Cholesterol will not go down

[mikeg]

Hello everyone!

My wife and I have been on a 100% WFPB diet for 1.5 years now. Lots of potatoes, veggies, beans, rice, fruit, nuts. I cook at home almost every night (no oils used ever). So almost zero processed food goes into our bodies. I have more vegan cook books than you can shake a stick at! Love the food!!

We run ultra marathons- so we are very active and thin. We did not do this too lose weight, but rather to make sure we are healthy. We have noticed we recover from our workouts much better. All of that is good.

We did a blood test twice since going WFPB. Wife's cholesterol started at 260. 6 months later it was 189. Now it is 221. I started at 201. 6 months later it was 179. Now it is 189. ?!?!?!?!?!?! Why is it going up?

We are trying to figure out what we are eating that is producing cholesterol but can not figure it out. Our only thought is we eat a lot of nuts and we split 1 avocado each day (on our salad). Do the saturated fats in those foods produce cholesterol? We do not drink coffee at all. We may consume some animal products (an occasional dessert treat) 2 or 3 times per year.

Thoughts?

Thank you in advance,

Mike G.

[Spiral]

Hello everyone!

My wife and I have been on a 100% WFPB diet for 1.5 years now. Lots of potatoes, veggies, beans, rice, fruit, nuts. I cook at home almost every night. So almost zero processed food goes into our bodies. I have more vegan cook books than you can shake a stick at! Love the food!!

We run ultra marathons- so we are very active and thin. We did not do this too lose weight, but rather to make sure we are healthy. We have noticed we recover from our workouts much better. All of that is good.

We did a blood test twice since going WFPB. Wife's cholesterol started at 260. 6 months later it was 189. Now it is 221. I started at 201. 6 months later it was 179. Now it is 189. ?!?!?!?!?!?! Why is it going up?

We are trying to figure out what we are eating that is producing cholesterol but can not figure it out. Our only thought is we eat a lot of nuts and we split 1 avocado each day (on our salad). Do the saturated fats in those foods produce cholesterol? We do not drink coffee at all. We may consume some animal products (an occasional dessert treat) 2 or 3 times per year.

Thoughts?

Thank you in advance,

Mike G.

Two things could be boosting your serum cholesterol levels:

[1] Nuts and Avocados

[2] Ultramarathons

I think the ultramarathons cause lots of inflammation and could boost your cholesterol levels and cause damage to your heart. That's just my opinion though and I am no expert.

[Katydid]

I think most people are aware now how a diet high in fat interferes with the body's ability to transfer insulin into cells leading to type 2 diabetes. Well the same is true of LDL cholesterol. There are cholesterol receptors on your cells just like insulin receptors. And diets high in saturated fats interfere with the ability of your cells to transfer LDL cholesterol from you blood to the interior of your cells where it can do its business of making hormones and such. Nuts, seeds and avocados may be plant-based, but they still have a high percentage of saturated fat. Here is an abstract to get you started:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/9101427/

You can follow the article to the full text and continue your research.

Now the other way a plant-based diet can raise total cholesterol is by raising triglycerides. If you find that it's the triglyceride portion of your total cholesterol that is going up, cutting back on fruit, fruit juices and alcohol will bring down triglycerides.

Kate

[Jack Monzon]

I'd be curious what others have to say. You're eating similar to me, and my cholesterol is 121. I don't run ultras but I run half marathons several times per year.

[colonyofcells]

https://www.drmcdougall.com/2014/06/30/food-poisoning/

[dailycarbs]

Post some typical daily menus. The devil is usually in the details.

[mikeg]

Post some typical daily menus. The devil is usually in the details.

Thank you everyone for the feedback. I will read the abstract that Katy posted and continue my education.

As for a daily menu:
Breakfast- Oatmeal with 1 banana, 4 or 5 strawberries, 3 or 4 blackberries, small handful of blueberries. 1 teaspoon of flaxseed, and a few walnuts. Water with juice from 1/2 lemon.
snack- trail mix (single serving bag from trader joes that has almonds, cashews, and dark chocolate).
lunch- big salad with lettuce, broccoli slaw, kale, scallions, cilantro, celery, diced apple, 1/2 avocado, small handful pumpkin seeds, no-oil dressing (Bragg's is the brand). Water to drink
snack- trail mix
pre-dinner- small potato cooked in microwave. sliced and salted. snap peas, carrots, cucumber slices and humus. 1 glass of wine.
Dinner- meals from WFPB cook books. usually some type of bean, grain, and cooked veggies. Favorite book is "More quick fix Vegan..." by Robin Robertson. Also lots from China Study cook book. 1 glass of wine.
Dessert- two bags of trail mix.

There is a typical day.

If I am not ingesting cholesterol, how is eating fatty nuts and avocados making my cholesterol go up? Body produces more than it needs? Sure is an interesting project for me to figure out!

Thanks again everyone!

Mike

[Spiral]

If I am not ingesting cholesterol, how is eating fatty nuts and avocados making my cholesterol go up?

Saturated fat raises serum cholesterol more than dietary cholesterol does. This is the Keys Hegsted Cholesterol Saturated Fat Intake Index, known as CSI.

CSI = 1.01 X +g Saturated Fat + 0.05 X 0.05 mg cholesterol

So, perhaps there is too much saturated fat in your diet? It doesn't seem like it. But that's a hunch.

[sharonbikes]

I would suggest cutting out the trail mix and nuts. Very high in fat. I remember reading somewhere that a walnut or two was enough for daily fat from nuts.

[dailycarbs]

Imho, you're not eating a McDougall compliant diet. It's too high in nuts (fat). Your eating trail mix twice a day plus nuts for breakfast and lunch as well. Also, alcohol is not on plan. Are you willing to try an experiment where for 3 months you cut out the alcohol and eat very few nuts and get retested? Replace your nut calories with good starches. My top choice would be potatoes and sweet potatoes for satiety.

[Doug_]

If it was only you and not your wife I would guess you're just on the far right of the genetic bell curve. Your body creates and holds onto cholesterol for dear life. But hey, I guess you, by astronomical odds, might have possibly both inherited those genes, and found each other against all odds.

But since it's both of you, you're probably just really bad at estimating your actual daily intake of saturated fats. Or your doctor/lab is playing tricks on you. Is it at all possible that you eat way more saturated fats from nuts than you might think? But I don't think that is enough to keep anyone's cholesterol over 200!

What is your BMI?

[pundit999]

Yes so much trail mix is not good. Too many nuts and sugars.

[mikeg]

Thanks everyone for your input.

All the reading I have done over the past couple years, I had no idea saturated fats would affect cholesterol.

We are going to cut out the nuts (maybe keep a few in our oatmeal in the morning) and avocado, and add in other snacks to pick up the calories we need. I guess we will eat more potatoes, fruit, and veggies.

April will be 2 years going vegan, so we will retest at that point and see where we are then.

Thanks!

Mike

[sharonbikes]

Chef AJ (a friend of this Board) learned that she had to to give up nuts. Here is a link to one of the stories about her and her relationship with nuts: http://www.vegsource.com/news/2012/07/h ... -nuts.html

Congrats on your upcoming 2 year plant based anniversary! Everyone has to find what works for them - come back and let us know how you are doing.

Sharon

[vgpedlr]

Your nuts, seeds, avocados, dried fruit, and wine are acceptable on the program for those not trying to lose weight or resolve health issues. But that doesn't necessarily mean they're right for you, or in the quantities you're eating. You can try eliminating them and retest to see what happens. It's also worth remembering that cholesterol is just a number, and even when the Tarahumara were heart attack proof, some had cholesterol levels in the 170s.