Any tips for lowering cholesterol for a meat eater?

A handful of walnuts every day is very good for lowering cholesterol. Also, if he can bring himself to eat it oatmeal for breakfast 4–5 times a week.

Almonds or other nuts might help too. And fish oil, with borage and flaxseed oil.

Eat less meat and dairy. I eliminated cheese in particular, and added more veggies and walnuts. KRILL OIL is extremely helpful. These few changes lowered my cholesterol from 295 to 240, and now 231. It’s continuing to go in the right direction. My HDL is 99, so that’s partly the reason for my high number as well. HDL clears out the LDL. Gradually make healthier choices and exercise, such as a walk definitely helps… walnuts and KRILL OIL. peace

Avoid adding butter, oil, margarine, mayo, all the fat additives (sauces) we tend to use. Also, choose more fish and only eat skinless chicken breast (white meat) and eat it broiled, not fried.
Switch to skim milk and use cheese only sparingly.
She said triglycerides, which is similar but different from cholostersol.
Might also add more broth based soups to get more vegetables in.

My husband’s doctor just keeps saying to eat “lean and green.”

Eat more fish with omega-3s, cut down on alcohol consumption, cut down on trans fats found in fried food and commerically baked cookes and cakes and such.

It is confusing to me when I see things like this. But I do know that this. Even at the heaviest weight I’ve ever been in my life, my cholesterol numbers, blood sugar numbers, blood pressure and everything else gets good marks from medical exams. My husband’s number were off the scales and terrifying to us both.

He’s lost weight by watching his calorie intake, using commonsense and getting better physical exercise (he was very active, but not exercising his heart and muscles like he needed to do) and his numbers have dropped dramatically.

@LiLu Welcome to fluther. But don’t be dissing dairy. I eat tons of it. Cheese, milk, butter, etc, I think the calcium helps. My last cholesterol level was 183, my HDL was 135.

@Adirondackwannabe Thanks for the welcome! WOW! Congratulations on great numbers too! I use almond milk in smoothies, with a bit of yogurt, and occasionally I’ll add minimal cheese to flavor a dish. I love cheese and butter, but I made the choice to limit dairy. My calcium levels are on target by eating spinach, almonds, sesame seeds, kale etc.—low risk alternatives that work for me.

@LiLu That’s an impressive knowledge of dietary choices. I like leafy greens. This is a good site, but you need a bit of a thick skin at times.

@Adirondackwannabe LOL I’m not going to promote cheese, butter and milk to someone asking a question about lowering their cholesterol; offering alternatives to the asker. Thanks for the smiles :)

I stand suitably corrected. You’re right. :)
And that was nicely done. :)

Triglycerides or cholesterol?

Triglycerides usually go down if sugar is reduced. All sugars. That means avoid fruit juices, sodas, candies, and desserts. That was very effective for me at reducing triglycerides when I first was diagnosed back in my teens. I did not just make up that remedy, when I had high numbers I was sent to a nutritionist. (As a side note I was a very thin child and teenager). Now, I almost have a triglyceride count even when my cholesterol is sky high. Avoiding extra fats should help also, so even if he continues to eat the same amount of meat, reducing oil, margarine, butter, should also help.

I will absolutely diss dairy, especially high cholesterol and fat dairy, for people with cholesterol problems. @Adirondackwannabe you obviously don’t have a cholesterol problem. Your genes gave you a good system of reducing the production of and removal of cholesterol. But, I am not sure the meat eater in question has a cholesterol problem either, because @janbb used cholesterol in her main question and triglycerides in the explanation.

I don’t really know the difference – I thought the triglycerides were a component of cholesterol so I would be happy for an explanation.

@JLeslie My genes for this absolutely suck. I’m the oldest living male on my father’s side. I just work a lot to avoid fats, but I’ve always loved dairy, in moderation.

Easy examples of getting protein into your daily food supply without eating animal products:

http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.php

See the two daily sample meal plans halfway down the page.

Clear factual definition of the difference between cholesterol and tryglicerides.

In a nutshell, “Cholesterol and triglycerides are two forms of lipid, or fat, that circulate in your bloodstream. They are both necessary for life itself.

Cholesterol is necessary for building and maintaining key parts of your cells (such as your cell membranes), and for making several essential hormones.

Triglycerides, which are chains of high-energy fatty acids, provide much of the energy needed for your tissues to function.”

@janbb Tryglicerides are part of the lipid panel that is commonly run. It usually shows total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL, cholesterol, the ratio between HDL and LDL, and triglycerides. Triglycerides do something with the transference of fats and sugars from the liver. I wish I knew the science better, I don’t. Anyway, it is a separate number from cholesterol, but something that is looked at as part of cardiac health, and other health concerns.

@Adirondackwannabe Well, I don’t know how much dairy you eat, and how much total cholesterol you are taking in. Have you ever had high cholesterol?

