Cholesterol high despite healthy diet - what now??

I sympathise luluaugust. DD went to a posh event at the weekend and brought home several mini packs of biscuits. I have just scoffed three custard creams and a Viennese finger. 300 cals in one shot! Sigh. (and it's made me feel so sleepy)

What can you do?

I have high cholesterol but think I was given a high dose and when I had problems was not offered a lower dose, this was years ago so might have another try. I agree with just getting on with taking whatever but a word of caution I take calcium and just didn't feel right, was found to have far too much in the blood so glad I didn't just keep going with that. I try and practice healthy eating but it is Easter school holidays and GD has a project making chocolate biscuits - what am I supposed to do!

Agree with all of the above. I have been and are to some extent in your position. I do all I can to keep weight, bp, cholesterol and sugar in the normal range. At the end of all this when I tell the GP they tell me then it must be genetic. So I've stopped fretting about it all, I carry on doing my bit of healthy living/eating, not forgetting stress/anxiety and after all I'm 70. I would be more concerned if I was 50.

Read 'The great cholesterol con' by Malcolm Kendrick.

Gonegirl, amen to that.

Every case is different - and please do not let people on internet Forums do put you off statins, if they are genuinely required in your case. Most people take them without side effects and they do save lives, and prevent strokes.

Putting everyone over 60 on statins is and was a ridiculous proposition by some. But the other extreme is just as ridiculous.

I have to have a cholesterol blood test annually, as mine is higher than it should be. They wanted me to have statins but I declined to have them and preferred to alter my diet instead. Now I try and eat much more fruit and veg than previously and not eat too much food that contains saturated fats. Also I enjoy walking, so the exercise combined with the diet change does help. Last time I had my cholesterol checked I received a text saying no further action necessary, but I still booked an appointment with the nurse who showed me my cholesterol grid on the computer and it showed how it had dropped from my previous time. It's not easy to start with, and does mean sacrificing some favourite foods, or having as an occasional treat only, but once you get into some sort of routine it becomes easier. I got some books from the library and worked out my own way of doing it. At times it's not easy when the temptation is too much, especially at times like Christmas when it's challenging, but as long as you go back to the eating routine you have devised for yourself it soon falls into place again.

Notentirelyallhere, I'm another who will only eat if my stomach rumbles and not because it happens to be lunchtime. I can fast without any ill-effects, which to me is good. I have an excellent digestion as I don't suffer in that department nor am I bloated so I count myself very lucky.

Rowan I think we often forget that as we get older we need to eat less than we used to. Eating healthily is good but don't eat too much of it! Look at the calorific value of nuts and seeds and you will realise just how much weight they can add.

Have you had your thyroid checked? Hypothyroidism can cause a rise in cholesterol and also weight gain. However, it is no excuse for being overweight, if you are not using the fuel it has to go somewhere, as I know full well.

Oh, please don't go for any weird eating plans.

Wouldn't hurt to cut out the nuts and seeds. High in fat (yes, I know it's "good fat" but it still is high cal). You don't really need them. And oats is a higher fat content cereal, if my memory serves me right. And a few oats won't really change your cholesterol levels. Perhaps go for Shredded Wheat? (don't add sugar!) (add blueberries, yum!)

Apart from that, don't worry. Just keep walking.

I went on the 16/8 diet, a variation on 5/2, lost a stone and my cholesterol level and blood pressure reduced dramatically. Low carb is good too. If you avoid bread then you won't eat butter! If you can avoid bread, cakes, chocolate etc and find substitutes you like, you will find your attraction to the former disappears.
I've found that eating in roughly an 8 hour 'window' is great. My body actually feels better for some time spent not eating and I'm more aware of the pleasure of food when I eat and I don't want to overeat. Michael Mosley is very good on all this.

Do not make decisions just on cholesterol levels. Get your GP to convert these into probabilities of having strokes and heart attacks with and without statins and then make decisions.

I have high cholesterol, and it has been high for sometime.
When I asked my GP what that meant, she said in my case, because I have a healthy diet/am a healthy weight/active/do not smoke etc etc, it meant that I had a 17.2% chance of having a stroke or heart attack in the next 10 years. Now I am 76 this year. In 10 years I will be 86, so a 17.2% chance of a stroke/heart attack in the next 10 years is very nearly as low as it can be anyway.

My GP offered me statins to reduce my cholesterol to the approved 5.0, but again, when I asked how much that would reduce my risk. It was reduced by only 2.4% to 14.8%.
I decided for so little change statins were not worth taking.

If I do have a stroke/heart attack in the next ten years how will they be able to prove that the s/ha is one of the 2.4 that are the result of me not taking statins rather than the 14.8 that will occur even if I do take statins?

I am living quite happily with my high cholesterol reading. I am otherwise fit and healthy and with no other medical problems and, as I said I have a healthy life style and am a healthy weight. I come from a long lived family, so if my high cholesterol level is genetic, it hasn't affected their life expectancy. My father was one of 11 and my mother 2. Average age at death was over 85 and my father and several siblings lived fit and healthly well into their 90s.

tome, quality of life is more important than quantity. I am rushing towards 70, lucky to have got this far. At 50 I was told that I would be in a wheelchair by the time I was 60 due to osteoporosis. I'm not in a wheelchair but can't walk very far, or exercise due to pain. I am on loads of meds for one thing and another, including statins (I know of some people who pay to buy statins privately as they believe they ward off heart attacks). I have to cope with side effects from all these meds, I no longer rail against this, it is what it is so just put up and shut up. I live mindfully, make the most of each day, do what I want each day, and hope that when the end comes, it's quick and painless! And it bothers me not when that will be. I eat things I shouldn't, but life's too short to worry about it, best to live as you want, make the most of life as you only get one shot at it.In my view anyway.

