Hi Everyone,
Wow, am I upset. I went Keto August 2, 2017. I’ve lost 70 lbs, reversed my diabetes and gone off diabetes and blood pressure meds. I was on a statin when first started this, but chucked those in the trash day 1, when I learned about those, too and yes, my doctor was aware of all of these med changes.
I put off getting a lipid test until now, for a lot of reasons. Now I wish I had kept putting it off. Below is an email I got from my doctor along with some frightening diet she wants to put me on, I guess to give me back my diabetes? Obviously I am not considering it. I’m just very upset by her email.
Clearly I’ve made a lot of progress, yet all she sees is cholesterol? Aren’t my triglycerides good? She said nothing about my A1c.
My triglyceride/HDL cholesterol ratio that I read about here is 2.47. That’s pretty good, right? I’m bummed my A1c has not budged in 3 months. I am still in a stall 
Hi Athena,
Your cholesterol is high. Medication for lowering cholesterol is recommended in your case. Please schedule an appointment to discuss. I have enclosed a diet to review. If you are interested, we have cholesterol classes as well.
Don’t hesitate to call or email me back if there are any questions.
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT CHOLESTEROL
Total cholesterol consists of two main components, HDL and LDL. High-density lipids (HDL) is considered “good”. Low-density lipids (LDL) is considered “bad”. HDL should be equal to or greater than 40. LDL should be less than 130 depending on your risk factors. If you have diabetes or coronary artery disease your LDL total should be less than 100 and in some cases even lower. Abnormal triglyceride level is greater than 149. Weight loss, a low fat and low carbohydrate diet can help improve these levels. Your total cholesterol may exceed a “normal” level of 200 but be acceptable if your LDL is low or your HDL is high.
PRINCIPLES TO REDUCE CHOLESTEROL:
High blood cholesterol levels are associated with an increased risk of hardening of the arteries which may lead to heart attack and/or stroke. A diet low in fat (especially saturated fat) with generous amounts of high fiber carbohydrates may help reduce blood cholesterol and the risk of these medical problems.
Any food from an animal has cholesterol. Any food from a plant does not. This is helpful to keep in mind when planning a low cholesterol diet.
GOALS:
- Reduce total fat and cholesterol intake.
- Eat more unsaturated fats (usually liquid vegetable oils such as olive or canola oils) than saturated fats (animal or hydrogenated fats).
- Enjoy generous amounts of high fiber grains, fruits and vegetables.
- If you are overweight, follow guidelines for weight management.
FOR DAIRY:
- Try non-fat milk
Avoid of whole milk. - Try yogurt, skim milk cheeses, low fat cottage cheese or ricotta
Avoid chedder, monterey jack, and other whole milk cheeses. - Try ice milk
Avoid of ice cream or cream.
FOR MEATS AND OTHER PROTEIN FOODS:
- Try fish, poultry without skin, and vegatable proteins like dried beans, split peas, lentils, soy beans or tofu
Avoid fatty meats such as hamburger, corned beef, luncheion meats, bacon, sausage, and ribs… - Try lean meats like chuck, flank or round steak, or center cut pork (once a week)
Avoid shrimp, lobster, fried meats, organ meats (liver, heart, kidney, brains). - Try egg white or egg sustitute
Avoid egg yolks (maximum 2 per week)
FOR FATS AND OILS:
-
Try margarines with a liquid vegetable oil listed as the first ingredient
Avoid of margarines listing partially hydrogenated fat or hydrogenated fat as the first ingredient or lard. Soft margarine is better. Avoid butter. -
Try liquid cooking oils such as canola, safflower, corn, cottonseed, sunflower, sesame, or olive oil
-
Try oil type salad dressing like italian
Avoid creamy salad dressings like blue cheese, roquefort, or thousand island.
FOR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES:
- Try eating liberal amounts of fruits and vegetables. Eating them unpeeled will get you the most fiber.
FOR GRAINS AND STARCHES:
- Try whole grain breads and cereals, oat bran, rice, potatoes, yams, and pasta.
Avoid breads made with extra fats such as waffles, biscuits, cornbread, muffins, pancakes - Try low fat crackers like graham, saltines, matzoh, rye crisp.
- Oatmeal especially steel cut on a regular basis has been shown to lower Total Cholesterol.
SWEETS AND ALCOHOL:
- Try low fat sweets such as geletin, sherbet, fudgesicles, popsicles.
Avoid high fat desserts such as ice cream, choclate, pie, cake, cookies, donuts, pastries. - Limit sweets and alcohol if you have high tryglycerides.
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