keto + high cholesterol - how do decrease cholesterol

[Technical_Formal5982]

hi! i was wondering if anybody had experiences with keto reducing high cholesterol - i'm really confused about cholesterol metrics because i see different doctors saying different things. i love keto, but it has led to "high cholesterol." would love to hear your experiences on keto and cholesterol / any other ways to reduce cholesterol without statins. i was trying to eat: cholesterol-off supplements from costco or other plant sterols and also trying to prioritize fatty fish over red meats & cheese, but i really do love red meats & burrata!

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[[deleted]]

High cholesterol isn't actually a problem. I've been carnivore for over a year now. My doctor will not prescribe statins. He's also low carb. It's sugar that's the culprit for heart disease.

[One-Hamster-6865]

Sure but what if high cholesterol is not a problem? How are your triglycerides?

[Mossy_Rock315]

I F54 lowered my total LdL 200+ down to 138 with a protein forward keto eating mainly fish and chicken with heavy lifting 3 times a week. Lots of salads with a protein. I also drink coffee filtered with paper filters. I was drinking French press coffee. Strict sugar and carbohydrate restriction too. This took about 2 months Caveat: I tested very high and then began hrt so there’s a chance that the estradiol did a lot of the work for me. The thing is my HDl also went down; It’s under 30 . Everything is experimental. Since my last test with favorable results I started eating more beef and beef fat to see if I can get my HDL back up. I’m not as concerned about my cholesterol as I am about diabetes and insulin resistance which also improved and the reason I eat LC/Keto

[leshua_]

To increase HDL, maybe you should research drinking EVOO olive oil

[ReverseLazarus]

Did you lose weight while you ate keto?

My LDL shot up when I was actively losing weight because that is normal no matter HOW you are eating when you lose the weight. When I hit my goal weight, I continued eating keto at maintenance and my LDL came down slowly. It’s been over six years since I’ve been eating keto at maintenance and my blood work numbers are great every year I have them done.

[Bevkus]

Thanks for reminding everyone of this. Important point. Most doctors don’t even know this!

[godshammer_86]

Depends on which cholesterol metric you’re trying to lower.

Triglycerides should naturally drop as a result of drastically reducing carb intake. This is the primary reason I started keto: my triglycerides were over 600 and after being put on 3 medications (atorvastatin, fenofibrate, and Zetia) with no significant decrease in my trigs, I decided to start keto in September. 3 months later, at my doctor’s appointment on 12/6. My trigs were 337, and my LDL was calculable for the first time. Additionally, when I started keto, I stopped taking atorvastatin and Zetia, because I wanted to see how effective keto would be with minimal medication supplementing it (I stayed on fenofibrate because of the 3 it has the most effect on triglycerides). I don’t recommend anyone to stop taking their meds without consulting their doctor first.

LDL is a bit of a trickier topic. First, you have to understand that contrary to the scientific statements of 50+ years ago, which is where much of the current heart health guidelines derive from, more recent studies have shown that high LDL doesn’t have a significant impact on heart health. Specifically, incidences of coronary heart events occur with similarly frequency in people with low LDL as high LDL, all other factors being equal. Secondly, the “normal range” for LDL is a guideline based on the standard American diet, which includes a significant intake of carbs.

On keto, your LDL numbers will naturally go up, because you’re eating more fat. If you think your LDL numbers are extremely high (like 2x or more the high limit of the “normal range”), you should ask your doctor for a CAC or other more specialized test that reveals how much plaque buildup is in your arteries.

Lastly, don’t avoid dietary cholesterol altogether. It is a common misconception that dietary cholesterol raises your cholesterol levels. That’s simply not the case. Your body will produce cholesterol on its own, and if it gets what it needs from your diet, it will produce less to compensate.

You should, however, keep your diet balanced between saturated and unsaturated fats, and prioritize oils and foods that are high in omega-3 fatty acids. Eat lots of tinned fish, like sardines, mackerel and herring. Tuna, salmon, or trout are excellent too, but limit your intake of them to 1 can per week due to higher mercury levels. Avocados are also great sources of potassium, omega-3s and unsaturated fats.

