High Cholsterol

[katgirl55]

My sister has been WFPB (NO OIL) since February 4. Her doctor took her off Crestor, and her recent total cholesterol was 293, which is higher than ever. She thinks we might have genetics that keep our cholesterol high no matter our lifestyle (mine seems ok though without statins), but I am wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience after being WFPB for only a few months? Did TC eventually fall after a spike?

[Hal]

Mine fell from high to normal, but i didn't test for almost a year, and i love oatmeal with banana slices.

[GeoffreyLevens]

I don't know at all about spikes though I do know it can remain high for quite awhile if significant fat/weight loss is underway as the person will be burning their own body fat, almost like eating a high fat diet!

[roundcoconut]

Has she been losing weight? If yes, then she is "eating" stored body fat, which many have pointed out, muck up your blood work.

If you get a chance, watch one of Dr Klaper's videos on fasting, because one thing he says loud and clear, is that when someone is in a fasted state (beyond day 2 or so) they are living off of stored body fat exclusively.

And he says, the one thing they never do, is take a person's bloodwork in a fasted state, or even for a month or so thereafter. And the reason is that the blood cholesterol doesn't reflect dietary cholesterol, but simply reflects metabolized cholesterol from old thigh meat, that is on its way out of your body.

I don't speak medicine, so my terminology may suck, but if a person is eating far more healthfully than before (whole foods, no added fats or oils, no animal products) then the cholesterol synthesized by their body naturally, is no longer going to be supplemented by dietary cholesterol. So, over time (and please have her judge her bloodwork a month or so after she has stabilized at a healthy weight) her cholesterol cannot help but go down, because that's just how the body works.

Hope that helps! Jeff Novick has probably said it in a more clinical and proper way, but you get my drift, as to the mechanism that is causing her bloodwork to make it look like she has been pounding pizzas for the last three months.

[GeoffreyLevens]

And he says, the one thing they never do, is take a person's bloodwork in a fasted state, or even for a month or so thereafter.

There is one set of tests they do during fasting and that is electrolytes. It can happen, esp on longer fasts past a few days, that they can go "off" and can be quite dangerous in that way and signal "time to end the fast"

[Katydid]

Also, no oil is not necessarily the same as no added fat. Nuts, seeds, coconut and avocados can contribute to a high cholesterol reading, too. And as others have mentioned, to paraphrase Dr. McDougall, the fat you ate, is the fat floating around in your blood. Your diet can't be said to be low in saturated fat until the fat stored in your body has been "released". And as long as there is saturated fat in the blood, cholesterol numbers will be compromised.

Kate

[geo]

In my testimonial link below in my sig you can see how my lipids changed during the course of a year. I show measurements at the beginning and every 3 months thereafter during the year. With lots of other numbers as well to give you a bigger picture of how all sorts of numbers can change over time...i.e., it doesn't all get fixed at once but gets continuously better over time. I also followed the MWL rather than the regular program.

[Timaca]

Geo~ I enjoyed reading your testimonial. I'll certainly keep it in mind to share with others if the opportunity presents itself. Good job!!

Katgirl55~ I have been watching my lipid levels closely for the last 6 months. They spiked a little after I ate some (4 ounces) string cheese, olive oil and some cream cheese for a day and a half while undergoing a colonoscopy prep where I had to eat no fiber foods. (The following two days were clear liquid days..meaning very low calories and since I'm already underweight I wanted some fats for calories during the low fiber days so I wouldn't lose weight those 4 days. My lipid levels went up by about 10 points. Upon discussing those findings with my cardiologist we concluded that the smallest amounts of fat seem to raise my lipid levels. So, for your sister, she might have to watch the amount of nuts, avocados, and seeds that she eats (as someone else mentioned).

Best,

[arugula]

incidence of ldl-receptor pathology is about 1/500.

some clues to its presence are a thin white crescentic line on the lower aspect of the cornea, thickening of the Achilles tendons above the heels due to xanthoma formation, thickening of the tendons of the middle and ring fingers of this hand, and xanthomas in the skin.

if none of this applies to her, it's nothing that a week or two in a metabolic ward with strictly controlled portions and food choices couldn't sort out. the more drastic the program, the quicker the results.

jenkins' very high fiber diet study (only unrefined plants, no oil, no grains) had subjects in the lowest risk category in one week only!

but if she wanted it to stick, she'd have to stick to the program. cheating doesn't work for most people. and maybe it's that they don't understand how powerful those cheats might be, even if they are little.

[katgirl55]

Thank you for your replies, everyone! I think she needs to wait it out and see how her cholesterol is after 6 months to a year of eating WFPB no oil. She has only been doing this a few months. We have a half sister with high cholesterol issues, so the tendency is to think "this is all genetics, I have no control, what I'm doing isn't working" etc. My sister does not have obesity but might be losing some weight, which could account for the high numbers still. I am also not sure about the nuts and avocados.