and see if the adjustments plus the supplements and exercise keep it down. Please remember that our bodies are all different and you need to use a good "common sense approach" to your health problems. If it's 'meds' then so be it. It's okay!

Good luck to you!! Please keep us posted on your decision and ultimately any progress you make in this area.

[Desertthorn]

Unfortunately, I have the same problem, but I read in this book that cholesterol seems to be the disease of the month. This article said that just as many folks with low cholesterol have heart attacts as those with high, so I asked my doctor and he just strugged. Try to bring your Sat Fats down to below 20, increase your water, and read up on cholesterol reducing vitamins

[thinsgreat]

as for supplements, i take tons of vitamins--- 2 multiples plus e, b, c, also fish oil. i am just so concerned because there is no other reason other than this new way of eating that has caused this big problem. i wonder if anyone else is using lovistatin...any effects?.. also, if i start using this, will i need to change the way i am eating? i could almost understand this if i use tons of butter, cream and red meat.... (of which i use very infrequently). should i add more fruit and vegetables? whole grains?....

[Elleth Faewen]

Dr. Atkins did say that a big drop in triglycerides can cause a big surge in LDL, but that typically your overall lipid profile is still better. We also see ratios improve. He also stated that an increase in LDL needed to be checked to find out the size of the cholesterol to really determine if the high LDL was bad. If it is the larger LDL molecules, then a high reading is not necessarily bad.

What were your triglycerides and HDL on your previous readings? Did your Dr. test for what kind of LDL you have?

[canuck]

Well thinsgreat, many have discussed this in the past, I too suffer from this and am reluctantly going to do a staitin until i get over this hump and then try going off as I get more lean body mass. Doc thinks it is a genetic glitch as came on fast, and rises, your hdl is awesome, as are your trig, what is your raito.
You should ask your doc to do an NMR test and a CRP test and this will tell if there is any inflammation in your veins and arteries that is starting, this starts from the smaller particles of LDL and the larger particles of LDL apparently don’t harm us. but as my doc says there is no long term research on this so after being upset and worried for a few months, trying under 20 gr of sat fat, using all supplements flax, fish oils and they still rose I decided to do the statins for few months and as get smaller to off again and see how I am.
Only 15% of what you eat turns to dietary cholesterol the other 85% is made by your liver so the beauty of pills is that you liver stops producing it but need to have liver functioning tests done every few months while on a statin to make sure no side effects and start off on smallest dose possible.
Go to liposciecne.com and read then discuss with doc.
Research shows 50% of heart attack patients have a normal chol so now they are working to determine is hi ldd really a risk or is it the type of ldl, the small particles seem to be (always hear not2late, she knows allot about thismost dangerous and thus an NMR will tell you.Its is $91 usa to do but most insurances pay for it is what they told me when I called. I have studies form Duke University if wish to read them just pm me your email and I will forward them to you.
I hear ya with your concern, you are not alone and Dr A never said his program would drop ldl, he said it would raise hdl...it did, he said it would drop trig...it did. and in general when those are dropped so should your ratio, mine is ok if I wasn’t a diabetic but being diabetic my ratio which is average 4.4 is too high, they want it under 2,8.
There is an over the counter fiber pill called Konsyl, research it and see what think, I did soy thing, flax which I love and researched if it were all true, fish oils and researched it, niacin, the whole 9 yards I tried and made nada so am wondering if just a glitch as I go along or really a script in my genes playing out at this age and I need to live with it.
Read lots and lots, take the info to doc and go veer options.
I thought my doc would want me off aktisn but she ever said a word, said we gotta trt it, its in your genes, its only 15% related to food and since you do low sat fats already that tells me its gentic.I bought it, I will go with it for now. I am trying to get the NMR done from Canada and fed exed to USA but not sure it can get there as they need the blood cold and within 24hrs.
Ask away if more questions and we can try help you understand some aspects of it but keep an open door with doc so you get immediate attention, ask him a ton of questions too, as well pharmacists are very knolwedagable. Don’t leave it go.
Good Luck.

