Cholesterol out of control

[mranak]

(To get to the point, skip to the last paragraph of this post)

Despite taking a pretty hefty dose of one of those evil statins, my cholesterol came back at 314. Still waiting for a copy of my lab results for more specific numbers. It was supposed to be on my fax machine when I got home from work, but it wasn't.

I know that TRT isn't the root cause of my cholesterol problem, because blood tests from when I was a teenager show similar cholesterol numbers.

By the way, before anyone gets the wrong impression, I'm a young man and I'm not overweight. I'm having a hard time getting back into doing cardio, but I'm fairly lean and I continue to gain muscle mass. Nobody would look at me and guess that I am a person with high cholesterol. Thus, I am mostly confident that the root cause is genetics.

314 was my level before I started taking the statins and around the time I started TRT. With a super low-fat and low-cholesterol diet, I was able to get my cholesterol down to 211. But that diet was hard to maintain. I tried to add in eggs and red meat again (there are only so many sources of protein and I really enjoy a good steak). So I kind of expected the number to go up a bit, but considering that I am taking a statin at a dosage that typically lowers LDL by about 1/3, I just didn't expect to see 314 again.

Now rather than simply moving from a statin to a super-statin (Crestor), I am certainly going to change my diet and routine. Even though it doesn't seem fair for a young guy to have to give up the steak and eggs, I'll leave out the steak and eat the egg whites. And I'll start doing the cardio again.

So I'm curious: Is it possible that my TRT is making my battle with hypercholesterolaemia more difficult, since I am apparently different from the general population? I know that SWALE believes that this is typically a non-issue in a TRT patient, and I'm sure he is write, but perhaps my situation is not typical.

 

[SPE]

I believe appropriate TRT has been shown to improve cholesterol numbers in many cases. High cholesterol levels are a protective reaction in your body, although some are more likely to have it than others. Here is what I would recommend:

1) Take in 5 grams of fish oil per day.

2) Get your diet in order. You said you were on a low fat diet? That must have meant it was higher in carbs, which means higher circulating insulin. Try something like a zone type diet where 40% of calories come from carbs, 30% from protein, and 30% from fat. Make sure much of the fat comes from good sources such as fish oil, flax oil, olive oil, nuts. Eggs and lean beef really shouldn't have much of an effect on cholesterol when eating in moderation. For carbs, make sure you eat fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

3) Cardio! If your body is in excellent cardiovascular shape, it will have a much easier time disposing of circulating cholesterol. Start off slow and build up to an hour a day, 2-3 times per week. This might reduce your bodyweight and muscle, but what is more important your health or having lots of muscle?

Below is copied and pasted from my doctor's website. Thought he said it better than I could.

"You may already know about cholesterol and you have now heard about homocysteine, but you may not be familiar with glycemic control. One of the Major components of Anti-Aging is a low glycemic diet. This type of diet is not really difficult and offers so many health benefits that cannot be attained any other way. There are several books that describe this such as, "Sugar Busters", "Protein Power", and "Mastering the Zone". The basis of the diet is controlling the level of insulin and another pancreatic hormone called Glucogon. Each food has a "glycemic index", which means how high the insulin level rises when a single food is ingested as compared to how high the level of insulin rises when just glucose is ingested. By following the proper glycemic control diet, you actually balance your body chemistry which tends to elevate your good cholesterol and lower your bad cholesterol. It also allows the secretion of Glucogon which increases the HGH with all its benefits. On the other hand, an insulin dominant diet tends to increase your cortisol which may increase the degree of deterioration of aging. You will be given dietary instructions and a glycemic index list so that you can achieve this glycemic control. It can reduce many damaging inflammatory conditions, heart attacks, and strokes. It can even reduce your overall allergy tendencies if you have them. Most patients also notice a tremendous increase in energy and enjoy overall better health" http://www.medicine-antiaging.com/

 

[mranak]

1) Take in 5 grams of fish oil per day.

Yeah, I'm big on the fish oil already, except that I made the mistake of trying to have a few bucks on buying the oils that are not enteric coated. Those fishy burps are much worse than I ever thought. Makes me feel ill sometimes.

2) Get your diet in order. You said you were on a low fat diet? That must have meant it was higher in carbs, which means higher circulating insulin. Try something like a zone type diet where 40% of calories come from carbs, 30% from protein, and 30% from fat. Make sure much of the fat comes from good sources such as fish oil, flax oil, olive oil, nuts. Eggs and lean beef really shouldn't have much of an effect on cholesterol when eating in moderation. For carbs, make sure you eat fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

When I was a teenager, I was high-carb, low-fat. My cholesterol was over 300. I still remember being insulted when the student-doctor called me at home to tell me I needed to clean up my diet at the time.

The past few years, I've essentially thrown out sugar. Diet and results:
Low-carb diet: very high cholesterol
balanced c/p/f diet (like the zone): high cholesterol
No sugar except for some fruits, virtually no fat (except fish oils) diet: got the cholesterol down to 211. Lowest it has ever been. Unfortunately, this diet is very difficult to maintain.

Put simply, my situation is different. For example, steaks and eggs seem to have much more of an effect on me than others. My wife and I can eat the same diet: her cholesterol is low and her HDL is awesome. My results are totally different.

FYI: I have a grandfather which I have never met because he died of a heart attack in his 40s.

Now, despite no or low sugar intake, it is possible that I have insulin or blood sugar issues. It is odd though. My fasting blood sugar in the morning is relatively high (e.g. 99) but my blood sugar in the afternoon several hours after lunch is tested low (e.g. 55). But I'm working off of limited data; the only information I have is from when I get blood glucose tested during a blood test.

3) Cardio! ...

Cardio without a doubt. Just got back from rollerblading with my daughter.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[SPE]

Diabetic?

Type II diabetes? I believe I remember hearing that it can cause havoc on cholesterol levels if left untreated. Take a look at the metabolic Syndrome thread, should be on this page.

 

[bcachot]

Thumbs up for the fish oil. Although it's going to have little or no effect on your HDL, the other healthful benefits are well worth it.

One thing that concerns me is that you say your diet is ultra low fat. This is not good. If you are not getting approx 10% of your diet throught fat, you are going to be one sick puppy. Forget all the anti-fat propaganda but keep your saturated fat intake modest. Aside from the fish oil you need a good supply of omega 6 or 9 fats every day. Some good examples are nuts, shelled seeds, olive oil, quality (non-hydrogenated fat) mono or polyunsaturated table spreads, soy lecithin. Replace some of the carbs in your diet with these fats.

You mentioned that you do eat fruit and vegetables but it's not clear how much. You should be eating at least a quantity of vegetables each day that you could scoop up with two hands. For you the more soluble fibre the better. Snack on raw veges between meals (carrots, tomato, caps, cucumber) and cooked veges with meals.