Fiber- Total Cholesterol down to 183 - High Cholesterol Message Board

Rick49 · 02-21-2006, 05:34 AM

..My cholesterol has historically been around 225 for the last 15 years. In October I started taking flax seed oil and retested in December and my total cholesterol was up to 250. The doc said to increase my flax oil and I also started doing a little research on the internet and saw that the majority of our cholesterol is used to make bile and that bile is re-absorbed in the intestine unless it is bound with fiber. I started taking fiber also and in mid Jan, I tested at 225. My triglycerides were back up to 160, so I decided to quit taking the flax oil and just go with the fiber.
...I just got my results back from last week and my total was 183 and my triglycerides were down to 72. HDL was 37 and ldl at 138. Maybe not the best but the first improvement I've ever seen in total or LDL.
...I had previously lowered my triglycerides from 350 to 97 by going on a glycemic index diet. So it appears the combination of high fiber and watching the GI of foods is finally making a difference.
..I am now going to start cutting back on the amount of fiber I take to see what's really necessary to keep the cholesterol down. Also throught out this experimentation, I am taking a calcium suppliment, garlic suppliment, and a magnesium supplement.
..The fiber I take is Metamusil and I take around 30 grams per day. I have now cut back to 20 grams. I'm not sure about any health issues with taking a lot of fiber like this and am interested in anyones comments. I also don't suggest taking the extra amounts of fiber without consulting your doctor. I've going to make an appointment and discuss all of this with my Dr here shortly but wanted to get any feedback on others experiances with fiber supplements.
Thanks,
Rick

Lenin · 02-21-2006, 07:19 AM

No health issues with 30 grams of psyllium but the cost as Metamucil is very high at the 30 gram level (like 10 tsp as sugar free, far more as sugary version.) Make sure you drink LOTS of liquid though...a psyllium "clot" might be dangerous. I read that some marooon died by eating Metamucil with a spoon! Give her the Darwin Award.

Also make sure you are using the sugar-free because otherwise it's WAY too much sugar for someone looking to lower triglycerides.

I recommend you check out TARGET which sells a much cheaper variant of psyllium (or Sam's or Waldbaums or Costco.)

Thanks for the reminder, Rick. I have been remiss the last couple months and am paying the price in intestinal discomfort. I think I'll go back on my 7 grams psyllium a day regimen...or at least the 3.4 gram plan.

For a change of pace look into the amount of soluble fiber in split peas and beans...astoundingly high: 110 grams soluble fiber in a cheap one pound bag of dried split peas.

I think the lack of fiber might be the second worst component of the American diet...excess calories holds the number one spot.

gardeninggal · 02-21-2006, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick49

..My cholesterol has historically been around 225 for the last 15 years. In October I started taking flax seed oil and retested in December and my total cholesterol was up to 250. The doc said to increase my flax oil and I also started doing a little research on the internet and saw that the majority of our cholesterol is used to make bile and that bile is re-absorbed in the intestine unless it is bound with fiber. I started taking fiber also and in mid Jan, I tested at 225. My triglycerides were back up to 160, so I decided to quit taking the flax oil and just go with the fiber.
...I just got my results back from last week and my total was 183 and my triglycerides were down to 72. HDL was 37 and ldl at 138. Maybe not the best but the first improvement I've ever seen in total or LDL.
...I had previously lowered my triglycerides from 350 to 97 by going on a glycemic index diet. So it appears the combination of high fiber and watching the GI of foods is finally making a difference.
..I am now going to start cutting back on the amount of fiber I take to see what's really necessary to keep the cholesterol down. Also throught out this experimentation, I am taking a calcium suppliment, garlic suppliment, and a magnesium supplement.
..The fiber I take is Metamusil and I take around 30 grams per day. I have now cut back to 20 grams. I'm not sure about any health issues with taking a lot of fiber like this and am interested in anyones comments. I also don't suggest taking the extra amounts of fiber without consulting your doctor. I've going to make an appointment and discuss all of this with my Dr here shortly but wanted to get any feedback on others experiances with fiber supplements.
Thanks,
Rick

