DH's Cholesterol is high...help me with food suggestions

[Charmie981]

We eat what I would call "marginally healthy." We are not where we need to be, but we're a lot closer than the average American family. We have times where we're really "good" and times where we slack off and crap sneaks into our diets (like the junk cereal in the cabinets right now). Eating out is our #1 problem, and DH is worse because he eats lunch out all.the.time. He says he doesn't have time for a packed lunch because he may not be able to keep it cool or reheat it. This is a lame excuse, IMO, but I am NOT going to put forth the effort of packing a lunch if he's just going to drive through McNasty anyway, KWIM?

His cholesterol was elevated 6 months ago...194, I think. And the HDL/LDL ratio was NOT GOOD. I started then trying to get him to eat better, replacing the string cheese and Nature's Own granola bar he eats for breakfast with homemade granola and yogurt. But he says that "takes too long" to eat, so he slipped back.

Last week he had his cholesterol drawn again and it was 204, with the LDL in the 150 range. I'm really upset that he's not making any changes, but I can only to so much. So, I'm asking you guys to tell me (so I can show HIM!) what a cholesterol-healthy diet looks like. Today he told me that instead of a "greasy burger" he was going to get a Muffaletta (umm...loaded with lunchmeat and cheese, not to mention that olives have saturated fat in them too?). Sigh. I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle here and the doc (who I REALLY don't like and am encouraging DH to find someone else) wants to put him on medication. I'm okay with medication when nothing else works, but please let's actually try some dietary changes first. I asked him to see about a referral to a nutritionist, but alas....

My final request was to increase his life insurance so at least I can be rich when he dies in a couple of years. I don't think he did that, either, though. :

[WuWei]

Latest reading I've done indicates that cholesterol is high when vit D levels are deficient. More sunshine could help to balance cholesterol levels. Consider vit D testing and supplementation before any statins, which have a long list of side-effects and risks.

Apple peel helps with cholesterol levels, as does exercise. But, balancing the animal fats by decreasing transfats and polyunsaturated fats is a priority. Cod liver oil could help with this.


Pat

[WuWei]

Here is a copy of the info I sent my dh regarding cholesterol and statin drugs.

Memory loss, http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_ch...?storyid=10491

Blocks CoQ10 production. CoQ10 is a coenzyme necessary for the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP is the source for cellular energy within the human heart. As CoQ10 is diminished, the heart weakens. Over time, this can result in congestive heart failure (CHF).
http://www.leaflady.org/statin_risks.htm

Liver damage, muscle pain: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sta...SECTIONGROUP=2

Proteinurea: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/496431_4

peripheral neuropathy, or pain or numbness in the extremities like fingers and toes: http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Health...rchersFind.htm

"Statin-associated peripheral neuropathy may persist for months or years after withdrawal of the statin. In two ADRAC cases of persistent peripheral neuropathy, motor and sensory conduction tests showed minimal recovery 4 and 12 months, respectively, after discontinuation of simvastatin, despite clinical improvement. A further 21 cases had not recovered at the time of reporting, between one and eight months after discontinuation of the statin. In two other reports, the problem was persisting after 3 and 5 years, respectively." http://www.procor.org/research/resea...?doc_id=982615

cancer risk: http://www.cancerdecisions.com/conte.../lang,english/

Statins can also cause your CPK levels to be mildly elevated.

Strokes: The cholesterol-lowering medication atorvastatin (Lipitor) may slightly increase the risk of hemorrhagic stroke, or bleeding in the brain, when taken by people who have already had a stroke, according to a Duke University Medical Center researcher. But it also reduces the risk of having a second stroke or coronary heart event.
http://www.dukehealth.org/HealthLibrary/News/10199

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Cholesterol Is Not A Major Cause Of Arterial Disease

Several factors appear to be of greater importance than cholesterol in causing arterial disease. Among these are deposition of toxic metals in the lining endothelium of arteries, Vitamin C deficiency, excessive amounts of lipoprotein (a), inflammation in arteries, excessive clotting of blood, homocysteine elevation (hyperhomocystinemia) and dangerous foods.

