Hello everyone
My brother called me about his yearly physical and his cholesterol 227 and his triglicerides were also elevated.
My brother is 5.11" and 240lbs, and yes he could lean out a bit, but he does strongman competitions.
he hates oatmeal.
he works out… he loves lifting.
does anyone have any workable suggestions?
[quote]OctoberGirl wrote:
does anyone have any workable suggestions?
[/quote]
Fish oil, vitamin D (some sources disagree with this one), lower carbs, etc… just as proposed by everyone else in this thread.
I noticed that you mentioned eating ice cream 18 hours before your test. Did you eat anything else, or was the test fasted?
My husband’s doctor tested his cholestoral unfasted and got some stupidly high number for everything, wanted to put him on Lipitor then and there. He re-tested it a week later, fasted, and the numbers (including tris) were within the normal ranges.
My husband’s doctor is a complete idiot.
[quote]NewDamage wrote:
I agree with the recommendation for a very low carb/high fat/moderate protein diet with tons o’ fiber and FISH OIL.
Shoot for a balance of fats among polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, and saturated. Use extra virgin olive oil, extra virgin coconut oil, macadamia nut oil, butter, fish oil, and fat from meats as your fat sources.
Steam the hell outta some broccoli and go to town.
Just as a personal testimony, I eat this way 95% of the time and my triglycerides continue to go DOWN as I get older, lingerng around 49 right now. (triglyceride levels, not age.)[/quote]
This sounds like a practical formula - also avoid fruit juices and anything with high fructose corn syrup, as fructose is metabolized by the liver into triglycerides for transport and storage.
speedster00
You also should be tracking these numbers over time. While 450 is high, one result shouldn’t freak you out. If you’re doing the things that you need to do, as far as training and nutrition, I would fully expect the numbers should decrease with successive tests.
DJ
[quote]speedster00 wrote:
Thanks for all the suggestions guys. A couple of things, Why no omega -6? I’m taking labrada’s lean gold right now.
The best thing to buy is plain old cheap fish oil pills?[/quote]
Omega 6’s become pro inflamatory after they’ve spun around in your circulatory system for awhile, and since the ‘American Diet’ is cram packed full of them it’s easy to see how, and why most folks are walking coronaries waiting to happen.
Fish oil is just like anything else, you get what you pay for. I personally, wouldn’t trust a bottle of oil less than $15. Flameout should fill your needs. Arctic Oils, Vital Choice, Nordic Naturals, Carlson’s are also some reputable brands.
DJ
[quote]Pansee Sauvage wrote:
[quote]cirerecrem wrote:
My cholesterol was 280 and triglycerides 2,700 (should have had pancreatitis). Meds didn’t work (muscle soreness). A doctor told me to try lo-carb. [/quote]
Well I just learned something - I would have thought that triglyceride number to be impossible and was going to suggest to the OP he talk with his (or another) doc and also get re-tested to make sure the numbers are accurate. Mistakes or bogus blood test results are not exactly unheard of, so that might still be worth doing.
Going through old posts and saw your comment about my ‘impossible’ triglyceride number. I couldn’t believe it either! Not that you want a story, but I was getting blood drawn to figure out why i was so tired. They hadn’t ordered a lipid panel, but they said when they put my blood in the centrifuge a rather thick layer of fat formed on the top and they thought it would be prudent to check! No it wasn’t a fasting number, but that was not much better.
My Gf’s mate is a metabolic DR in the UK.
She recommends a low carb diet to all her patients.(aint no cavemen eating pasta or bread)
She also said that when your body is in “famine” mode, as when you are on a weightloss diet, it is a shock to your body, so your body limits its non essential outputs for survival.
The production of cholesterol is one of these.
[quote]speedster00 wrote:
Thanks guys. Here is my diet…
Breakfast at 7:00
egg whites and whole wheat eng muffin or whole wheat eggo. If I dont eat eggs I eat oatmeal or sometime of cereal like fiber one.
Lunch at 11:00.
This is anything from a sandwich made on whole wheat or left overs from the night before. Most of the time there is a pasta or rice from that always with chicken or seafood. We grill or saute everything.
Work out around noon
About 1 ish I take 2 scoops of protein blend with a 1/2 serving of waxy maize or maltodextrin/dextrose mix
3:00 Pm I eat a oatmeal protien bar or the rest of my lunch if there is some.
7:00 dinner. As mentioned above its always a lean meat most of the time with rice or pasta. I try to limit my rice/pasta intake and eat a small portion. steamed veggies of somesort.
A couple of nights a week around 8:00 I will have desert. Like some ice cream or a couple of cookies. only a couple of times though.
