Hi! I'm a 41 year old male. 5'10" 150lbs. Total cholesterol 220. I forget my HDL number, but its good (ratios are good) so my doc says meds not needed. Otherwise great health. My question is about diet. I am a devout cyclist. Ride about 2500 miles a year. When I can't ride outside I train about an hour a day - 6 days a week. I need carbs for energy - lots of pasta, but I'm thinking they may be pushing up my numbers? I don't eat meat, and want to get the number lower than 200 if possible. What do I eat for this level of activity and not bonk when I'm riding?

Since you regularly engage in strenuous physical activity, you are evidently burning off those carbs rather quickly, which is good. So, in your particular situation, carbohydrate intake is not nearly as detrimental as it would be if you were less physically active. As far as your pasta intake is concerned, why not substitute more beef, chicken, or fish instead?

My wife is a vegetarian, so I am by default http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif and I am somewhat nervous of meat in general (another post) I do eat tuna 1-2 times a week, and a fair amount of beans. Breakfast is oatmeal, raisins & soy milk, eggs on Sunday. Very little dairy. I try to avoid sat. fats & hydrogenized oils. Lots of water, no booze. 2-3 fruits every day. Despite this I can't seem to crack the 200 mark. Wondering if fish oil or flax would help?

I don't know what your HDL is, but if your TC/HDL ratio is good, then it is most likely over 50, since a TC/HDL ratio of 4 or less is desirable. So, if that is the case, then a total cholesterol level of 220 really isn't much of an issue. Sorry about my earlier post. I missed the fact that you weren't a meat eater.

Yeah...I didn't mention I don't do meat -sorry. That's part of what bothers me. Despite what I consider a relatively healthy diet and lifestyle, I still have 200+ cholesterol. Knowing that my cycling burns alot of what I'm eating I would hope my numbers would be lower than they are. I'm scared that if I don't keep up this level of physical activity my count will sky rocket. Should I be considering suppliments or more diet modifications?

Hello, Adding meat will not lower your cholesterol. I'm not sure about the fish oil thing. Since you're vegetarian, you could get the same benefits of fish oil from flax seed. You can even grind it up in a coffie grinder. The one egg per week shouldn't hurt you, but I wouldn't increase the egg thing. You might want to want to watch the soy products and any dressings or sauces you use, because they can have pretty much fat in them too. You might want to do a food diary for a month to try to find the hidden culprit. There was a study done with vegans that claims to have found that vegans who eat nuts have lower cholesterol, so there's another route to try. (The nuts were almonds and walnuts, not peanuts so I don't know if that matters or not.) How is your food prepared? Too much oil is not a good idea. Pasta's cool. I eat lots of that too, but with a tomato sauce instead of a cream sauce or oil. Fruit's high in fiber and vitamins, so no problem there either. If you're eating canned tuna, make sure it's packed in water not oil. Let me know if this helps.

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Magpie

Thanks - the diary is a great idea. I also like the nut idea. Like you, I do my pasta with tomato sauce mostly. Sometimes with soy sauce & tuna. Only use olive oil sparingly. I'm going to start the diary and see what I learn!

Since you said that your ratio of TC/HDL is good, and likewise so are the rest of your numbers, I can therefore assume that your HDL is probably quite favorable. Eggs have a minimal impact on total cholesterol for the majority of people; they do, however, have a favorable impact on HDL cholesterol. I would caution you about tinkering around too much with dietary changes, especially with fat restrictions, in an attempt to lower total cholesterol. Even if you succeed at lowering your total cholesterol through fat restriction, you may end up doing so at the expense of an HDL reduction. If that happens, you may even actually increase your risk factor (TC/HDL), even with a lower total cholesterol. For instance, you would be better off with a total cholesterol of 220 and an HDL of 60 than you would be with a total cholesterol of 180 and an HDL of 40.

