Questions about what to do includng diet? - High Cholesterol Message Board

UHSHOOPS · 04-03-2003, 08:15 PM

Here is my scenario I am 27 years old, 5'11'' weigh 210 lbs. Lift weights on a regular basis and have just started doing cardio. My cholesterol is 129 which is good but my HDL or good cholesterol is only 20 and my triglycerid is 388. I also have elevated enzymes at 44/77. I am going in for an ultrasound on my liver soon. My question is should I never eat fatty foods and sugar again, how much cardio do I need to do each day, and how much does alcohol play in all of this. I am a coach and usually after games will have 6-8 beers and then on the weekends drink again. This totals like 3-4 nights a week of alcohol. If I eat better will that cure the triglyceride problem? Thanks in advance

CobaltBlue · 04-04-2003, 05:10 AM

Based on my calculations, your LDL=31, HDL=20 and VLDL=78.

Before the changes in my lifestyle and diet, I had a very similar problem to yours. Astronomical triglycerides, low LDL and low HDL. Glad that you want to make a change already; it took a heart attack at age 35 to get the point across to me (I am 5'10", was 227 lbs, I currently weigh 160 lbs as of this morning).

I was already on tricor to bring the triglycerides down (which I no longer need). The other thing to watch out for with low HDL and high triglycerides is the onset of metabolic syndrome...

In any case my HDL at its lowest point was 25, and I thought I was doing well with a cholesterol of 192. With all the changes, my HDL is at 44, and total cholesterol was 102 (triglycerides 34) during the last measurement.

Beer certainly does not help the triglyceride situation. I have 1-2 glasses of red wine per night; my beer drinking days are over

As a body builder, I am thinking that you already have low body fat and a good deal of muscle mass. So, in your situation, the first steps of cardio workout and diet are what I would focus on. I do a 3+ mile run every morning (~25 min) daily, plus a few walks after lunch (2.6 mile) and various weightlifting here and there. It looks like you are probably on a low fat diet, including saturated fats? I maintain my weight that way. The high triglycerides might be due to a high load of carbs in your diet? If you can identify changes where you can either cut out, reduce, or change the carbs (e.g. white to wheat bread), that will significantly impact your triglyceride levels.

I also supplement with various vitamins, minerals and fish oil. The fish oil has been shown to help reduce serum triglycerides.

With such a low LDL and HDL, you might also consider adding just a little true saturated fat to your diet (not the trans/partially hydrogenated ones). It will raise LDL and HDL types of cholesterol, but you have some room to improve there, and the HDL in itself is such a huge risk factor. I am not well versed on the use of triglyceride/HDL ratios as a predictor, but others here are. Learning from them, I know that you want that closer to 1.0.

Other posters here will probably provide you some additional advice. Good luck with effecting the changes.

UHSHOOPS · 04-04-2003, 07:10 AM

Thanks for the information. Sounds like I need to pick up my cardio I was only doing 30 minutes of walking and 30 minutes on an ecliptical machine. I also appreciate the advice about the diet, I am now going to cut fast food, chips, sugar, etc .... switch to wheat bread and possibly take fish oil. Should I take a fish oil pill daily or just 3-4 a week. My next step which will be the hardest is to cut out all of the beer. Thanks again.

hunter44 · 04-04-2003, 07:12 AM

Ubernier has given you some good advice. High trigs are directly related to high carbohydrate consumption. I never had a problem with weight but I brought my cholestrol numbers to desirable ratios by eating a low carb diet. I would pick up a copy of Atkins New Diet Revolution or Protein Power Life Plan by Drs. Eades, both cover the biochemical health benefits of reducing carbs. Increased saturated fat consumption and excercise increases HDL levels. If you reduce carbs don't worry about saturated fats, fats to worry about are hydroganated trans fats. They wreck havoc on all your numbers as well as your body. I drink, but mostly wine or light beer. It's not the calories in the beer but the carbs.