10PM. either another protien shake with zero carbs/sugar or a salad with a can of chicken, a few chick peas, and some low fat dressing like newmans sesamie ginger. Lately I have been taking Labradas Lean Gold EFA’s all though about 1/2 the week I forget to take it.
10:30 bed.
Thats it. Thats my schedule 90% of the time. Is my diet truely off so much to make my triglicerides that bad?[/quote]
Triglycerides are fatty substances made by the body from the fat and sugars in foods that you eat. They’re carried in the blood and stored in the body as fatty tissue (not good for bb or fitness fanatics). Some triglycerides are also made in the liver (hereditary conditions may cause more of them to be made in the liver).
Here’s the bad news in a nutshell: High levels of triglycerides can trigger a heart attack or stroke, even if your cholesterol levels are normal! In your case your total cholesterol is only 210 which is fine, but it matters not if your Triglycerides are out of control, which yours are.
Here’s what happens: Extra triglycerides (which you have an abundance of) can cause blood vessel walls to become clogged with fat. If that fat bursts into the bloodstream, it can set off blood clots that kill heart muscle and stop blood flow to parts of the brain.
Here’s what I would do if I were you:
Get your homocysteine levels checked. Homocysteine is an amino acid that is produced by the body. Elevated levels of homocysteine in the blood may also cause atherosclerosis.
Get your C-reactive protein (CRP) levels checked. This will tell you how much inflammation is in your artery walls a most important predictor of heart disease as the inflammation will cause the fat in your blood to stick to the walls of your arteries and cause very bad things to happen such as a heart attack.
Immediately stop consuming all simple carbohydrates such as candy, cakes, chips, breads etc. These have been found to raise Triglyceride levels.
I’m not against taking fish oil for certain things but I’ve never seen fish oil lower Triglycerides. Nor have I seen it have a positive effect on over all cholesterol levels. Fish oil has been shown to help with arthritic joints and general heart health however.
Begin taking a good multi-vitamin loaded with all of the vitamin B’s which can lower homocysteine levels (if they are high).
Don’t eat before bed as this too can have an adverse effect on triglyceride levels, I know this one from personal experience. It has also been shown in medical studies.
Do more cardio. Lifting weights is great for a good many things but will NOT help when it comes to lowering your triglyceride levels. However, three to four days per week of 30 min sessions getting your heart rate up to 75% of your max (if you are healthy enough to do so, check with your doctor first) will in fact lower your triglycerides as well as raise your HDL (good cholesterol).
If you do all of these things you will be able to stay off medication. If you cannot bring this figure down on your own you will have to have medication, it’s up to you.
If there is anything that I can do to help you don’t hesitate to PM me.
All the best in the New Year,
Zeb
[quote]mechanicsteve wrote:
[quote]BJ* wrote:
mechanicsteve wrote:
Another unnecessary drug that can do more harm that good. Wow, what a surprise.
How so? Do you have any knowledge on the topic or are you just talking out of your ass? Tell me how Lovaza can do more harm than good?
In fact YOU even stated that you consume high amounts of fish oil…unregulated supplement company fish oil that may have all sorts of nasty stuff in it at worst or perhaps no fish oil at all…but somehow you can say that Lovaza would do more harm than good???
Do you even know what it is? Can you read? Links were even provided in which you could have educated yourself before posting…
[/quote]
My fish oil is regulated by the free market. If it had toxins, then no one would purchase it. I guess working for the government for 5 years has soiled my belief in regulation not to mention the god awful fda food pyramid. How is all that regulation working for the finacial markets?
i am a big believer in the free market, too. but the free market requires an eduactaed consumer. who tests your oil to make sure its safe? COnsumer reports recently exposed lots of supplement companies that had less than pure products. and tell us the brand. we all want clean oil.
You have received a lot of correct information from the above.
Re Niacin. I started to follow directions from an MD who’s newsletter I subscribed to. He mentioned that 30 minutes before bed time(9:30P for me) take and asprin and yogurt. At bed time take the Niacin reasoning that you will be asleep before an flushing problems. It works for me. I tried niaspan and it screwed up sleep. I restarted at 500mg of niacin, and now 750mg, and will step up to 1000mg shortly. One man I contacted with getting good control at 3000mg of OTC niacin, zero side effects. With high roughage good diet, weights and walking +/or ellipitical me total 307 down to 195(still working on it), HDL from 36 up to 43, and LDL from 107 down to 101. Since our VA is happy with 100, I am too.
Keeping a food and exercise journal really helps. Good luck to you.