[KateTheo]

Hi there. I'm 26 years old and have had T1 diabetes since I was five. In 2007 my GP put me on Statins to lower my cholesterol, now I'm starting to plan for a baby I've been taken off them and my cholesterol has shot up again (6.2).

I don't think I eat very badly - no ready-meals, try to make most things myself, hardly ever have a take-away, skimmed milk, low fat, so I don't understand how I can bring this down with my diet. I've been told to eat porridge and dried fruit for breakfast and a few other foods that could help - just wondering if anyone has any particular advice / foody tips that will help!

I hate being my GP's pin-cushion and don't think she'll stop testing until my levels are below 4. Help!

[ShottleBop]

USCS Statin Effects Study

SHOULD YOU BE ON CHOLESTEROL-LOWERING DRUGS?

This is a decision you must make with your doctor. The following should be taken into account.

Middle aged men with significant risk for heart disease probably benefit more than they are harmed, in terms of survival (The West of Scotland Study). Risk factors include hypertension, smoking, diabetes, premature heart disease in a first degree relative and low HDL. Those who do not have high risk for heart disease experience a lower rate of heart deaths, but not even a trend toward lower overall death rate (The Texcaps/ACAPS study). (The total death rate was infinitesimally higher in the statin group.)

As of this writing, no study has shown statins or any other cholesterol drugs to lower overall mortality in women; and epidemiologically, cholesterol in women does not have the same relation to mortality as in men. Although higher cholesterol is linked to a higher rate of heart attacks per se, it is not linked to overall cardiovascular death or to overall death; indeed, lower cholesterol is linked to a slightly higher risk in some studies. Consistent with this, there is a decided reduction in heart attacks in women with statins, but the death rate overall -- or even cardiovascular death rate - has not been shown to be reduced. It is possible that there are subgroups of women for whom statins confer benefit exceeding risk, but this has never been demonstrated.

No studies have examined the impact of statins in randomized trials in those over age 75. Epidemiological studies show higher cholesterol to be protective, rather than harmful, in this age group, so it cannot be assumed that lowering cholesterol confers benefit exceeding risk. Low cholesterol may be a risk factor for heart arrhythmias, which are the leading cause of death if heart attacks occur; and in the elderly, a heart rhythm abnormality called atrial fibrillation, that may be increased with low cholesterol, is a particularly important risk factor for stroke in the older elderly. It is possible that there are subgroups of those over age 75 for whom statins confer benefit exceeding risk, but this has never been demonstrated. This would most likely be the case in persons at very high risk of death from heart disease, who are at comparatively low risk for other illness and injury.

[matingara]

Originally Posted by KateTheo

I don't think I eat very badly - no ready-meals, try to make most things myself, hardly ever have a take-away, skimmed milk, low fat, so I don't understand how I can bring this down with my diet. I've been told to eat porridge and dried fruit for breakfast and a few other foods that could help - just wondering if anyone has any particular advice / foody tips that will help!

reducing carb consumption whilst increasing fat and protein consumption has worked wonders for my cholesterol. so much so that the Doc stopped me taking the statins a while back.

it goes against everything that the synchronized idiots in the media are telling you. but it works for me and a lot of other people.

completely cut out rice, bread, cereals, pasta, fruit, soda, crackers, candy. eat more meat, cheese, salads etc.

i know it sounds quite mad - but, in a way, you have been brainwashed to some degree. whie you are at it dump "skim" anything and "low fat" everything else...



--- Joel.

[xMenace]

Originally Posted by matingara

reducing carb consumption whilst increasing fat and protein consumption has worked wonders for my cholesterol. so much so that the Doc stopped me taking the statins a while back.

it goes against everything that the synchronized idiots in the media are telling you. but it works for me and a lot of other people.

completely cut out rice, bread, cereals, pasta, fruit, soda, crackers, candy. eat more meat, cheese, salads etc.

i know it sounds quite mad - but, in a way, you have been brainwashed to some degree. whie you are at it dump "skim" anything and "low fat" everything else...



--- Joel.

Same here, but I maintain 75-100g of carbs a day. I eat fruit, veggie, and dairy carbs only.

