Soy, Cholesterol & Food Choice - High Cholesterol Message Board

Amy26 · 08-22-2007, 01:41 PM

Hi there!

I have high cholesterol, high triglycerides and high blood pressure...yay!

I'm on Lipitor 10mg, Benicar 20mg, and HCZ 25mg ... all of which give me horrible side effects I must say.

I've been on these meds for about 3 months.

Anyhoot, I have a rant about cholesterol levels in food... The biggest thing I hear is stop eating red meat and shrimp because of the amount of cholesterol in these foods. Yet, when I go to the grocery store... I checked a package of ground beef, ground turkey and ground chicken... the ground chicken and turkey had MORE cholesterol in them than the beef. What is up with that?

To me, I thought Soy was the ultimate answer... no cholesterol...no trans fats... relatively healthy stuff. I love soy... its my new best friend. Soy cheese, soy ice cream, soy ground beef..etc...

But then I hear all the stories about how soy is evil and too much of it will (over exageration) kill you.

What is the real story here? Should I just eat normally and exercise and take my meds? It just seems like EVERYTHING is bad for me. I'm the kind of person that I can't function with someone just telling me to "eat right". I need structure... I need someone to tell me how much of what to eat and when. So, I'm just really confused.

I'm going to get my cholesterol rechecked in October for the first time since my inital test. I'm hoping it goes well.

Also, how does one lower triglycerides when you're on lipitor? I noticed someone mentioned a specific medication that lowers it but you can't take it with statins? My trigylcerides are like 190 and I'm guessing that's because I drank a lot of red wine?

Any help is appreciated.

Guy1_USA · 08-22-2007, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amy26;

What is the real story here? Should I just eat normally and exercise and take my meds?

Yes, just eat as healthy as you can stand, and exercise as much as you can stand. You liver makes most of your cholesterol. I think too big a deal is made regarding eating food with cholesterol.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amy26;

Also, how does one lower triglycerides when you're on lipitor?

I believe you can take niacin and statins together. Ask your doctor. Niacin is great at lowering TG's.

Another way to lower TG's is to eliminate sugar and alcohol from your diet. Both will raise your TG's. A TG of 190 is really not that bad. I think 150 and lower is considered the normal range. To contrast, my TG's were 304 18 months ago.

Ask your Doctor to switch you to an ACE inhibitor (like Monopril) for your BP. It seems to have the least side effects of the BP meds.

Good luck.

jacal5 · 08-22-2007, 04:56 PM

I stay away from soy because it's genetically modified in the U.S., the problem with soy is the processing. Soy is contained in so many products on the supermarket shelf it's hard to stay away from. I read labels and do not buy them. A few weeks ago I realized that my favorite bottled salad dressing can contain soybean oil (I missed it on the label), so I decided to make a homemade olive oil/vinegar dressing to keep in the fridge. My best friend only eats fermented soy
(which decreases soy toxicity) like miso, in very limited amounts.

Your high soy consumption could be damaging to your thyroid, bones, and even put you at an increased risk for cancer from elevated estrogen levels.

There are several books on the market with "heart healthy" advice and menu plans, like "The 8 Week Cholesterol Cure", which has been updated. The book is rated 4 out of 5 stars on one of the popular book selling web-sites, with several people posting excellent cholesterol lowering results.

Good luck!

Amy26 · 08-22-2007, 07:24 PM

How and why could soy do that? Its supposed to be great for you how could it do all those things?

jacal5 · 08-23-2007, 08:13 AM

Hi,

[removed]

I had a facial done at Whole Foods store last year, the facialist was from London, England and she had a line of skin care products which contained soy. While she was putting the cream on my face she asked me if I ate soy and said no, I read about the dangers and wouldn't eat it if I could avoid it (it's hard to do with so many products containing it). She told me she was so glad I don't eat it because it draws everything out of your system, that's why she uses it on the skin, to draw impurities out. In addition, she said many people don't know it's unhealthy, and she was glad I wasn't one of them!

My sister, who was with me, asked her if soy is so unhealthy, why are they selling it at Whole Foods, and she said she didn't know with a frustrared look on he face, like they shouldn't be selling it.

Last month I went to Trader Joe's ansd there was a big sign next to the soy
stating something like "This Soy has NOT been Genetically Modified", so that tells me that more people must be aware of it and aren't purchasing it.