Cholesterol success

Type 1 & LADA
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Hi guys. Been a while since I’ve posted here, but wanted to share a success story. I’ve struggled with cholesterol since diagnosis 21 years ago (and probably prior, just didn’t go to the Dr.). I followed the Bernstein methods, favoring protein and fat, and reducing carbs as much as possible. I achieved great A1Cs this way, but cholesterol was always high. My 20 year averages look like this: , LDL 140, HDL 70, Total 230,Trigs 54 mg/dL. The numbers got as high as 313 TC and 212 LDL in 2015, with a 5.6% A1C. At this time, I was eating 6 eggs for breakfast, fried in bacon grease or beef tallow. Lots of cheese and whole milk. I didn’t keep much track, but I bet I was eating 50-100 grams of saturated fats daily. I decided cholesterol was a metric that didn’t matter.
<Big Edit….> I forgot to mention, I had two mini-stroke type episodes, right around the time of the highest cholesterol, 2013-2014. They resolved quickly, thankfully.

A few years ago, discussion on this forum got me rethinking things a bit. Gradually, I increased carbs, fiber, maintained protein, and lowered fat consumption. I am currently eating about 50-60% good quality carbs - apples, bananas, oatmeal, beans, rice, vegetables,etc - a lot of fiber, prob 50+ grams daily. The remainder is split between fat and protein, usually more favored to protein.

After listening to Layne Norton talking about the number of studies linking saturated fats to LDL, I’ve been aiming to keep saturated fat as low as possible. I’ve also been exercising daily, aiming for about 15 minutes of zone 2 to zone 5 cardio. This takes the form of walking/jogging the dog for 10 minutes and sandbag carries for about 5 minutes. Also trying to reduce stress thru breathwork, etc.

The combination of these things seemed to work… my Dr asked if I was on medication during my July visit (I’m not): LDL 99, HDL 67, TC 175 !! I haven’t been below 100 LDL since diagnosis! A1C was OK, but I can do a bit better - 6.2%. Next personal goal is LDL <70, and I think I can get there.

I really wish I would’ve known all this 20 years ago, but I guess better late than never!

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Hey @mike_g,
Congrats on the numbers! That’s a huge improvement! Great job!

I have been working on fiber too. Man, that is hard!

You look at a nutrition label and think, “Well, Cheerios has a lot of fiber. I only need to eat 10 bowls of this a day to get to 100%…”

:man_facepalming:

What do you eat to get your fiber?

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Thanks Eric. Yours was one of the main voices helping me to see things differently.

With respect to fiber: I think the RDA is about 30 grams or so, which is hard to get. A typical breakfast for me usually includes 100-150 grams of regular rolled oats, often with a tbsp or two of chia seed and or flax seed, which may be mixed in, or in a separate smoothie. A banana, usually. This alone is about 25g Lunch often includes black beans in the form of homemade pico de gallo, beans and rice, etc or garbanzos (homemade hummus, etc). Fruit - apple and or banana. This might be another 10-15-25 grams, depending on what was eaten. Dinner is usually less fiber but I may supplement with fruit.

Eating 50-60% carbs permits this more easily. However, if doing low carb, I think it could be done with psylium and flax, chia, etc in smoothies or as a supplement in a drink. Increase fiber slowly in any case.

I’m not sure how much fiber affects the LDL, or if it’s a combination of minimized saturated fat, increased fiber and exercise? I guess fiber has other benefits from a gut health standpoint, too.

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Yes, I am sure it’s all of them together.

Before, I mostly focused on exercise and reducing sat-fats. But recently I started trying to increase fiber too.

This is my very basic and elementary understanding. Perhaps others can give a better answer to how it works.

The body needs bile acids to digest and process fat. Fiber ties these up somewhat, so less fat is digested. Instead, the fat just gets pooped out.

Additionally, bile acids are made in the liver from cholesterol. So when your body uses bile acids for the fiber, the liver has to use cholesterol to make more bile acids. So this also helps remove some of the cholesterol from your body, because it is being used to make the bile acids used by the fiber.

But to the point above about 30 grams being the RDA - ya that’s so hard for me to get every day!

Kidney beans, navy beans, black beans, and pinto beans are some of the things I try to use for extra fiber. These are also good because you can make them without needing to add anything that has fat in it.

So it’s pretty much pure carbs, protein, and fiber, with minimal fat!

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@mike_g,
Here is something else to look at for supplements.

Google glycine and taurine.

You can Google them individually or together. There are some interesting discussions about the benefits of those 2 supplements.

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Hmm. I’ll hafta check into those, thanks Eric!

Looking back thru my food diary, I see another common one for me: baby carrots. Easy to snack on, good source of fiber and vitamin a. Homemade popcorn here and there (made with just a bit of canola oil and salt).

Also should’ve mentioned previously: I’ve dramatically changed my meat eating- predominantly chicken breast, pork loin, canned fish (sardines, salmon, tuna) and rarely, beef (sirloin and very lean cuts preferred). I used to be the guy that cleaned up the plate, fat and all (Cue John Candy meme)..I ate indiscriminately (esp. pre-diagnosis), and never have had weight problems. Appearances are deceiving, though! I should’ve mentioned as well, nowadays, I rarely eat fast food. If I do, I’ll opt for the grilled chicken breast with bun, and side salad.

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Speaking of fiber, this is my dinner tonight.

image
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I will fill in the gaps for carbs and protein with some additional things, but this is the main part of it.

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hard to beat oven roasted veggies!

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Nice. I eat quinoa with roasted vegetables (brussels, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, onion, red pepper) and tofu coated in soy and chili sauce a lot of nights. No surprise spikes later, covers carbs, protein, fiber, and fats pretty well.

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I need to try that. I know it has a lot of good nutrients in it and lots of fiber

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I adore veggies! Summer garden season is the best! I also have been working to transition to whole grains. One of my favorites right now is farro – the texture is so satisfying.

On my last visit to my diabetes educator, they suggested trying flavorless BeneFiber in pasta sauce too. I haven’t tried that yet, but I’m curious!

For a more “fun” version of fiber, Ollipop has 9g per can. That fiber content means it’s pretty low-carb too. Fiber in soda is a weird idea, but my sister discovered on a trip abroad that Japanese Diet Coke has fiber! My favorite Ollipop flavors are “strawberry vanilla” and “peaches and cream.” They’re pricier than regular soda, but they are a nice treat.

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