Discussion Board

Hi,

I hope you can help me. I am an underweight 34-year old female who suffers from celiac disease. I follow a grain-free (because all give me symptoms), no dairy, mostly vegan diet.

My last tests showed that my total cholesterol is 104 mg/dL (doctor
didn´t order LDL/HDL) and my tryglycerides are 26 mg/dL.

I was told this is way too low but I was wondering if this is normal considering I eat lots of whole carbs and if there is a way of raising them without having to stuff myself with saturated fat.

Ishtar, sorry about your challenges. You may want to read these articles related to CD and diet:

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2005nl/ ... celiac.htm

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2008nl/jan/grains.htm

Based on what you wrote, it seems that you may be undernourished. Have you tried following a gluten free version of the McDougall diet? I do not think eating a high fat diet would help you.

Please keep us posted on your progress!

Thank you for your answer,

I follow a diet similar to Mc Doughall´s but I avoid all grains as they make me feel very sick. I eat a lot, still my lipids levels are very low.

If someone else has any tips on how to raise my cholesterol and tryglycerides the healthy way I will highly appreciate it as I was told I have to eat tons of saturated fat.

First, why do you think that your chol and tris are "too low"? They are lower than most people--more than likely that's GOOD. My total cholesterol is 123 and someone here is 107. This is considered "heart attack proof" or near it. But many doctors have never seen TC that low so they may think it is somehow dangerous. My own doc said she'd never seen a 123 before me.

If you are underweight, increase fat a bit, sticking with nuts, avocado, olives, etc. (not extracts like oils). Add tofu to your menu. Get to a low-normal BMI and recheck TC and tris after a few months of being at a normal BMI. Whatever you get at that point is probably very healthy.