High Cholesterol on WFPB diet

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I have been WFPB for 4 months. I had lipid panel done yesterday and my results are shocking. My total cholesterol is 303, triglycerides 204, LDL 213, HDL 52. My last cholesterol was 203. I have never had high triglycerides, but have always struggled with elevated LDL and low HDL. Never this bad. I am shocked and distraught. I have been vigilant about this diet and am doing zero processed foods or added oils. I suspect I have familial hyperlipidemia, but why would it be worse on a WFPB diet??
Is it possible my liver senses no fat and is trying to manufacture extra cholesterol? I don't know what to do. I have an appointment with my internist Monday, but she will just refer me to the cardiologist. I'm not sure they will know the answers, either. I am so discouraged. I watched all the documentaries and read about all these people dropping cholesterol and was certain I would, too. But it has had the opposite effect. How is this possible???
Please help me figure this out!

[PJK]

Please provide details on everything you've been eating and drinking over, say, the last 3 days. That might provide some clues.

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I'm eating veggies, broccoli, lettuce, onions, peppers, cucumbers, carrots, spinach, brussels sprouts, etc. Legumes like kidney beans, black beans and chickpeas. Whole grain brown rice, potatoes, corn. Fruits like bananas, kiwi, blueberries. No oils, no processed foods. Some nutritional yeast. Some raw unsalted nuts and seeds. Drinking one cup of coffee a day with a splash of cashew milk. Only water. No alcohol. No smoking. I've lost 35 pounds since I started March 7 and feel good. I expected the exact opposite in my lipid profile. I'm so confused. I'm following Dr. McDougall and Esselstyn's advice to the letter. Do I need to add in some fats? More avocado? More nuts?

[Chumly]

I read somewhere that during the process of losing fat, your numbers may be elevated for a time because your body is burning fat during weight loss. I don't know if this is documented. I would ask Jeff Novick.

Michael

[pundit999]

I suggest you fast for 16 hrs and get a test again before worrying about it more. Go to a different lab too.
You may want to abstain from Coffee for a few days before the test.
Unfiltered coffee raises cholesterol. But your numbers are too high for that to be the main cause.
How long ago was your initial test that had the reading of 203?

If cholesterol is again found to be that high, you may have to start thinking about drugs, unfortunately.

[viv]

First of all congratulations on eating WFPB for 4 months and losing 35 lbs. There are a few things I can think of:

--Your fast weight loss can contribute to higher cholesterol levels as fat is entering the blood stream from your own body.
-- Caffeine consumption can increase cholesterol levels. Dr. McDougall says, "Some studies show that caffeine will increase the cholesterol level by an average of 10%. More sensitive individuals will show even greater rises in response to caffeine."
-- If you have a low thyroid condition that can also raise cholesterol. (May want to get TSH levels tested)

When I started, my cholesterol was 230 and after 8 years of following the McDougall Diet I have never had my cholesterol any lower than 180. I still drink tea and coffee and eat lots of fruit which can also contribute, but I'm ok with that.

It is possible you may have familial high cholesterol and may have to take meds, (Dr. McDougall and Dr. Esselstyn still prescribe statins for wfpb patients with high cholesterol) but don't worry your diet is great, you are losing weight, so keep going, eventually everything will work out!

Viv

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My last lipid panel was in April, one month after I began WFPB. I do drink one cup of coffee a day, brewed in a keurig but not with a plastic pod. It's filter material, so I don't know if that raises cholesterol or not. I know french press does.
I do have Hashimoto's thyroiditis and had my TSH done in April, as well and it was in the low normal range. I have been very vigilant about low fat, but several people have said if you don't consume enough exogenous fat, your liver will manufacture it in the form of cholesterol and specifically, LDL. So I find myself in a quandry--do I increase my fat intake in the form of avocados and nuts and seeds or do I keep it very low? Thank you all so much for your input.

[Drew_ab]

Is it possible my liver senses no fat and is trying to manufacture extra cholesterol?

I don't believe this is possible. I'm not an MD but have never heard of this taking place and I've spent thousands of hours reading on topics pertinent to those discussed on this board and other health forums.

[Ltldogg]

I have been very vigilant about low fat, but several people have said if you don't consume enough exogenous fat, your liver will manufacture it in the form of cholesterol and specifically, LDL. So I find myself in a quandry--do I increase my fat intake in the form of avocados and nuts and seeds or do I keep it very low? Thank you all so much for your input.

I have underlined and bolded your problem above. Please, have these people point to the science to back up such claims. I can tell you now, there is no valid science showing this. I can however point you to Dr. McDougall's articles where he does cite valid science to show that limiting fat intake will lower cholesterol and specifically LDL.

https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educ ... olesterol/
https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educ ... lycerides/

I'm eating veggies, broccoli, lettuce, onions, peppers, cucumbers, carrots, spinach, brussels sprouts, etc. Legumes like kidney beans, black beans and chickpeas. Whole grain brown rice, potatoes, corn. Fruits like bananas, kiwi, blueberries. No oils, no processed foods. Some nutritional yeast. Some raw unsalted nuts and seeds. Drinking one cup of coffee a day with a splash of cashew milk.

Some raw and unsalted nuts and seeds? A splash of cashew milk? How much? I bet it is too much and a big part of your high cholesterol still. Cut it out for a month and re-test the full lipid panel.

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Thank you, Drew. I don't know what my body is doing and theories are swirling around in my head. I appreciate your input.