Rick, I think you have hit on something when you cut back on carb's and saw that you got more fiber. There is a school of thought that says that it is Insulin that can cause heart disease. They claim it goes something like this when you have blood glucose you need Insulin to take care of it and what happens is the Insulin pushes the glucose into the cells where it produces energy but also all that Insulin moves the triglycerides into the fat cells for storage in the form of saturated fat and then it also packs LDL cholesterol into the arteries in the neck, heart and legs. When you have high blood glucose you also have increasing amounts of Insulin. Many researchers feel that it is not the amount of cholesterol that is a problem so much as it is the high triglycerides, that may explain why as many people with low cholesterol are dying as those with high. I read of a women who had a heart attack and when checked she had three arteries clogged, one 90% one 50% and one 40%. They put a stent in the 90% blocked artery and gave her a statin and a diet and exercise program. She could not take the statin because of side effects so she stopped taking it and the exercise she couldn't do because of an accident she had been in and she decided instead to do Dr. Atkins diet and limit carb's. She did however take red yeast rice and severely cut back on any sweets. Three years later she had a major checkup and the report came back that all arteries were now cleared of any blockage. She said of course no one was interested in how she did it. She has had been checked lately and her arteries have remained clear.
I personally love sweets but unlike Maryanne I do have some though I am trying to cut back because my last glucose test moved my numbers from the normal column into the abnormal. Granted it was buy one point but it is a sign that it is moving the wrong direction. No potatoes, rice etc for me. I am so happy for your success and hope to have the same.

lane413 · 02-21-2006, 05:23 PM

How much fiber should a person have per day? My nutrition teacher said we needed 30 g of fiber daily, but he USDA listed 20 to 35 g fiber daily. So what is the minimum fiber a person needs to be healthy. Is there a maximum amount of fiber a person needs? Just wondering.

Also, would BeneFiber be the same as the Metamuclli (sp?) or the chocolate Citricel fiber?

Rick49 · 02-22-2006, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gardeninggal

Rick, I think you have hit on something when you cut back on carb's and saw that you got more fiber. There is a school of thought that says that it is Insulin that can cause heart disease. They claim it goes something like this when you have blood glucose you need Insulin to take care of it and what happens is the Insulin pushes the glucose into the cells where it produces energy but also all that Insulin moves the triglycerides into the fat cells for storage in the form of saturated fat and then it also packs LDL cholesterol into the arteries in the neck, heart and legs. When you have high blood glucose you also have increasing amounts of Insulin. Many researchers feel that it is not the amount of cholesterol that is a problem so much as it is the high triglycerides, that may explain why as many people with low cholesterol are dying as those with high. I read of a women who had a heart attack and when checked she had three arteries clogged, one 90% one 50% and one 40%. They put a stent in the 90% blocked artery and gave her a statin and a diet and exercise program. She could not take the statin because of side effects so she stopped taking it and the exercise she couldn't do because of an accident she had been in and she decided instead to do Dr. Atkins diet and limit carb's. She did however take red yeast rice and severely cut back on any sweets. Three years later she had a major checkup and the report came back that all arteries were now cleared of any blockage. She said of course no one was interested in how she did it. She has had been checked lately and her arteries have remained clear.
I personally love sweets but unlike Maryanne I do have some though I am trying to cut back because my last glucose test moved my numbers from the normal column into the abnormal. Granted it was buy one point but it is a sign that it is moving the wrong direction. No potatoes, rice etc for me. I am so happy for your success and hope to have the same.

...I have been following the glycemic index for over a year now and saw my triglycerides drop from 350 to 97 but it had little effect on my cholesterol. The fiber seems to have a dramatic effect there and even improved on the triglycerides. I also saw a decrease in my blood pressure from 136/85 to 118/75 when I went on the glycemic index diet. Like you it was a reduction in potatoes and rice that helped. PCOS is another disease linked ot elevated insulin levels.
rick