HELP - after a year on MWL my cholesterol is 222? I'm scared

[Vegankit]

Jeff, I've been on MWL for a year and I'm very strict. I have lost 140+ pounds over this time period and I'm about 20 pounds away from being in the middle of a normal BMI.

Before starting MWL my total cholesterol ranged in the 220's and I was prescribed Simvastatin. When I started MWL I stopped the statin and had blood work done one month later resulting in 170 total cholesterol. My PCP requested new blood work at my year mark and we are both shocked by my results. Cholesterol is 222, HDL 37, Cholesterol/HDL 6.0 and LDH 161. Triglyceride was 120 mg/DL (normal<150). Other blood work done at the same time is normal (CBC +Diff inc platelet, Sed Rate and CRP Quantitation).

My PCP will now doubt the value of my diet and will put me back on Simvastatin. I don't understand why and how this can happen. I have asked to be retested in case the lab made an error.

Breakfast is home cooked steel cut oatmeal with some fresh fruit and a tiny amount of Stevia. Lunch is often home made split pea, carrot and parsnip soup or romaine lettuce with fresh salsa and black beans with a fruit for dessert. Dinner can be oven roasted sweet potatoes and other veggies or steamed white potatoes with parsley, salad etc. and a fruit for dessert. I have no caffeine, added oils or animal products in my diet or even in my house. I am extremely careful when dining out and when travelling because early on during one feast meal (Indian food) I experience McDougall's revenge from the fat and I never want to have that happen again. LOL.

I am taking B12 and as a result of spring allergies I'm back on generic Claritin and Nasonex. I take restatsis for dry eye. This diet has made incredible changes in my body in addition to the weight loss and I want to eat this way for the rest of my life but I just don't understand how my cholesterol can be so high.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I look forward to any comment you may have. I'm done many searches here and haven't found anything specific to my problem. I look forward to responses from other posters too - perhaps I'm not the only one who has had this experience and I wonder what others have done?

[SactoBob]

The foods you have listed as typical could not account for what is happening.

The first place I would look is restaurant meals. I find that being careful in restaurants is somewhat self-contradictory. I just don't trust a restaurant to prepare my meals the way they need to be prepared. As Dr. Esselstyn cautions, just a little bit is all it takes.

[Vegankit]

Hi Bob, I haven't eaten out in a restaurant in four months. The last time I did I had plain boiled potatoes and steamed veggies that I could see clearly didn't have any oil. When we travel we go to the grocery store and buy things like carrots that can be eaten raw and a potato that can be nuked. I have even missed a meal when I wasn't sure about trusting the food choices. I rarely eat out because we prefer my cooking. While I agree with you that dining in restaurants is a minefield, it can't be the reason for my Cholesterol results. I also see people posting things about oil in dried fruits - I don't buy nor do I eat dried fruits. The only canned foods I buy are Eden beans and salt free tomatoes since I'm sensitive to sodium. I also don't use prepared sauces except low sodium soy sauce - I prefer to use herbs and spices when cooking.

Thanks for your suggestion.

[Vegankit]

I thought I should add that I don't eat nuts, olives, avocados or other high fat foods. I usually aim for half starchy veggies with half low starch veggies for each meal, except for breakfast which is largely oatmeal with a few berries. The last time I ate these foods was in the first month until I fully understood MWL plan. I read Dr. Esselstyne's book so I'm cognizant of how damaging even a little can be.

I'm very upset by this, as I suspect most people can see when they read what I've written.

[SactoBob]

The only thing I can say for pretty certain is that no low fat whole plant food is going to elevate your cholesterol, and no food that you never eat is going to elevate your cholesterol. So I doubt that Jeff is going to be able to help from a list of whole plant foods that you do eat, and a list of higher fat plant foods that you don't eat.

If it were me, I would do a very careful assessment of everything I was eating, even in small amounts, that was not a low fat whole plant food. It will take some detective work, and I looked a bit in your recent posts for clues. On March 25, you posted:

Yikes - I had McDougall's revenge a while back when I ate some fried appetizers. I know that pain all too well. I learned my lesson - no fried food even on the rare feast day.

Is it possible that the blood was drawn at or around that time? Is it possible that you regularly visit the place where this happened? The fact that you were tempted by these fried foods could indicate that something in your diet is keeping this craving alive, perhaps something of which you are unaware.

The other possible issue is not understanding food labels, especially regards "zero fat" products. But you seem to understand the program well and seem to be applying it with success. Still, viewing Jeff's dvd on food labels might be worthwhile.

But if you are perfectly executing and adhering to a low fat whole plant food diet, there is not much more than can be done from a nutrition standpoint. Although it seems very unlikely, you could be that person who does not respond to a low fat whole plant food diet. Even so, I would not change - you are having great results otherwise. IMO, what you eat is more important than any number on a lab slip.

[NanTzu]

Could weight loss be a reason cholesterol would remain high? After all, the body has to process the fat you are losing somehow. Then when weight loss stops the cholesterol would drop? Just a crazy thought.

[Vegankit]

Hi Bob, - yes those fried appetizers that caused me to suffer McDougall's revenge was almost a year ago now - I never want to repeat that experience so I will never eat that kind of outrageous junk again. I learned my lesson quickly and early and more importantly I have lost all cravings for unhealthy food. I also learned Jeff's label reading rules early on and was shocked by the fact that I never knew how to really read a label. I am truly thankful for Jeff's information and I've bought his DVD for DH to watch so he is as knowledgeable as I am.