I can’t tell you how many people I know who went vegetarian for health reasons, but continued to eat dairy and eggs and their cholesterol of course did not go down. And, how many friends did Atkins and wound up with sky high cholesterol. And, how many friends got into building muscle, and high protein diets and wound up with high cholesterol and a horrible cholesterol ratio. So, I am loathe to recommend dairy to people who watch their cholesterol, unless they are really reading every label and watching their cholesterol intake.

@gailcalled Both your links appear to be for the same article. I don’t see the definition; just the menus.

Check again. I think I fixed it.

@JLeslie I probably take in about ½ to ⅔ of the RDA for fat and cholesterol on average, most of it dairy or poultry. I’ve never had a high cholesterol test. My brother’s family isn’t good with with their diets and they’re all on meds for cholesterol. And they do no or minimal dairy.

@Adirondackwannabe If you have never had a high cholesterol test I bet your genes are better than you think. Meaning the genes that make up your body. There might be relatives who had a bad hand dealt to them, but it doesn’t look like you are one of them. How many mg of cholesterol do you take in a day or week? If I consume about 50 mg a day I am still above 200 total cholesterol.

@gailcalled Yes – that’s better. Very good info!

@JLeslie It’s a minimal amount I take in per day unless I splurge on a pizza or something like that on the weekend. I’m very good at reading labels. Believe me, my genes suck. I have a letter from my doctor suggesting “genetic counseling” but I don’t have any kids so I just passed that on to the rest of the family

@janbb Will you let us know if it is just his triglycerides that are elevated and if any dietary changes help him? I like the updates.

Triglycerides are a product of the human body. Alcohol, sugars and starches all are converted by the body to a lipid called triglycerides. It is the body’s way of converting and storing the carbohydrates in the fat cells.

@JLeslie Will try but itwill be some time I imagine before the changes show up in his bloodwork.

When I am not watching my diet my triglycerides sky rocket. One month of being careful and they come down to the low normals. For me it’s ALL about the diet. I have good genes for cholesterol too though. The bad cholesterol is low even when I’m eating bad.

@janbb My numbers change drastically within a month if I alter my diet significantly. I hope he doesn’t wait too long to retest, because it can sometimes be difficult to keep up a new diet, and quick feedback for whether a diet change is effective can be a good reinforcement.

Lots of water and one table spoon of olive oil every day.
It worked for me.
And walk two miles a day.

Replace the red meat with white meat, and eat more oily fish like salmon. Eat more soluble fibre (oats, beans, peas). Garlic and onions (may want to invest in some breath mints too!). And yogurt.

Work out regularly. And I’m not talking about a nice walk in the park, or weekend bike ride. I’m talking about stretching, lifting, swimming, daily at the gym for a minimum of 2 hours 3 to 4 days a week. Suppliment this with daily runs. It all becomes addictive. Endorphines flow, seratonin flows, dopamine flows, testosterone and estrogen flows. The heart and lungs get stronger, out is greater and the body becomes more efficient in breaking down and using nutrients. Activities take less energy, muscle replaces fat. Arteries clear. Then kayak, bike, scuba, sail competitively, climb, hike, parasail, run, on weekends and vacations. Use or lose it.

The idea that protein gives him energy is bullshit. Protein replaces and builds. It works best if you actually use your body, otherwise the excess is pissed away. Carbs are energy. Carbs are stored as fat if you take in more than you use. Fats are reserve energy that is very hard to access, even harder for women. Best not to let it happen, hard to work off.

You want to keep your arteries clear, your cholesterol and tryglycerides down? Seriously workout and stay active. And absolutely no alcohol. ETOH keeps tryglycerides rediculously high no matter how hard you work out. It’s schoolboy shit after 25 anyway.

The best reward is that doing this while you are young enough to do so will keep you off a plethora meds for cholesterol, high BP, high blood glucose, and on and on, later. You will have healthier, active, happier senior years and there is nothing like surprising some 20 or 30 something kid with your old dog ability, or having a young woman come up to you, squeeze your bicep and tell you your guns look great, for an old guy. It’s good to still be dangerous at 60.

@Espiritus_Corvus What is ETOH?

ETOH = Alcohol.

The problem with using only diet to control your cholesterol levels is that your liver actually manufactures more cholesterol than you can consume. So diet is just for fine tuning. To be sure, you can manipulate the level somewhat through diet, but the bulk of it will still come from your liver.
Exercise, as @Espiritus_Corvus said in his excellent post, has a bigger effect because it gets all your mechanisms going and in sync. For many people, depending on their genes, this is sufficient to get all the numbers under control.
But for others, even the high level of exercise that @Espiritus_Corvus prescribes is not enough. So, they have to resort to using cholesterol-lowering drugs such as statins (simvastatin aka Zocor, lovastatin aka Mevacor, Crestor, Lipitor, etc., etc.). And for many folks (again, depending on genes), it’s the only way to really get the numbers down.
But the problem with statins is that they have been associated with Alzheimer’s, in addition to their well-known side effect of weakening muscles. Cholesterol, as mentioned in one of the posts above, is an essential lipid, an intermediary in the synthesis of several other compounds such as hormones. And since cholesterol is fat-soluble, it seems to have an important role in cell membranes. So, how much should you lower your cholesterol? The issue, as you can see, is quite complex.
Personally, I’m taking Zocor, and I’m very troubled by its association with Alzheimer’s. It seems like I’m trading one evil for another.

