Posted: 8/21/2009 2:55:53 PM EDT
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I just got my cholesterol measured. It was 215 and I probably need to lower it. I am 6', 210 pounds and am doing strength training (yes, this includes squats and deadlifts) and looking to gain 10 pounds or so by the end of the year. I need protein (200 g a day) and calories (3600 kcal a day) to grow and I'm getting that, but am obviously getting too much cholesterol and saturated fat as well.
Any suggestions on stuff to reduce or increase would be greatly appreciated. Here is my basic diet: 2% Milk Olive Oil Muscle Milk protein shake Pasta Tomato Paste Parmesan cheese Fish oil capsules Oranges Apples Potatoes Steak Chicken Raisins Peanuts |
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High cholesterol by itself and caused by nothing but your diet secondary to strength training is nothing to be concerned about. If it's genetic or secondary to some condition, I would worry.
Dairy and red meat are the richest sources if you want to lower it by removing certain foods, though. Lean out your beef selections and maybe get rid of the parmesan. |
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High cholesterol by itself and caused by nothing but your diet secondary to strength training is nothing to be concerned about. If it's genetic or secondary to some condition, I would worry. Dairy and red meat are the richest sources if you want to lower it by removing certain foods, though. Lean out your beef selections and maybe get rid of the parmesan. Swap out the 2% milk for skim as well. 2% milk has about 20mg of cholesterol per serving whereas skim has <5mg. For reference, 1% ha 10mg. Serving size=1 cup/236ml. You can view the differences for yourself at this site (select the product to view data): http://www.supercow.com/products/milk2/milk.html |
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Your cholesterol level doesnt mean anything without knowing your HDL and LDL levels. What if your HDL (good choleserol) is 100 and your LDL is 115? Thats absolutely nothing to worry about, hell I would be proud if my levels looked like that. Find out your HDL and LDL and then worry about it.
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Your cholesterol level doesnt mean anything without knowing your HDL and LDL levels. What if your HDL (good choleserol) is 100 and your LDL is 115? Thats absolutely nothing to worry about, hell I would be proud if my levels looked like that. Find out your HDL and LDL and then worry about it. HDL = 44 LDL = 150 Triglycerides = 101 |
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He needs calories from milk due to his program. I believe he can afford to cut elsewhere if he so desires. The caloric content is not too horribly different especially between 2% and 1%. The difference per serving between skim, 1%, and 2% is nominal. The caloric content is 90, 110, and 130 (respectively). Going from 2% to 1% even would decrease the cholesterol in half, but only would reduce the calorie count by 20/serving. ETA- I just wanted to clarify my point- my choice of words could have been more clear earlier. Added text is in blue. |
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He needs calories from milk due to his program. I believe he can afford to cut elsewhere if he so desires. The caloric content is not too horribly different especially between 2% and 1%. The difference per serving between skim, 1%, and 2%. It's 90, 110, and 130 (respectively). Going from 2% to 1% even would decrease the cholesterol in half, but only would reduce the calorie count by 20/serving. You're right, I thought he was still drinking whole/4%. |
Ok, now you can worry about it! Anything with soluble fiber will help lower cholesterol levels, oatmeal is a good source. Your body releases bile into your small intestine to help digest fat. This bile is made either partly or mostly (cant quite remember) from cholesterol. It is reabsorbed from the small intestine and recycled. When it is bound to soluble fiber, it is excreted, at which time your body has to use cholesterol to create more bile. Which is why oatmeal is billed as being so heart healthy. Insoluble fiber is healthy, but doesnt work to lower your cholesterol, only intestinal tract health. I beleive mono unsaturated fats, of which olive oil is the richest source, helps to raise your HDL, but you should confirm that first before you buy some just for that purpose.
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Ok, now you can worry about it! Anything with soluble fiber will help lower cholesterol levels, oatmeal is a good source. Your body releases bile into your small intestine to help digest fat. This bile is made either partly or mostly (cant quite remember) from cholesterol. It is reabsorbed from the small intestine and recycled. When it is bound to soluble fiber, it is excreted, at which time your body has to use cholesterol to create more bile. Which is why oatmeal is billed as being so heart healthy. Insoluble fiber is healthy, but doesnt work to lower your cholesterol, only intestinal tract health. I beleive mono unsaturated fats, of which olive oil is the richest source, helps to raise your HDL, but you should confirm that first before you buy some just for that purpose.fiber for sure. I had tested high for cholesterol several years ago, my doctor told me I should work on bringing it down. I started taking a fiber supplement every day (which is good for you know where too  ) and I went back several months later and he said my cholesterol was perfect. I couldn't tell you what my numbers were, but the fiber supplement helped tremendously. Of course if you can work in plenty of Oatmeal every day, or oat based cereals you shouldn't need a supplement, it just made my life a lot easier.