I sent an email to Dr. McDougall - felt a little weird doing it but I was thrilled that he sent me back a beautiful reply. Bottom line is that I should not take any medications even if my Cholesterol is high because I do not have any indication that my arteries are clogged. It would be treating a number and not a patient. I don't know why my cholesterol is high and I requested to have a script to have the test repeated in case it's a lab error. And if it's not a lab error, then I will just remember it's only one marker and all the others are perfect. Bob, as you put it so well

IMO, what you eat is more important than any number on a lab slip.

Thanks so much for all your help Bob, I appreciate that you have given me much to think about in helping me understand this scary result. I guess the more I come to terms with it, the less scary it is.

[Vegankit]

Hi Nan Tzu, I was also wondering that too - that maybe this is cholesterol that was trapped up in my fat that has been released over this year as I lost weight. I haven't been able to find any documentation that this is a possiblity, but it would seem a possibility.

I wonder if anyone else had that experience - after you lost your excess weight, did your cholesterol drop even farther?

[SactoBob]

Vegankit,
I think you have the right attitude. If you are doing everything right, then that is the best you can do, and you are at low risk - so much lower than you used to be.

I agree that on a healthy diet, I would not take statins in any event. You have to treat thousands of healthy people with the statins to arguably save just one life, and your cholesterol is not nearly scary as mine was (in the 290's). Regardless of your cholesterol, you are at low risk on the McDougall diet. The value of the test, IMO, is to alert you that something could be happening of which you are unaware or of which you are aware but discounting.

I would still carefully assess anything that was not whole plant food and especially everything that was not personally prepared by yourself. It doesn't sound right that your cholesterol initially dropped to 170, but is back up again on MWL.

Time could be a factor too if it's not been a year since your last indulgence. After 2 years, I thought I had stabilized at cholesterol of 160. My last cholesterol was 139, and my LDL was 39. So time is a factor. As Jeff says, time and adherence.

I see that you don't consume caffeine, but are you drinking any decaf coffee? That can raise your cholesterol (and it is almost surely not totally without caffeine). A list that could be helpful to Jeff would be a list of foods that you consume even once a month that are not low fat whole plant foods in their natural state, except for peeling or cooking. Make sure to include anything that is processed in any way. Perhaps something could be spotted in that list.

[Vegankit]

Hi Bob, I see you said it took two years for your cholesterol to drop and so maybe that's what will happen to mine. I still believe it must be a lab error. DH and I have been talking about it and I won't take any medication. I have some journal articles that Dr. McDougall emailed me which I'll print out and take to my PCP.

I don't drink coffee or soda - just tap water. Even when I was younger people would tease me about drinking boring water. The good news was when I started to eat McDougall style, I didn't have to give up my favorite beverage.

Thanks, I'll post back when I have the repeat test results.

[AnnaS]

I think perhaps that earlier lab report, after you stopped the statin and had just begun MWL, was in error. It doesn't make sense that you were on a statin and had 220, stopped the statin and got 170. It is more likely the actual TC at that time was higher than your number previously while on the statin, say 270 (rather than 170).

Usually when you stop a statin your number bounces up--to what it ACTUALLY is without the statin hiding the reality. This happened to my mom, her cholesterol was WAY higher shortly after she started McDougalling, in the 300's! That's because she had recently stopped taking the statin. Without McDougalling, perhaps it would have been even higher. Then it can take quite a while to get it to come down, especially if you have weight to lose. It may seem discouraging, but it's really progress.

You are going in the right direction, your general health is better because of the diet regardless of the number, and you will continue to improve over time, just stick with it. Tell your doctor you want six months to prove you can move your cholesterol down further without drugs. In six months, it may not yet be where you want it to be but you'll see some improvement that will show it's working.

--A

[Nettie]

...I have some journal articles that Dr. McDougall emailed me which I'll print out and take to my PCP.

Would you mind sharing those journal articles Dr. McDougall sent you? I would like to have them for ammunition when talking with people about those darned statins.

FWIW, after nearly 4 years McDougalling, my cholesterol has not been below 160. Dr. McDougall told me not to worry about it, so I don't.

Nettie

[afreespirit]

Some ppl have a genetic predisposition to high cholesterol despite dietary intervention of any kind. You could see an endocrinologist if you wish to pursue this further. There are a number of blood tests a good endo can do that will give a much more detailed picture of your status re: chol/trig. (I used to work in an endo office---how I know.)

Statins are also not the only choice for lowering your numbers, if it is deemed necessary to lower them after further appraisal of the situation. There are some drug-free methods too. An endo could advise you.

[Katydid]

Did your doctor check your liver enzymes or function? Since you aren't adding cholesterol through your diet, its possible that your liver is overproducing it on its own. There may be some sort of underlying liver problem such as inflammation or infection at work.

[Vegankit]

Thanks to all your replies. I'm waiting for a new script to come in the mail so I can get the test repeated - and I'm going to go to the local hospital instead of Quest to have the blood drawn and tested.

Those of you who are saying that this result may be the true result may be correct and I've come to terms with that the repeat test may still be just as high. I'm also reassured that several of you have seen that their numbers remained high, or took a long time to adjust lower. I may very well be in this group. I do know that there have been so many positive changes in my body that I cannot go back to the way I was eating. She also sent me a letter with my results stating that she wanted to watch me for 6 months closely to see what is going on - so I'm relieved that she isn't just going to treat the lab numbers, but wants to help me as a patient.

Prior to stopping the Simvastatin and just before starting McDougall my liver enzymes were a little off but one month of McDougall has taken care of that and this time round they were normal too. And my inflammation markers are normal now after several years of scary high results. I don't think there is a liver problem at this time but I know my Dr. will be thinking about this. I'll also ask my PCP if she thinks endo would help? I already eat lots of oatmeal, use a lot of garlic and of course eat no animal products or added oils.

Nettie - I don't know how to download the articles here. If you give me your email I can send them to you that way.