An important study by Dr. Harlan Krumholz revealed that persons with low cholesterol levels over the age of 70 died twice as often from heart attacks[3] as older persons with high cholesterol values. Most studies in old persons have shown that cholesterol is not a risk factor for coronary artery disease. Approximately 90 % of cardiovascular disease is seen in persons over 60 years of age. Almost all studies have shown that high cholesterol is not a risk factor for women.[4] This leaves cholesterol as a risk factor for less than 5 % of those persons dying of a heart attack.

High cholesterol values protect against infection. In a review of 19 studies involving 68,000 persons low cholesterol values revealed an increased risk for dying from lung and gastrointestinal diseases. Both lung and g.i. diseases are often related to infections.
http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james23.htm

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Benefits of High Cholesterol:
http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndi...s_cholest.html
http://medicalconsumers.org/2003/06/...erence-report/

1. Krumholz HM and others. Lack of association between cholesterol and coronary heart disease mortality and morbidity and all-cause mortality in persons older than 70 years. Journal of the American Medical Association 272, 1335-1340, 1990.

2. Ravnskov U. High cholesterol may protect against infections and atherosclerosis. Quarterly Journal of Medicine 96, 927-934, 2003.

3. Jacobs D and others. Report of the conference on low blood cholesterol: Mortality associations. Circulation 86, 1046–1060, 1992.

4. Iribarren C and others. Serum total cholesterol and risk of hospitalization, and death from respiratory disease. International Journal of Epidemiology 26, 1191–1202, 1997.

5. Iribarren C and others. Cohort study of serum total cholesterol and in-hospital incidence of infectious diseases. Epidemiology and Infection 121, 335–347, 1998.

6. Claxton AJ and others. Association between serum total cholesterol and HIV infection in a high-risk cohort of young men. Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes and human retrovirology 17, 51–57, 1998.

7. Neaton JD, Wentworth DN. Low serum cholesterol and risk of death from AIDS. AIDS 11, 929–930, 1997.

8. Rauchhaus M and others. Plasma cytokine parameters and mortality in patients with chronic heart failure. Circulation 102, 3060-3067, 2000.

9. Niebauer J and others. Endotoxin and immune activation in chronic heart failure. Lancet 353, 1838-1842, 1999.

10. Vredevoe DL and others. Skin test anergy in advanced heart failure secondary to either ischemic or idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. American Journal of Cardiology 82, 323-328, 1998.

11. Rauchhaus M, Coats AJ, Anker SD. The endotoxin-lipoprotein hypothesis. Lancet 356, 930–933, 2000.

12. Rauchhaus M and others. The relationship between cholesterol and survival in patients with chronic heart failure. Journal of the American College of Cardiology 42, 1933-1940, 2003.

13. Horwich TB and others. Low serum total cholesterol is associated with marked increase in mortality in advanced heart failure. Journal of Cardiac Failure 8, 216-224, 2002.

14. Elias ER and others. Clinical effects of cholesterol supplementation in six patients with the Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS). American Journal of Medical Genetics 68, 305–310, 1997.

15. Bhakdi S and others. Binding and partial inactivation of Staphylococcus aureus a-toxin by human plasma low density lipoprotein. Journal of Biological Chemistry 258, 5899-5904, 1983.

16. Flegel WA and others. Inhibition of endotoxin-induced activation of human monocytes by human lipoproteins. Infection and Immunity 57, 2237-2245, 1989.

17. Weinstock CW and others. Low density lipoproteins inhibit endotoxin activation of monocytes. Arteriosclerosis and Thrombosis 12, 341-347, 1992.

18. Muldoon MF and others. Immune system differences in men with hypo- or hypercholesterolemia. Clinical Immunology and Immunopathology 84, 145-149, 1997.

19. Feingold KR and others. Role for circulating lipoproteins in protection from endotoxin toxicity. Infection and Immunity 63, 2041-2046, 1995.

20. Netea MG and others. Low-density lipoprotein receptor-deficient mice are protected against lethal endotoxemia and severe gram-negative infections. Journal of Clinical Investigation 97, 1366-1372, 1996.

21. Harris HW, Gosnell JE, Kumwenda ZL. The lipemia of sepsis: triglyceride-rich lipoproteins as agents of innate immunity. Journal of Endotoxin Research 6, 421-430, 2001.