[Chris]

As others have said, this IS the time to watch the saturated fats. Emphasize fish and white meat poultry in your diet, use olive oil for cooking and salad dressings, cut back on cream, cheese and butter.

By the way, few people realize that dark meat chicken is every bit as high in saturated fats as beef or pork.

[book]

the newest issue of Prevention quotes a study that shows that adding a pinch of cinnamon at each meal can reduce cholesterol anywhere from 12 to 40 percent. It suggested 1/6 of a teaspoon at each meal for a total of 1/2 tsp a day. And it lowers blood sugar as well.

I don't know as much about cholesterol since so far knock on wood, it has not been a problem. But I can certainly understand the concern!

book

[IrishIrish]

I limit beef to no more than 3 days a week. The rest of the time I eat poultry, fish, shellfish.

[shawnee]

This should become Post of the week, Why?

Because the increase in LDL is one the biggest 'glitches' I've seen across the board w/a lot of people (including myself & several other mods) with this WOL.

I found that out of the gate my tryglycerides plummeted now down by over 80% (from 243 to 43!) & my LDL went up around (38 preAtkins to 65, that is great) but LDL initally increased & continued up for the 1st 6 months. Finally almost one year on I have gotten it to start coming down to slightly below my preAtkins readings. Two things I start using that were supposed to help & seemed to do so were GLA (Borage Oil) & Flaxseed Oil in addition to my Omega 3's. The standard GLA most people take is Evening Primrose Oil but Borage Oil is reputed to be much more effective.

Also if your tryglycerides are really low & HDL high (which they are) that can offset the high LDL's many times. I experienced the same as you, migh LDL went up 6 monthes into the program but now they have started to come back down again.

Some other mods have reported a decrease by watching carefully their saturated fat intake & replacing with monounsaturated fats like change butter to olive oil, lots of nuts etc

If you don't have problems with high blood glucose readings at all then you can also do as in South Beach & replace some of your high fat items with complex carbs like legumes, small amounts of whole bread. If your B/Glucose readings are high do not try this.

Don't let that doctor put you on statins, ultimately in my mind they are way worse for you than the condition of your health indicated by your current readings. Pls do some research on this before you let him do this. A vast majority of current research points to NO change in incidence of heart disease between those who take statins & those who don't! Please remember elevated blood lipids is not a disease like diabetes or hypertension but only an indication of statitical tendency towards heart diease.

Since your Tryglyercides & HDL components are already much improved you are on the right track. Your ratios are much better than before & trust me you are much much healthier than in the past.

finally Mod Tommy posted some research showing that a regular intake of the supplement Creatine often drops LDL levels by 30% over a period of 3 months. He found that to happend with his own levels after using Creatine.

Because of that (& its more traditional muscle enhancing properties) I have started taking Creatine just completeing the 1 week loading phase today.

I will let you know in 3 monthes what happens.

[Chris]

One more thing I just thought to add -- fibre. Certain kinds of fibre, such as psylium husks, have been shown to help in the reduction of total cholesterol. Metamucil makes capsules of pure pslium husks that are often used for just that purpose.

[thinsgreat]

Thank you all for your responses. Since i last posted i have spoken to my nutritionist who more or less reassured me that i am not a heart attack waiting to happen, that there are many factors contributing to heart problems. we are going to try some natural approaches which i will post next week. In addition, i spoke with my doctor regarding meds. Initially, it was his nurse who relayed the suggestion of a statin. When he and i spoke he said he was very surprised with what was happening with me. he had spoken with other drs. who equally were surprised. he said most patients that have been on atkins have either dropped (chol.) or stayed the same. he really didn't seem terribly concerned and suggested that i continue with what i was doing since i found something that was working so well. i told him about the nutritionist and the summer exercise i have planned... he agreed with me and said we'll take another reading in 6 weeks. i felt much better, but to be completely honest, i am still troubled that within 7 months my once stable chol. rose 78 points.