Comments on Cranky Fitness: Great cholesterol, false sense of security

So high fat diets must be calming? Destressing? Wo...

2008-09-17T08:33:00.000-04:00

So high fat diets must be calming? Destressing? Works for me.

Mary Anne in Kentucky

Hey Crystal, could you do me a favor? Where did yo...

2008-09-16T22:54:00.000-04:00

Hey Crystal, could you do me a favor? Where did you read about reducing cholesterol levels 30% through diet?

I've been trying to google for the research on that, but I'm not having any luck. (Only because I'm too lazy to sift through all 460,000 results that I got from googling.)

I did run across an extremely depressing study about low-fat diets:

The investigators discovered that men with blood cholesterol levels of less than 160 milligrams per deciliter had a homicide, suicide or fatal accident rate 50 to 80 percent higher than those with the highest cholesterol levels. Women with low cholesterol levels were nearly 30 percent more prone to violent death.

AHAHAHAhahahahaha! I LOVE that first cat! What? ...

2008-09-16T18:40:00.000-04:00

AHAHAHAhahahahaha! I LOVE that first cat!

What? There was a post under the cat? About cholesterol and stuff?

Huh.

Did I mention the cat was funny? ;)

Dietary control of cholesterol for most people is ...

2008-09-16T17:04:00.000-04:00

Dietary control of cholesterol for most people is not quite practical for many people. The max reduction through diet is 30% so if your cholesterol is rather high don't feel bad if you need to take medication.

I think your genes play a part as well as dietary ...

2008-09-16T15:39:00.000-04:00

I think your genes play a part as well as dietary habits. Jenn does all the right things and still has not-so-great cholesterol, while other people sail through life without any need to work at it.

It's kinda like those 100-year-old people who spend 80 years smoking a pack a day and still have fairly good lungs. Me, I'm afraid I'd be the little old lady in the corner with the oxygen mask if I tried that.

I went through menopause at 40. Was on hormones f...

2008-09-16T15:33:00.000-04:00

I went through menopause at 40. Was on hormones for a while, but I've not had any for years. My cholesterol, last time it was checked was great. Apparently my bad C is not bad, and my good C is through the roof. And I didn't eat oatmeal hardly at all, though I'm famous for my oatmeal rolls.

So it's not hopeless!!

BTW I finally found a brand of oatmeal I actually like, so I eat more now (Bob's Red Mill Scottish).

And that fitness techie thing I was talking about is The Fitbit Tracker. I'm definitely looking into that. Tracks exercise, calories burned, steps taken and distance moved as well as sleep length and quality. And if you enter your food info you get a better picture. You can read about it in yesterdays NYTimes.

We eat a lot of oatmeal here....except hubby. "T...

2008-09-16T15:03:00.000-04:00

We eat a lot of oatmeal here....except hubby. "They" say to having your cholesterol, blood sugars, and blood pressure checked is so important. You could look like a picture of health and be in BAD shape. I need to make an appt with my doc to get these tests done. Great reminder and I love the photo of the kittie with the paper towel on his head :)

Oh, well, here I thought I was doing well, but it'...

2008-09-16T14:43:00.000-04:00

Oh, well, here I thought I was doing well, but it's just my fat working for me! Harumph! Now I'm cranky! ;-)

I was eating oatmeal and fanning off a hot flash a...

2008-09-16T13:04:00.000-04:00

I was eating oatmeal and fanning off a hot flash as I read this. How ironic. Now I just hope I got rid of all that "extra padding" in time.

Great post.

Thanks for this post. Despite eating rather badly ...

2008-09-16T12:39:00.000-04:00

Thanks for this post. Despite eating rather badly throughout most of my younger years, my cholesterol has always been excellent. But you're right. It probably won't always be that way which is one of the reasons I am trying hard to eat healthier now.

I just don't think I can take the oatmeal though.

I've always had good cholesterol levels, even afte...

2008-09-16T12:35:00.000-04:00

I've always had good cholesterol levels, even after menopause struck! I'm sure some of it has to do with plain old-fashioned genetics.
But I have been eating better lately, too, just because.

Well, that would explain why my cholesterol has go...

2008-09-16T11:45:00.000-04:00

Well, that would explain why my cholesterol has gone up then. They are killing my estrogen since my cancer was hormone positive. Oatmeal it is!

I'm all for chocolate in my oatmeal but I usually ...