22. Netea MG and others. Hyperlipoproteinemia enhances susceptibility to acute disseminated Candida albicans infection in low-density-lipoprotein-receptor-deficient mice. Infection and Immunity 65, 2663-2667, 1997.

23. Ross R, Glomset JA. The pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. New England Journal of Medicine 295, 369-377, 1976.

24. Ross R. The pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and update. New England Journal of Medicine 314, 488-500, 1986.

25. Klotz O, Manning MF. Fatty streaks in the intima of arteries. Journal of Pathology and Bacteriology. 16, 211-220, 1911.

26. At least 200 reviews about the role of infections in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease have been published; here are a few of them: a) Grayston JT, Kuo CC, Campbell LA, Benditt EP. Chlamydia pneumoniae strain TWAR and atherosclerosis. European Heart Journal Suppl K, 66-71, 1993. b) Melnick JL, Adam E, Debakey ME. Cytomegalovirus and atherosclerosis. European Heart Journal Suppl K, 30-38, 1993. c) Nicholson AC, Hajjar DP. Herpesviruses in atherosclerosis and thrombosis. Etiologic agents or ubiquitous bystanders? Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology 18, 339-348, 1998. d) Ismail A, Khosravi H, Olson H. The role of infection in atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. A new therapeutic target. Heart Disease 1, 233-240, 1999. e) Kuvin JT, Kimmelstiel MD. Infectious causes of atherosclerosis. f.) Kalayoglu MV, Libby P, Byrne GI. Chlamydia pneumonia as an emerging risk factor in cardiovascular disease. Journal of the American Medical Association 288, 2724-2731, 2002.

27. Grau AJ and others. Recent bacterial and viral infection is a risk factor for cerebrovascular ischemia. Neurology 50, 196-203, 1998.

28. Mattila KJ. Viral and bacterial infections in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Journal of Internal Medicine 225, 293-296, 1989.

29. The successful trials: a) Gurfinkel E. Lancet 350, 404-407, 1997. b) Gupta S and others. Circulation 96, 404-407, 1997. c) Muhlestein JB and others. Circulation 102, 1755-1760, 2000. d) Stone AFM and others. Circulation 106, 1219-1223, 2002. e) Wiesli P and others. Circulation 105, 2646-2652, 2002. f) Sander D and others. Circulation 106, 2428-2433, 2002.

30. The unsuccessful trials: a) Anderson JL and others. Circulation 99, 1540-1547, 1999. b) Leowattana W and others. Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand 84 (Suppl 3), S669-S675, 2001. c) Cercek B and others. Lancet 361, 809-813, 2003. d) O’Connor CM and others. Journal of the American Medical Association. 290, 1459-1466, 2003.

31. Gieffers J and others. Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in circulating human monocytes is refractory to antibiotic treatment. Circulation 104, 351-356, 2001

32. Gurfinkel EP and others. Circulation 105, 2143-2147, 2002.

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Vitamin D is Synthesized From Cholesterol and Found in Cholesterol-Rich Foods

One of cholesterol's many functions in the body is to act as a precursor to vitamin D.

Vitamin D can also be obtained from foods. Interestingly, foods that provide this vitamin -- all of which are animal foods -- tend to be high in cholesterol.

Since cholesterol is a precursor to vitamin D, inhibiting the synthesis of cholesterol will also inhibit the synthesis of vitamin D. Since sunlight is required to turn cholesterol into vitamin D, avoiding the sun will likewise undermine our ability to synthesize vitamin D. And since vitamin D-rich foods are also rich in cholesterol, low-cholesterol diets are inherently deficient in vitamin D. http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Vitamin-D.html

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The Right Fats

The assimilation and utilization of vitamin D is influenced by the kinds of fats we consume. Increasing levels of both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids in the diet decrease the binding of vitamin D to D-binding proteins. Saturated fats, the kind found in butter, tallow and coconut oil, do not have this effect. Nor do the omega-3 fats.66 D-binding proteins are key to local and peripheral actions of vitamin D. This is an important consideration as Americans have dramatically increased their intake of polyunsaturated oils (from commercial vegetable oils) and monounsaturated oils (from olive oil and canola oil) and decreased their intake of saturated fats over the past 100 years.