@2davidc8 Well, I figure my body does not accurately measure how much cholesterol I am taking in and keeps producing it at high levels no matter what I eat, so the best way to keep my cholesterol down is through diet. My cholesterol was high even when I was an active teenager and very thin. Now as an adult my cholesterol has been the same for most of my life, goes way up if I eat cholesterol, and significantly down if I limit it. I do believe exercise is part of the equation, but it I am fairly convinced exercise alone would never correct my cholesterol problem. The only person in my family with great cholesterol levels is my sister who is vegan. I think genes have a ton to do with it. People who have a well working cholesterol detection system can eat a bunch of cholesterol and they still are just fine, numbers are good. I think of it the same as blood pressure. For some people the baroceptors don’t function properly and the body doesn’t regulate the pressure properly, because it’s detection system is faulty.

I think that one’s liver produces a baseline level of cholesterol (depending on genes) no matter what one eats. Then whatever cholesterol one eats is added to that.
That is why you can control the levels somewhat through diet, but your baseline level is the main determinant.
The way statins work is by interfering (the biological word is “inhibiting”) with the liver’s production of cholesterol. Unfortunately, as I’ve mentioned, statins also have undesirable side effects.

@2davidc8 I can’t take the statins. I have muscle trouble, and I am afraid I would either damage myself irreversibly or be dying from kidney failure and not know soon enough.

I don’t know if that is correct that everyone has a baseline of cholesterol they produce? But, I admit I really don’t know the science on that. Is that your guess or an acceptive scientific theory? So, if I don’t eat egg yolks and sweet treats my cholesterol goes down about 50 points in a few weeks. Your saying that my girlfriend who can eat 10 eggs a week and still has a total cholesterol of 160 would also drop about 50 points?

Can we get back to triglycerides if anyone has any more knowledge on that? I’m quite sure that statins are not a part of the picture here.

@janbb I’m curious, did his doctor give him advice on how to lower his triglycerides?

@JLeslie I believe so but I don’t know exactly what and I also don’t want to violate his privacy by saying too much that is specific to him.

Oh, absolutely, I understand. I just wondered if the advice you received here jives with what his doctor told him; if his doctor told him anything. Some doctors just give the results and don’t really give specifics on how to try to make things better. The only time a doctor really advised me on what to do specifically was that one time when I was a teenager, which as I said I was actually referred to a nutritionist. That was under military healthcare, I have no idea if they ever do that in private healthcare. I see my MIL who was never given specific information to lower her triglycerides and cholesterol and she basically is clueless about it just felt at the mercy of her body. Now her doctor put her on medication and she is thrilled that her numbers went down and I guess she feels like she is healthier now. I find it upsetting.

If I remember correctly there is a medication for triglycerides by the way. I think tricor lowers both triglycerides and cholesterol, there might be other meds specific to tryglicerides? I think they are the fibrate class of drugs. My aunt at one point was on meds for her tryglicerides specifically, but I don’t remember which medication it was. The way I understand it fibrates (tricor is a fibrate) are supposed to be more effective to lower tryglicerides than statins. I only mention medication if your friend’s numbers are difficult to control or if he is reluctant to make a permanent change in his diet he might want to consider it. My knowledge of these drugs is very basic.

I found this and I hope it helps. It talks about the SAFE Program. It is a starting point for you to better understand the role of triglycerides and how to reduce and control their levels.

S = Sugars.
A = Alcohol.
F = Fats.
E = Exercise

@JLeslie As I said, statins may have undesirable side effects, depending on the person. For some, it’s breakdown of muscle, and this may be bad enough to cause kidney problems. For others, not so much. But it’s the link to Alzheimer’s that I’m concerned about.

And no, I did not say that 10 eggs yolks a week plus sweet treats equals 50 points in a few weeks, such that if you do eat these, you add 50 points, and if your friend stops eating these, she’ll drop 50 points. There is no such equivalence table for various foods that is the same for everybody that I’m aware of.

What I’m saying is that, even if you didn’t eat any cholesterol at all (diet restricted to fruits and veggies only), you would still have a baseline level of cholesterol. That’s because your liver produces it, and that’s a good thing because cholesterol is essential. What I’m also saying is that this baseline level is different for different people depending ont their genetics. And for some, even this baseline level is too high. Unfortunately, I’m one of them.

As for triglycerides, the advice I got is to cut down on sweets and alcohol and get more exercise. And I must say, that has worked. I’ve eliminated Coke from my diet completely. It’s one of the worst things you can ingest. Alcohol has never been a problem for me, as I’m not a wine, beer, or other liquor drinker. See the above post by @bkcunningham.

If you eat meat and diary, it is for sure worse for cholesterol than if you eat only meat or only diary and I believe that lean cuts of red meat can help reduce cholesterol, that’s for sure.