Cholesterol

[Bruce L]

Recently had the flu.

While i was at docs i thought i may as well get tests done- liver, kids, stds etc..

Doc call me back in and tell me i have high cholesterol.

Total= 9.4

LDL = 6.9

The rest was all ok. (will put up when i get back off mum)

Doc said im high risk and prescribed me Atorvastatin 40mg. (possibly for the rest of my life)

Im 31, European male.

My mother and grandmother have high cholesterol (both slim ladies)

Apparently its genetic.

Is this the end of high intensity training and heavy lifting for me?

Any advice or questions i could take to the specialist/doc would be much apreatiated.

Im not going to take the medication till ive seen a specialist.

Cheers.

[Daz69]

Riccardo did an interesting post on cholesterol a while back:

High cholesterol is not itself a disease, its a risk factor, having high cholesterol simply means that you are at a greater risk of cardiovascular disease. FYI only 10% of your cholesterol is absorbed from your diet. The combination of eating a calorie surplus AND a high fat diet will lead to high cholesterol, not really the diet itself. You may just need to lose some body fat and you will be sweet. There are people who genetically have high levels of cholesterol and are completely healthy.

it's just one of a number of risk factors, if it's the only one you have and you don't have other issues such as a strong family history of heart disease, diabetes, high BP etc. your risk is still likely to be small.

A good point about diet composition not being the main issue. To illustrate that point, there was a human nutrition professor in the US who went on a 'Twinkie diet', along with Doritos and Oreos for good measure. Since he was in a calorie deficit he lost weight and his cholesterol improved: HDl went up, LDL and Triglycerides went down.

And yes, some people have genetically higher cholesterol and have no issues at all, while around half of all heart attacks happen to people with normal cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is only one part of the picture. Regardless, I'm betting you see some noticeable differences in your cholesterol once you drop your body fat.

It's all about risk factors guys, eliminate as many risk factors as you can to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. Things like: Body fat, obesity, smoking, inactivity, poor diet etc. are all risk factors.

[Bruce L]

I have a healthy diet.

Dont smoke.

BF% aprox 15-20%.

Im active with work and play.

Grandfather heart attack on dads side.

Grandmother and mother high cholesterol.

Nobody is fat in my family.

Kinda looks like im going to have a heart attack if a sneeze due to my shit genes.

[Bruce L]

also high blood pressure- 100/140 or 140/100 cant remember which way around it was.

[Daz69]

I have a healthy diet.

Dont smoke.

BF% aprox 15-20%.

Im active with work and play.

Grandfather heart attack on dads side.

Grandmother and mother high cholesterol.

Nobody is fat in my family.

Kinda looks like im going to have a heart attack if a sneeze due to my shit genes.

Can be much improved.....

[Kalidane]

I have a healthy diet.

Dont smoke.

BF% aprox 15-20%.

Im active with work and play.

Grandfather heart attack on dads side.

Grandmother and mother high cholesterol.

Nobody is fat in my family.

Kinda looks like im going to have a heart attack if a sneeze due to my shit genes.

Can be much improved.....

Yep that. Losing weight will help the BP, a bit more cardio, and up the soluble fibre (oats/oat bran). A few small changes over three months should make a measurable difference to your blood test numbers, and be beneficial in general.

The typical GP will see lipid panel numbers out of range and prescribe the drugs without really thinking about it or advising what other measures can be taken. Your choices are drug free with side-benefits or a drug with side effects. Assuming your number aren't 'OMFG he's gonna explode' levels.

[milkisforbabies]

I had this problem - although I do admit my total cholesterol was not as bad as yours. I thought my diet was healthy but I was wrong. Processed foods, a calorie surplus and a bit of extra weight can spike cholesterol way more than you might think. Long story short I now have ideal numbers and did it in 6 weeks. Here's my thread:

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=18573&hilit=cholesterol

I also went pretty hard out reading about what worked for people on the cholesterol forums.

Personally all the reading I've done has lead me to believe that it's triglycerides and low HDL that are going to be the most damaging. These can be manipulated by controlling your intake of processed foods, high glycemic carbs, exercising and taking good EPA and DHA (fish oils). My two cents - it's worth a shot.

[Bruce L]

Cheers Fullas.

[Bruce L]

Milkisforbabies- what are your stats? age height sex etc?

Here are my results:

Cholesterol total- 9.4

Triglycerides- 1.8

HDL- 1.66

LDL- 6.9

Cholesterol hdl ratio- 5.7

[milkisforbabies]

Age is 33, height 6'3, weight 103ish, bodyfat was 19% about 2 weeks ago.

I dropped 10kg and could still drop abother 5 easily I reckon.

[Indigo1]

As others have said, high cholesterol is just one risk factor; just because someone smokes, it doesn't guarantee them lung cancer, but it just places them at an elevated risk of developing it. The fact that your physically active is going to reduce that risk, so I'd hope that your doctor would tell you to continue your exercise. The fact you have a relatively high HDL cholesterol is actually protective. High LDL & TG generally only become an issue when your blood vessels become damaged from things like high blood pressure, high blood glucose, smoking. The exercise you are doing increases nitric oxide which repairs and maintains healthy blood vessels. You are still young too - although it isn't uncommon for men of Indian decent to be unlucky enough to have a heart attack around the age of 35, most males are protected till at least the age of 45.

My advice would be to keep doing what you are doing (and take the statin), but listen to your specialist