In traditional diets, saturated fats supplied varying amounts of vitamin D. Thus, both reduction of saturated fats and increase of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats contribute to the current widespread D deficiency.

Trans fatty acids, found in margarine and shortenings used in most commercial baked goods, should always be avoided. There is evidence that these fats can interfere with the enzyme systems the body uses to convert vitamin D in the liver.80
http://www.westonaprice.org/basicnut...ndmiracle.html

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Debunking the Cholesterol Myth: http://www.drcranton.com/Cholesterol_myth.htm

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We’re lead to believe that cholesterol is an enemy, particularly to cardiovascular health. But think about it, why does your liver naturally produce something that’s detriment to your health? It doesn’t.

Through tapes on the raft, the lipid hypothesis reigns supreme. It dictates that in order to stay healthy you should reduce your cholesterol (to an ever receding value) by consuming a low fat diet and exercise (no prob with latter though!). And If that fails you should try controversial medicines called statins.

They are notable for alarming side effects.

Sounds nice and simple? In England 2003, the average cholesterol value was 6.1, in France it was 6.2. The recommended cholesterol level is < 5mmol. This means a lot of people ’suffer’ from a symptomless disease. But here’s the best bit: our local French neighbours don’t suffer from heart disease much, definitely not as much as us. In Japan (2005), the level of cholesterol went up as their rate of heart disease dropped, perhaps because their general lifestyle is better than the Brits to avoid inflammation of the heart in the first place despite possible low vit D. Populations with the least level of cholesterol saw higher rates of heart disease. But furthermore, high cholesterol for women the world over is not a risk factor. Are they really that different?

Did you know that vitamin D is created from cholesterol? Provide your skin with adequate sunlight and excess cholesterol is turned into vitamin D, a hormone with responsibilities including calcium metabolisation, blood sugar regulation, blood pressure regulation, mental health function, diabetes prevention…

And if your excess cholesterol isn’t turned into D, it accumulates doesn’t it?…I can find no answers, at least online that refutes or proves this. Therefore could high cholesterol just be a signifier of low vitamin D, a hormone that is said to have anti-inflammatory properties?…
http://moblogs.wordpress.com/2007/08...-significance/

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Retrospective studies: When the men were grouped according to vitamin D intake above and below 2.5 mug and serum cholesterol levels above or below 250 mg %, a significant relationship appeared (using Yates's correction X2=10.3, P=0.0013 and the correlation coefficient 0.011 less than P less than 0.005). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1179189

Effects of Atorvastatin on vitamin D levels in patients with acute ischemic heart disease.:
In conclusion, atorvastatin increases vitamin D levels. This increase could explain some of the beneficial effects of atorvastatin at the cardiovascular level that are unrelated to cholesterol levels. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17398180

It ain't lowering cholesterol (which the liver regulates anyway) which lowers heart risk, from my reading. There are many reasons why the dietary-heart-cholesterol hypothesis should be questioned, and why statins might be acting in some other way to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Here, I propose that rather than being cholesterol-lowering drugs per se, statins act as vitamin D analogues, and explain why. This proposition is based on published observations that the unexpected and unexplained clinical benefits produced by statins have also been shown to be properties of vitamin D. It seems likely that statins activate vitamin D receptors. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16815382

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Cholesterol: Friend Or Foe?
http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyour...ol-friend.html


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FOLATE:
How Do High-Folate Diets Protect Against Heart Disease? http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/40413.php

http://howtopreventheartdisease.blog...by-folate.html
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/folate.asp

Folate Consumption Reduces Risk of Stroke by 20 Percent in Male Smokers http://www.naturalnews.com/025324_st...late_food.html

Folate, brain health and stroke: http://www.naturalnews.com/023134_fo...ocysteine.html
and allergies: http://www.naturalnews.com/026225_fo...allergies.html


HTH, Pat

[cristeen]

The first thing I would do is sit him down and discuss the lunch issue. How much is his eating out costing you each month in terms of budget? What else could you be doing with that money? Keeping a lunch cool is not difficult, that's what ice packs are for. And there's plenty of food that doesn't need to be reheated in order to be eaten - in fact I pack my DH's lunch with leftovers every day and he doesn't reheat at all... even pasta he just eats stone cold. So those two arguments are spurious at best. If you're willing to take on the responsibility of packing him a lunch every day, is he going to be rude enough to not eat it? Ultimately that's the question he needs to answer.