Personally I wouldn't worry about it too much as long as you know that you are doing all the right things.
I believe that the jury is still out on cholesterol anyway and it doesn't necessarily mean that you are doomed.

I always remember it by that the ‘happy’ cholesterol being HDL!

If you are eating a healthy diet, taking moderate exercise - walking is considered to be enough and the best exercise, not smoking and taking alcohol in moderation (if you like it) you are doing all you can. A cholesterol of 5.9 is not huge my husbands was 13.5 at one stage but as others have said he has a genetic condition. Once he was on the statins with absolutely no side effects it came back down nicely. You have one life enjoy it and dont make yourself miserable over the occasional treat.

As Elizabeth said---Statins.
Despite the horror stories these pills are life-savers. I've been taking Atorvastatin for 13 years now and my cholesterol has been between 3 and 4 for years.
Because of family history------mum had type II diabetes, angina and a stroke, but I'm afraid she overate more than anything, whereas I don't. She was small in stature but obese, I'm tall and have always been slim. No alcohol.

Originally my cholesterol was 7+ and on the increase although very active at the time and followed a good diet with no "rubbish" the cardiologist erred on the side of caution and said the pills would definitely protect me in the future, so since 2006 all's been well.

Nothing works like it did in your youth so a little help is needed as you get older. I've been on a 20mg dose over the years which has been enough to keep the levels within an acceptable limit and only a small dose compared to some.

Walking is enough exercise , no need for running or jumping , and do your pelvic floor exercises , jist walk a bit more and a bit quicker every day

Cholesterol levels are now known to have a strong genetic component and diet can mean very little.
Most people have some level of fatty liver when they get older - its not drastic and your GP will keep an eye on all this, so you don't have to.

If it goes sky high, your doctor will recommend some medication. Meanwhile, don't worry.

Try a benecol drink every day and see if that helps.

hondagirl I have been given an appointment for the 29th by the receptionist to discuss it with the GP. Same thing happened last time and my cholesterol was lower. I was so gutted yesterday I didn't ask for the HDL/LDL/triglyiceride breakdown, but I will phone today to find out. My good cholesterol is always pretty good, and the triglycerides too, but it's the other figure that lets me down (can never remember which is which). I'm worried about fatty liver, though past blood tests have never shown a problem, but it's something I do worry about anyway.
Blubelle your post about your mum gives me some hope! My diet isn't as good as your mum's - we don't grow our own veg, for one - but we have low fat everything and loads of plant foods. I know I don't get nearly enough exercise, and I'm struggling to address that as mild osteoarthritis starts to bite and my pelvic floor isn't brilliant which makes running and jumping activities a no-no. Also have mild asthma. BUT I know I could do far more and become fitter. I do a lot of gardening but that isn't enough.
Several years ago my diet wasn't nearly as good. I was much heavier than 70kg; I'd frequently scoff chocolate and wolf my way through pack of walnut whips or creme eggs. Utterly stupid and I hope it's not too late to undo some of that damage. My breakthrough was joining Slimming World online when my daughter did - it got me into a far healthier way of eating and now I rarely use any other recipes apart from low-fat/low/sugar/high fibre meals with plenty of veg. I've lapsed though from the 'syns' idea and no longer follow it to the letter - I've adapted it to suit me and my OH and I'm happy that it's healthy.

I don't expect the GP has any pearls of wisdom to throw my way. Over the last 6 months, two friends have died and our next door neighbour died suddenly in his sleep aged 73 (shockingly young). When death strikes closer to home, as it invariably will, you tend to feel even more vulnerable and mortal!
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Well I wish I'd kept my weight down. I am now type 2 diabetic but under control if I watch my weight. Toast and butter for breakfast ???? Try porridge and blueberries, just that change will help a bit. I just put water and oats in the microwave for 1min then cover with fruit. And walk more.
Keep going. You don't want a stroke or a heart attack.

Go for the Statins you’ll enjoy life more not having to worry about food intake

Have you talked to your GP about this? I have the same problem. My cholesterol is over 6 and I went on a healthy diet, no alchohol, chocolate, cakes, biscuits for 3 months (I was a miserable sod!). It hardly made any difference and the doctor concluded that it was hereditary. Cholesterol does increase as we get older. I am now on a low dose of statins, I know these are controversial, but I have not had another test yet to see how much difference they make. If you have hereditary high cholesterol there is a chance this can lead to fatty liver and the statins can help with this. I thought long and hard about taking them but thought I would give them a try due to the fatty liver problem and so far no side effects. Also, do you know what your high to low cholesterol ratio is? High cholesterol alone is not always a problem if the good cholesterol is high.

I think we worry too much about this my mum had the healthiest diet ever. She ate no salt or sugar everything was low fat dad grew all their own veg they ate mainly chicken for meat and a glass of wine (homemade) with an evening meal mum wasn’t overweight and got lots of exercise but her cholesterol was always high around 7 (by the way 5.9wasnt considered high a few years back) I think mine is similar but haven’t had it taken for years
Mum lived to be 90 and her heart was good for 90 years stick to your veg and seeds and try not to worry I think streets does you far more harm than your cholesterol number