Cholesterol is actually vital to health. Ignore that number unless it is very high. LDLs are now that main target, but even that is wrong, it's a blend of 6 to 8 different LDLs. The fact that they don't know how many there are should tell you something about this science It's VLDLs that are the bad guys. They don't usually test for them though. But they are directly associated with tryglycerides. Get your trigs down to 80 or less. Do this by cutting back carbs and upping fat and protein.

It is crazy if you subscribe to AHA recommendations, but the science points to it as teh best medicine.

Diet and health: implications for ... - Google Books

[matingara]

Originally Posted by xMenace

Same here, but I maintain 75-100g of carbs a day. I eat fruit, veggie, and dairy carbs only.

Cholesterol is actually vital to health.

i maintain a slightly lower carb intake - say 40-60g per day. but now that i have chosen to use insulin i do eat some fruit (mainly because i ADORE it).

my main source of carbs is vegetables (salads, green beans, fava beans etc).

i do eat low carb bread in the morning (1 piece only) - but if i did not have the luxury that my choice of insulin brings me - i would not allow myself that...



-- Joel.

[eugenegoh]

I did not know that carbohydrates could have such an influence to the body but I know for sure that I have managed to address my cholesterol concerns with a product called Bios Life, which has help me to lower my cholesterol to a normal level.

Bios Life™ - Cholesterol Supplements | Lower My Cholesterol | Normal Cholesterol Level

[BlueSky]

There is no need to to "manage cholesterol". The liver produces as much cholesterol as the rest of the body tells it too. Cholesterol is used for making hormones, building cell membranes, maintaining the nervous system, etc. And reducing its level doesn't make sense. The fact that cholesterol is also used to repair inflamed artery linings is purely incidental. Reducing cholesterol to prevent heart attacks is a bit like shooting the messenger. It does nothing to fix the fundamental problem.

It makes much more sense to put all your energy into reducing stress, eating well, and getting lots of exercise. Doing this really does reduce heart attack risk. I don't even measure my cholesterol anymore. The amount of cholesterol in my blood is irrelevant. It is what it needs to be.

[foxl]

So ... how should we interpret this?

More heart patients getting cholesterol levels under control - CNN.com

I am not refuting the argument against statins and cholesterol control. Just want to garner comments on the story -- and the study itself.

[foxl]

Originally Posted by matingara

my main source of carbs is vegetables (salads, green beans, fava beans etc).



-- Joel.

Joel -- fava beans wipe me out, so I am envious! They are supposed to be quite high GI btw. And my numbers verified for me ... sad, becuase they are a big favorite.

[matingara]

Originally Posted by foxl

Joel -- fava beans wipe me out, so I am envious! They are supposed to be quite high GI btw. And my numbers verified for me ... sad, becuase they are a big favorite.

i eat the packaged fava beans sold in australian supermarkets as "broad beans". they don't sell frozen lima beans here. i would actually prefer lima beans...

i only eat a 1/2 a cup or so. i microwave them and then toss them in salt and butter. i have them beside my salad or in my salad.

they seemed to be ok for my BGL before i switched to insulin. now that i am using insulin i just add them into my already low carb count.



-- Joel.

[BlueSky]

Originally Posted by foxl

So ... how should we interpret this?

More heart patients getting cholesterol levels under control - CNN.com

I am not refuting the argument against statins and cholesterol control. Just want to garner comments on the story -- and the study itself.

The study, which was funded by Pfizer, shows that taking statins reduces cholesterol levels. But it says nothing about how this affected the incidence of heart attacks. So the study is, IMO, irrelevant. We all know that statins reduce cholesterol anyway. This is precisely why I wouldn't want to take one.

[ccryder19]

I used to have very high cholesterol and didn't understand why since I too, ate pretty healthy. Then a doctor told me that high cholesterol was caused not by fats in the diet but by high glucose levels. So I started a very low carb diet and controlled my type 1 diabetes as closely as possible, improving my A1C and voila! My cholesterol lowered dramatically to a healthy level and hasn't gone back up since. I urge you to give this a try. Since then I have done a lot of medical research on this subject and found a lot to support this. Good luck