I'm no expert on this stuff, so please indulge me. I think I'm hearing that I don't really have a cholesterol problem? I understand I need to look at all the numbers and respective ratios, but does that mean total cholesterol isn't important if these numbers are good? With that said, how would someone effect HDL vs. LDL numbers without some reduction or change of fats and/or carbs?

I think what confuses so many people about guidlines is the statement which stipulates that a total cholesterol level of 200 or less is desirable. I can only speculate as to how they came up with that number. It is probably based on an average HDL level which is generally between 40-50. It is also recommended that your TC/HDL ratio be less than 4.0. Assuming that the "average" person is unable to lower their risk by increasing their HDL, physicians will most likely encourage the patient to bring down total cholesterol to under 200.

However, many people simply do not fall into the "average" category. Everybody's situation is unique. I don't know what your HDL is, but judging from what your doctor told you, I suspect that it is most likely high, certainly high enough to produce a ratio which would place you in the low risk category.

Exercise raises your HDL, and so does moderate alcohol consumption. Fats, such as omega-3 fatty acids, monounsaturated fats such as olive oil, and even saturated fats favor higher HDL. Garlic and niacin have beneficial effects on HDL. LDL cholesterol is generally considered dangerous because it is susceptible to to oxidation. When that happens, plaque begins to deposit on the walls of your arteries. A high intake of antioxidants, such as vitamin E, beta carotene, selenium, and vitamin C can help protect against, or minimize this process. In addition, they can also contribute towards more favorable HDL levels.

Thank you both for your help. This site is great thanks to folks like you!

My doctor says cholesterol mostly has to do with hereditary. If you family had it you're likely to have it. Diet can only bring it down maybe 10 points. Did your mother or father have a problem with heart disease? I was put on medication recently to try and reduce my cholesterol.

My father has high cholesterol & had a heart attack about 25 years ago (he's 72 now). He has been struggling with high cholesterol for as long as I can remember, but his diet is pretty fatty. My Mom's in great shape with no cholesterol problems. I haven't seen or read anything that makes me think it is all heriditary & that you can do little to impact your numbers. I've seen more data supporting that diet and lifestyle changes can impact it. How much seems to be more vague - like oatmeal, yeah it works but differently for everyone. So my take is that you need to do some homework and experimenting to see whats best for you. And again I mention lifestyle - exercise, stress, spirituality all play all role I feel. But there's is alot you can do before taking meds which treat the sympton not the disease. The acidity post above makes sense to me, as it adresses a larger scope of health than just targeting a specific one. I'm gonna check into it.

I think diet does help lowering your colesterol. I was happy when the doctor told me it only lowers it by 10 points because I didn't want to give up my two eggs every morning, my cheese or my butter. I figured it's easier to take a pill. A few years ago when I started gaining my midlife weight I tried hard to lose it. I dieted and my cholesterol went down to 138 but since I wasnt' losing weight I just started eating everything I wanted. I'll have to try to diet again not just for my weight, for my cholesterol. I have to try the egg beaters. I have to get my cholesterol measured again in a month, I'll see if the diet helps. The American Heart Association Cookbooks tell you how to lower your cholesterol too. I bought them beause of my blood pressure, now I can use them for my cholesterol.

AliceB - I like my eggs, cheese & butter too. I've found that free-range eggs are a good surce of omega-3 fats - better than "regular" eggs. For cheese I've cut way back on dairy cheeses and switched to soy cheese - OK for sandwiches. Butter is gone from my diet. At first that was hard, now it feels like grease in my mouth. Another biggy - mayo. Try mustard for awhile and you'll hate mayo.

Hello, Don't forget to eat your oats. Oat bran helps to lower the numbers too. Stuff like oat meal or Cherrios will help. Look out for the oat bran cereals that taste really good like Cracklin oat bran, because it has trans fats in it...hydroginated coconut oil. (The problem is that the coconut oil is hydroginated, which isn't a very good word for people like us.)

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Magpie