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Your cholesterol level doesnt mean anything without knowing your HDL and LDL levels. What if your HDL (good choleserol) is 100 and your LDL is 115? Thats absolutely nothing to worry about, hell I would be proud if my levels looked like that. Find out your HDL and LDL and then worry about it. HDL = 44 LDL = 150 Triglycerides = 101 How old are you? Any health problems? On any medications? That will determine what your LDL levels should be at. HDL is borderline low regardless of risk factors. TG looks fine though |
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Your cholesterol level doesnt mean anything without knowing your HDL and LDL levels. What if your HDL (good choleserol) is 100 and your LDL is 115? Thats absolutely nothing to worry about, hell I would be proud if my levels looked like that. Find out your HDL and LDL and then worry about it. HDL = 44 LDL = 150 Triglycerides = 101 How old are you? Any health problems? On any medications? That will determine what your LDL levels should be at. HDL is borderline low regardless of risk factors. TG looks fine though 34. No health problems and no meds. |
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Dropping from 200-205 pounds to 190ish lowered mine from mid 230s to low 200s w/ HDLs in the mid-70s. 5'10" and was late 30s at the time. Yeah, I figure I can drop it in the short term by losing weight. But I need a bigger squat and deadlift and in order to do that, I need to gain weight. |
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Your cholesterol level doesnt mean anything without knowing your HDL and LDL levels. What if your HDL (good choleserol) is 100 and your LDL is 115? Thats absolutely nothing to worry about, hell I would be proud if my levels looked like that. Find out your HDL and LDL and then worry about it. HDL = 44 LDL = 150 Triglycerides = 101 How old are you? Any health problems? On any medications? 34. No health problems and no meds. Then your LDL's level is fine (unless you smoke, are overweight, have family history of early heart disease etc etc) They wouldn't have you do anything until that LDL pushes past 160. 130 if you had a couple of the above mentioned risk factors and 100 if you have history of heart disease or diabetes. Your HDL could use some help. More more cardio, lose some fat weight, less unsaturated and trans fat intake. If you are feeling proactive, you can look into/ask you MD about niacin supplementation. That will help raise you HDL That will determine what your LDL levels should be at. HDL is borderline low regardless of risk factors. TG looks fine though |
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Dropping from 200-205 pounds to 190ish lowered mine from mid 230s to low 200s w/ HDLs in the mid-70s. 5'10" and was late 30s at the time. Yeah, I figure I can drop it in the short term by losing weight. But I need a bigger squat and deadlift and in order to do that, I need to gain weight. It wasn't losing weight; it was losing fat that lowered my LDL and triglycerides. I guess it depends on what your priorities are. Exercise and consuming more mono-unsaturated fat without increasing caloric intake will raise HDL. Cholesterol is about 75% genetic anyway - you have a 25ish% margin to play with, assuming one isn't obese. |
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I don't see much wrong , maybe could swap pasta for rice and swap out peanuts and parmesan. Better still would be getting rid of rice and pasta in order to get carbs from vegetables - spinach, peppers, tomatoes, etc. Parmesan is not a good food for muscle growth once you hit your 30s - it has the largest negative effect on body pH of any food tested. |
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I don't see much wrong , maybe could swap pasta for rice and swap out peanuts and parmesan. Parmesan is not a good food for muscle growth once you hit your 30s - it has the largest negative effect on body pH of any food tested. Is that with parmesan specifically or cheeses in general? |
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I don't see much wrong , maybe could swap pasta for rice and swap out peanuts and parmesan. Parmesan is not a good food for muscle growth once you hit your 30s - it has the largest negative effect on body pH of any food tested. Is that with parmesan specifically or cheeses in general? Parmesan is the worst offender - the article linked below details things, though it states for 50+. The author is a noted cycling and triathlon coach, though I have read similar things elsewhere. http://curezone.com/art/read.asp?ID=48&db=6&C0=1 |
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I don't see much wrong , maybe could swap pasta for rice and swap out peanuts and parmesan. Parmesan is not a good food for muscle growth once you hit your 30s - it has the largest negative effect on body pH of any food tested. Is that with parmesan specifically or cheeses in general? Parmesan is the worst offender - the article linked below details things, though it states for 50+. The author is a noted cycling and triathlon coach, though I have read similar things elsewhere. http://curezone.com/art/read.asp?ID=48&db=6&C0=1 Fascinating , I'm going to keep this in mind. Thanks H46Driver ! |
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Thanks everyone for your inputs. Here is my plan:
1) Go from 2% milk down to 1% milk 2) Increase olive oil from 6 tablespoons a day to 8-10 tablespoons if I need it to get enough calories 3) Increase fish oil capsules from 2 to 4 per day 4) Substitute rice for pasta sometimes 5) Eat more blueberries (I love blueberries) 6) Add some more fiber and veggies to my diet 7) Consider replacing my Muscle Milk supplement with something else 8) Keep lifting heavy (squats, deadlifts, bench, OH press) 9) Consider adding a day of slow steady cardio once it cools off this fall |