Posted on 03/25/2021 9:47:53 AM PDT by Red Badger
High levels of “bad” cholesterol in the blood, which have been linked to heart disease, are still a health concern.
But evidence shows people no longer have to be concerned about eating foods that are high in cholesterol. What’s changed is that many researchers and physicians believe that eating cholesterol-rich foods such as eggs may not affect the cholesterol that is in your blood.
“However, people with certain health problems, such as diabetes, should continue to avoid cholesterol-rich foods,” says cardiologist Steven Nissen, MD.
It’s complicated Is cholesterol good for you? Is cholesterol bad for you? It’s complicated.
Cholesterol is a waxy substance that ultimately ends up in the walls of arteries. It causes the plaque that lead to heart attacks and strokes. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines call for a daily cholesterol limit of 300 milligrams.
The relationship between cholesterol and the body is extremely complicated. Some of the ways its complicated are:
The body regulates how much cholesterol is in your blood.
There’s different kinds of cholesterol. Low-density lipoprotein or LDL (bad) cholesterol contributes to plaque buildup along with triglycerides, another lipid.
High-density lipoprotein or HDL (good) cholesterol discourages plaque buildup.
LDL is the bad cholesterol that you should avoid because it can increase your risk of heart disease. The way people process cholesterol differs. Some people appear to be more vulnerable to cholesterol-rich diets.
“Your genetic makeup – not diet – is the driving force behind cholesterol levels, says Dr. Nissen. “The body creates cholesterol in amounts much larger than what you can eat, so avoiding foods that are high in cholesterol won’t affect your blood cholesterol levels very much.”
About 85% of the cholesterol in the circulation is manufactured by the body in the liver. It isn’t coming directly from the cholesterol that you eat, according to Dr. Nissen.
It’s also likely that people with family history of heart disease share common environments that may increase their risk, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What you should worry about Should you actually worry about cholesterol in food? The greater danger for everyone is in foods that are high in trans fats.
“Those often appear on food labels as hydrogenated oils or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil,” he says. “Those types of fats do tend to raise cholesterol and do tend to increase the risk of heart disease.”
All in all, look for trans fat and saturated fat on labels at the grocery store. The American Heart Association recommends limiting dietary saturated fat intake and focusing more on eating fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean animal protein or plant protein sources.
Dr. Atkins called this back in the early 70’s.
As is my Father-in-law. Skinny all his life, yet had blockages and quad by-pass................
Somebody spill the beans on how slutty I was?
I have had cholesterol over 200 since I was 22. I am now 57.
It has been as high as 265. In December it was 255 at my last physical. However, until I was in my late 40’s my HDL was always much higher than average. My Dr suggested I try a statin. I have tried five or six different ones. They all made my muscles hurt. Especially my upper leg muscles.
Most recently he asked me to try Nexlezit. Not a statin. However, it made me sick to my stomach and gave me diarreha.
I always try to watch what I eat, but recently I gave up Bread. I have lost about 7 lbs since making this change.
I eat Fage zero fat Greek yogurt for breakfast with real blueberries I add. For lunch I bring an apple, carrots, mixed nuts, raisins, tomatoes, olives, and a granola bar in some combination.
Dinner is meat and vegetables or salad.
I saw 199 lbs on the scale over the weekend for the first time in several years. I am 5’ 9”. 38” waist(starting to feel loose)
Any suggestions with diet?
“Any suggestions with diet?”
Watch what fat people eat and don’t eat that
Settled science strikes again.
In spite of the erroneous hype “cholesterol” has never been a problem. People require copious amounts of good cholesterol. The cholesterol first found collecting in the fissures of hardened artery walls is glycated (sugar-fied) cholesterol. It is essentially cholesterol which glycated livers mal-form. Sugar is also mostly responsible for hardening arteries which break in order to clog with mal-formed cholesterol.
The liver forms cholesterol as phospholipid membranes surrounding triglycerides (modified fat). When a glycated liver fails to form proper cholesterol particles then it fails to use the allotted triglycerides. It results in elevated circulating triglycerides. And That’s the marker you should watch out for.
“Somebody spill the beans on how slutty I was?”