As for what food to eat - the first thing to do would be cutting out the daily fast food. Period. Until you do that, nothing else you can do is going to make a bit of difference (which isn't to say you can't do it, just that on it's own it's not going to affect change). But once you've addressed the lunch issue - whole foods are the key. Remove the processed foods from your diet.

On their own, saturated fats are not bad for you. And in fact the fats in olives in particular are extremely healthy. But combine artificially saturated fats (trans fats) with refined grains and large amounts of sugar, like you have in the average fast food meal, and that's a recipe for a health disaster. You ever watched Supersize Me? You can get it from Netflix and I highly recommend it in your situation.

Start by cleaning up the kitchen. Get rid of the processed foods - if you expect your DH to eat clean, then you and the kids are going to have to also. But at the same time, you can't expect an overnight change to not have some backlash. Plan for it. Start meal planning, and be sure to include some "treats" in that plan - along with plenty of snacks. And don't make the mistake of trying to cut all fat out of his diet - that's another recipe for disaster. If you're scared of fat (and in our society, who isn't?) pop on over to the TF forum and they can give you plenty of information on the importance of dietary fat. You just have to know your fat sources, since not all fats are created the same.

HTH

ETA - cross posted with WuWei. She's right that cholesterol is not all that - but it sounds like eating healthier is important to you and you're feeling unsupported by your DH - which is why my advice didn't address cholesterol directly.

[madskye]

Will he eat oatmeal in the morning? Making oatmeal a regular thing can do wonders for cholesterol.

[Teensy]

My parents made a bet one time about whether my dad's levels would drop if he ate properly for one month. So for one month ny Dad only ate what Mom gave him and sure enough at the end of the 30 days his levels had dropped significantly.

Mom cooked using recipes from one of Dean Ornish's books. We ate lots of bran muffins and beans. It felt like we had bran and beans every day, in fact. But I would suggest you check out his books for meal ideas and recipes.

[4evermom]

Here's what I posted about my dh's cholesterol back in the spring...

Once in the 800s, now 214!

Back in 2003 his cholesterol was in the 800s. The doctor was so alarmed he put him on meds immediately. Those only brought it down to the 600s. We learned about the hazards of trans fats and did our best to eliminate them. Things pretty much stayed at that level. Then dh lost his job in the fall of 2006. He went off his meds, gained weight because he was depressed. He was pre-diabetic. Last February, after a year and a half, he got a job. On his feet in retail rather than another desk job. He lost all the weight he gained and then some (maybe as high as 215 to 185) from the increased activity and being busy. He just went back to the doctor and his cholesterol is 214! Diet and exercise.

Diet-wise, he avoided trans fats (anything with partially hydrogenated oil in the ingredients) like the plague. I made him breakfast muffins with ground flax seed, walnuts, or pepitas (pumpkin seeds) to up the omega 3s and ensure he ate breakfast. He never "remembered" to take fish oil because he didn't like it, not even the gelcaps. But I make him salmon once a week for dinner. I always make enough dinner for him to take leftovers to lunch. He does have access to a microwave or he'd have food temperature issues, too. So he eats salmon twice a week and rarely buys food. I never worried about eliminating other foods but the only dairy dh eats is yogurt, a little cheese, and we rarely eat red meat.

[2cutiekitties]

niacin helps from what I have heard.

[AAK]

My mom recently did everything she could to reduce her cholesterol without being on the statin drugs. The things I remember were:
She took a slow release Niacin daily (actually she broke it in half and took half in the morning and half at night)
Added more fish to her diet
Added flax

I thought there was something else--I can't remember right now, but it WORKED> the Dr. was sooooo amazed.

Oh, also, at the beginning her chol. was over 300. She went on the statins and hated the side effects. Then she discovered her thyroid was off. She is on thyroid med. and my sister read that the chol can be elevated if the thyroid was not correct. So, she went off the statins, waited a while, and had the chol checked. It was still around 260. So, she started the niacin, etc and checked it again after a couple months and it was less than 230. She will check again in a couple more months. BTW her ratio is pretty good now, just the total number that isn't.

Amy