2008-09-16T11:31:00.000-04:00

I'm all for chocolate in my oatmeal but I usually eat the oatmeal with a smashed up bran muffin in it instead.
If you put some flour, 2 eggs, oatmeal, a pinch of salt, & baking soda, vanilla, some chocolate, and bake for 10 minutes at 350, you can eat cookies with oatmeal and chocolate in them too!

I eat oatmeal AND chocolate, so goodie for me. I w...

2008-09-16T11:03:00.000-04:00

I eat oatmeal AND chocolate, so goodie for me. I was surprised to learn my cholesterol was 180-something a few months ago (I donated blood and they tld me). But my doctor retested me and said my LDL is very low and HDL is very high, prolly from so much exercise, so no worries!

Always such great insight! Thank you for sharing.....

2008-09-16T10:31:00.000-04:00

Always such great insight! Thank you for sharing...truly appreciate it! :)

I was always happy about my low cholesterol...but ...

2008-09-16T10:27:00.000-04:00

I was always happy about my low cholesterol...but now I'm all worried. Gee thanks!
A friend of mine had to have an early hysterectomy and ended up in menopause at 35 (oh what fun for her). She has had whackadoo cholesterol ever since. I'll mention this to her...she eats healthier than I do and is annoyed at the whole high cholesterol thing. And she hates oatmeal...altho chocolate is good news :)
Luckily I love oatmeal so when I"m older I'm all set :)

Oatmeal and chocolate! Absolutely!I wonder how th...

2008-09-16T10:15:00.000-04:00

Oatmeal and chocolate! Absolutely!

I wonder how the Pill affects your cholesterol? And how amenorrhea affects cholesterol?

Charlotte, you're right -- the body needs some of ...

2008-09-16T09:57:00.000-04:00

Charlotte, you're right -- the body needs some of both the HDL and LDL types of cholesterol. But too much of anything can hurt you, and it's good to be prepared for the changes that come with menopause. I was feeling smug about my great cholesterol levels until I delved a little into the research.
Jenn -- sorry to hear about the stubborn LDL levels!

Oooh, how about oatmeal with mini chocolate chips?...

2008-09-16T09:55:00.000-04:00

Oooh, how about oatmeal with mini chocolate chips? That sounds awesome!

My cholesterol is really good, but then...I'm not quite 30. Who knows what it'll be in another 30 years. I generally eat healthy, but I don't skimp on ice cream and cake on the occasions I get to eat it.

Is there any way to test cholesterol without taking into consideration the estrogen?

Cholesterol is a tricky thing and it seems like th...

2008-09-16T09:37:00.000-04:00

Cholesterol is a tricky thing and it seems like there's so much that we don't know about it. High cholesterol runs in my family so I'm always trying to eat salmon, oatmeal and nuts. It helps raise the HDL, but I can barely get the LDL to budge. And I workout probably 5+ hours a week. Cruel!

Ahh. That makes sense why men seem to have higher ...

2008-09-16T09:27:00.001-04:00

Ahh. That makes sense why men seem to have higher cholesterol readings than women in general. I just thought we were superior creatures.

Now I want oatmeal.

Nice post!!Keep the triglycerides low!

2008-09-16T09:27:00.000-04:00

Nice post!!

Keep the triglycerides low!

PS: Charlotte, my posts so often show up right aft...

2008-09-16T09:26:00.000-04:00

PS: Charlotte, my posts so often show up right after yours that I feel as if we're sitting here drinking our coffee together. [waves]

Mary Anne in Kentucky

I ate oatmeal yesterday. I'm more likely to eat it...

2008-09-16T09:24:00.000-04:00

I ate oatmeal yesterday. I'm more likely to eat it in the winter so there's more in my future.
I eat chocolate almost every day.

Cholesterol and menopause go together like....[cen...

2008-09-16T09:23:00.000-04:00

Cholesterol and menopause go together like....[censored.]
Yes, I ate whatever I wasn't allergic to (which sometimes meant I cooked everything with butter) and had amazingly low cholesterol figures. Not now!

Listen to your Registered Dietician! My BestFriendTheDoctor started life as a dietician and got her master's degree in nutrition, and had a sort of epiphany when she discovered that RNs and MDs, with maybe four hours of nutrition education, could order patient diets, and she, with years of study, could not. She went to medical school at thirty-three. (Unfortunately she's not MY doctor because her practice is more than a hundred miles from me, but I get Free Advice, which is nice.)

Mary Anne in Kentucky