Sorry, but it was all over the dark internet, yesterday.
Since you are yesterday’s news, you might be safe now. :)
Alternatively, if you don’t see fat people eating, find a 500-pounder riding a scooter around the grocery store and then don’t eat anything they have in their cart.
Well as far as diet goes, see what works for you. The Keto/Atkins thing is difficult to stick to because there are sugars and carbs in so many foods. Some people claim to get a “keto flu” for a few days as your body adjusts - minor flu like symptoms. I never had any such side effects. Keto stands for Ketosis which is when the body is forced to burn fat because it lacks the carbohydrates to burn (and would burn them first if you ate them). That’s basically how it works; starve the body of carbs and it is forced to burn fat.
The upside to it is you can eat as much protein as you like. You don’t count calories you just count carbs. There are 1000s of Keto advice websites and videos out there some better than others of course. One guy I liked to watch his videos suggested eating a salad an hour before the meal.
So yeah dropping bread from diet is the biggest hurdle.
And sugars. Problem with fruits are the sugars in them. I love fruit and as the spring and summer come I may surrender that part of the diet. I can’t imagine not eating peaches, plums, cherries, melons etc when the season arrives. Some people do the “Paleo diet” which allows them to eat anything as long as it isn’t processed food. They claim it works for them. Also FWIW I take a handful of raw vitamin/mineral supplements every day. Plus fish oil and Co-Q-10 which was recommended because of the statin.
There is a fish restaurant nearby, before Covid I’d go for lunch and order a salmon meal with broccoli and a make-your-own side-salad, and they’d charge me a few dollars extra for an extra piece of fish. Now, can’t make your own salad and have to order as take-out only. Rice basically not allowed which sucks because I do like sushi, and rice in general with fish and meats. If I’m in a fast food mood I’d go to El Pollo Loco and get a plate and add on maybe 3 or 4 chicken legs. They charge $1 a leg. So I fill up on protein. I get sliced meats at the deli counter and snack on turkey slices. Hard boiled eggs are easy, I boil a dozen and keep them in the fridge to snack on. Also find myself eating a lot of cole slaw. Not always ideal but it tastes good. Can make it at home and control the amount of sauce I mix in.
For digestion, I take sugar-free metamucil capsules in the AM and the PM. They are just pure psyllium husk I think, no carbs (or what they call zero net carbs, meaning the carbs are soluble in the GI tract not used for energy). The metamucil you mix in water or juice has sugar and/or carbs. Funny thing about the metamucil label it says “take 3-5 capsules 4-5 times a day” which I thought was overkill. I take 3 in the AM and 3 at night. Keeps me a lot more regular which can otherwise be a problem on a keto diet.
There is a sugar substitute I buy off Amazon. It’s a liquid version of those yellow packets. So 2 drops into my coffee or tea. Otherwise I don’t sweeten anything and I can’t eat baked goods. I’ve tried all kinds of keto-alternative cookies and cakes IMO they all suck. Which is probably a good thing since it could be a ‘gateway food’ to real cake. LOL. Did have some cauliflower rice pilaf, wasn’t too bad.
For breakfast I had 2 hash brown patties and 2 link sausages in butter and at break time I had 2 slices of toast with butter then for lunch a can of chicken soup and at next break a yoplait strawberry yogurt. Some Mission chips and Chez-it crackers. Drank 3 cans of orange soda too.
For dinner I had Foster Farm chicken strips cooked in the microwave along with mash potatoes and sweet corn followed by vanilla ice cream with mandarin oranges topping then followed by a bowl of fruit loops.
I’m good right? Eating healthy. I am 5’11” and about 190lbs.
I think I have a tape worm....
I’m 5’9” and 190+/- as well.
Used to weigh 215+.................
It is amazing to go to the super market and see what the fat people riding around in the scooter have in their cart or put on the belt.
Most of the time it is prepared foods heavy to sugar and fat.
We all have our weaknesses(except Tom Brady TB12) and occasionally eat things like Cape Cod BBQ potato chips. However, my wife and I try to eat fresh or frozen fruits, vegetables and lean meat or fish. Fish at least once a week.
Anything you eat in a restaurant will kill you much faster than anything you make at home.
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