[[email protected]]

Some raw and unsalted nuts and seeds? A splash of cashew milk? How much? I bet it is too much and a big part of your high cholesterol still. Cut it out for a month and re-test the full lipid panel.[/quote]

Maybe a tablespoon of cashew milk. It has 2gm fat in one cup, so minimal from that. I have put maybe a tablespoon of raw seeds in some "tuna" salad maybe once a week or so. And some cashews when I have made sauces, so maybe a couple meals a week with some of that on something. I'm not actually snacking on nuts or anything. The fat I mindfully consume comes from avocados, several times a week.
I feel like I have been very low fat and my numbers have skyrocketed. My faith in this diet has been shaken. Is it possible that people with familial hyperlipidemia don't get the same results as people without?
Thank you so much for responding and trying to help me, I am aware of all the science behind this diet and it contributes to my dismay at my body's response to it.

[Ltldogg]

Maybe a tablespoon of cashew milk. It has 2gm fat in one cup, so minimal from that. I have put maybe a tablespoon of raw seeds in some "tuna" salad maybe once a week or so. And some cashews when I have made sauces, so maybe a couple meals a week with some of that on something. I'm not actually snacking on nuts or anything. The fat I mindfully consume comes from avocados, several times a week.
I feel like I have been very low fat and my numbers have skyrocketed. My faith in this diet has been shaken. Is it possible that people with familial hyperlipidemia don't get the same results as people without?
Thank you so much for responding and trying to help me, I am aware of all the science behind this diet and it contributes to my dismay at my body's response to it.

As you post more, you provide more details about what you eat and it becomes clear that you are not following The McDougall Program:

-cashew milk
-some raw and unsalted seeds
-some "tuna" salad
-avocados, several times a week

You have not been very low fat. As someone else mentioned above, please post exactly what you eat for a week, and I'm sure we can help point out to you where you could improve. You cannot blame this program if you are not following the program.

There are some great resources on this website for free to help you. I suggest you start with Jeff Novick's subforum, How To Begin, here: viewforum.php?f=14. Read through Jeff's stickied post at the top numbered 1 thru 7.

Also, here is a link to the free Color Picture Book: https://www.drmcdougall.com/pdf/dr-mcdo ... nglish.pdf

I hope this helps you,
Scott

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The "tuna" salad is made with chickpeas. It's a recipe from forks over knives. It does have a tablespoon of tahini, which is fat from seeds, so I guess that's not good.
Thank you for your reply, and please understand I am not blaming anyone or any program. I am just distraught over my health when I am trying to do the right things. Please forgive me if that's the impression I gave. I appreciate everyone's input and I have been following the guidance from several experts, but will dive in more in depth to what Dr. MacDougall says. I still can't see how it would worsen my cholesterol when I was eating a standard american diet and now my only fat sources are plant based. I will soldier on and do more research.

[Ltldogg]

The "tuna" salad is made with chickpeas. It's a recipe from forks over knives. It does have a tablespoon of tahini, which is fat from seeds, so I guess that's not good.
Thank you for your reply, and please understand I am not blaming anyone or any program. I am just distraught over my health when I am trying to do the right things. Please forgive me if that's the impression I gave. I appreciate everyone's input and I have been following the guidance from several experts, but will dive in more in depth to what Dr. MacDougall says. I still can't see how it would worsen my cholesterol when I was eating a standard american diet and now my only fat sources are plant based. I will soldier on and do more research.

I understood by the quotes that "tuna" salad did not actually have tuna it it, but I also knew that it was not going to be McDougall complaint.

As for your worsening cholesterol, many many many people here on these forums and especially Dr. McDougall and Jeff Novick can attest to how little things like eating nuts, seeds, oils and high fat foods can have a significant negative impact on health indicators like cholesterol. In fact, they have both written about it several times over. I encourage you to search through Jeff's post (username = jeffn) as well as read through all the links I posted (which have many links within them) to Dr. McDougall's articles on the subject.

Lastly, you will be on the right track to only follow the advice of Dr. McDougall and The McDougall Program instead of mixing different "experts" advice and programs. You have not mentioned why you are following Dr. Esselstyn, but he is no fan of nuts, seeds and avocados for those with heart disease and high cholesterol and he especially says NO OILs. But, I digress back to the main point that you don't need to nor should you try to follow 2 different programs. THIS PROGRAM WORKS. Follow it, stringently and consistently for the next month and then test again. And I mean follow the program, which includes eating when hungry and until comfortable, as many times of the day as that happens and whatever time of the day that is. So many people come to this program and starve themselves and restrict calories. They lose weight too fast and also eventually start gorging on off-program foods. So, read through Jeff's stickied post in his How To Begin sub-forum that I pointed to in my previous reply. It covers the guidelines for this program.

Cheers and best health,
Scott

[michaelswarm]

First of all congratulations on eating WFPB for 4 months and losing 35 lbs. There are a few things I can think of:

--Your fast weight loss can contribute to higher cholesterol levels as fat is entering the blood stream from your own body.

35 pounds / 120 days = 0.25 pounds per day.
0.25 pounds per day * 4,000 calories / pound = 1,000 calories per day (All fat has 4,000 calories per pound.)

Can not say that every pound lost was fat lost. But by rough estimate your body can supply 1,000 calories per day of added fat, above whatever your diet may supply. This will disappear as your weight loss slows and you stabilize at your maintenance weight.

Also check out McDougall Newsletter 2003 on Triglycerides
Taming Elevated Triglycerides, Insulin Resistance, and Syndrome X
https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2003nl ... erides.htm

During the 10-Day Program, my triglycerides went up. I had already lost weight and been very compliant before the program. I wanted to taste every dish and enjoyed not cooking or cleaning dishes for 10 days. I simply feasted every day. The extra calories above what I would have eaten at home had to go somewhere. The first place they showed up was in my blood!

Not saying that’s what’s happening to you. But just saying to illustrate that triglycerides are sensitive to how much and how much fat you eat. (In addition to fat your body contributes during weight loss.)