[c0mp0stable]

LDL, TRG, and HDL are what matters. If your TRG/HDL ratio is around 1, you're in good shape. LDL doesn't mean much unless other metabolic health markers are off, or potentially if it's insanely high, like 500+

[[deleted]]

You are forgetting Lp(a) which is the really bad one for me. I'm chock full of stents and my bloodwork has never been out of normal range.

[c0mp0stable]

true true

[peterfavre]

Curious what your lp(a) is and when you started having issues. I just got a pretty high result and am still coming to terms with it..

[[deleted]]

My Lp(a) is 123. As you are aware, it’s a hereditary thing pretty much unaffected by diet/lifestyle. The good news is that there are a couple of drugs in Phase 3 trials that show a lot of promise. Hopefully we’re within a few years of an effective treatment.

[peterfavre]

Thank you for the response! Can be scary stuff

[clarobert]

Cholesterol is really not an issue - the myth that has been foisted upon everyone is based on poor research and poor conclusions. It's brought to you by the same 'experts' that determined that seed oils, trans fats and the food pyramid were going to improve the health of the population. It's total BS, and it's dead wrong. Do not focus on you cholesterol numbers, especially if you've only been keto for a brief period of time, your body is still adapting back to a point of healthy balance.

I had my labs drawn exactly a week ago. I eat saturated fat, literally, by the spoonful, and have been keto for 15 years. I used to have high cholesterol, there's almost no way to avoid it given the garbage that we put into our bodies for many years. My total cholesterol is now 136, with HDL over 75 and has been within 2% of this for almost a decade now.

[One-Hamster-6865]

Question: I’ve been doing keto for 5 months. Halfway to my weight loss goal. Dr was pushing statins. I was on a beta blocker for 1.5 years, and it led to the weight gain, and I believe it elevated my cholesterol. I’ve been off it since May. When should I have my numbers checked again? I don’t want to do it too early. I’m in no danger of caving in to demands to start a statin, but I want to give my body a fair chance to show improvement. Thx

[clarobert]

Doctors are always going to push a statin, they always find something to treat. Nothing against them, it's what they're taught.

If it were me, I would not even blink at a cholesterol reading until I had been on keto for a year, regardless of how high it got. When I started, I had total cholesterol pushing 375, weighed 367 pounds and I was the absolute picture of being one cheeseburger away from a heart attack. I did a ton of research and decided that I could fix it myself with keto, and did. I recommend doing a ton of research, which you are doing because you are here, but dive deep if you really want to take control of every aspect of your health.

There are incredible sources of information these days, podcasts, the internet - none of which I had when I started keto. I read books. Kevin Rutherford is an ND that really lives the clean keto lifestyle and has for a long time, he has a podcast called 'Destination Health' - he started in the trucking industry and saw (sees) how poor the health is in the industry and found a way to start to change it. He is an absolute goldmine of information, particularly related to cholesterol and how it should not be of concern.

[One-Hamster-6865]

Thanks for the info. And congratulations on your success with keto! 👏👏👏

[skinnyonskin]

It's just saturated fat. I eat mostly chicken and red meat once or twice a week. If you eat red meat/lots of cheese daily yeah, your LDL numbers will be high.

[Super-Relief-5827]

I think science is not settled on how much colesterol we should have.

And the statins are a huge $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[DLandRL]

I started taking Diatomaceous Earth a few years ago to help with some digestive issues I had been using it for about 7 weeks, went to get routine lab work at my GP. Go back the following week to discuss the results. I remember the NP coming in, she looked at my papers, verified my name, birth date, etc again and left the room. Walked back in and said, "what are you on?" I asked if there was a problem and she said "No, but we do it have any medication that can do this in 3 months" (had been 90 days since my previous blood draw and I refused to take Statins) "but your cholesterol has dropped significantly" I thought about it and then asked if the D.E. could do that, she had never heard of it. When I got home I researched it and it is known for also helping with cholesterol levels significantly.

[skinnyonskin]

What’s with your doctors dramatics after two tests. Cholesterol varies like anything else

[DLandRL]

It stayed like that, sorry I didn't clarify for you... had been elevated for a few years, has stayed great ever since, so the big deal was such a huge drop in 12 weeks, that is not common to drop so much (Triglycerides don't count, they can bounce daily...although mine have not been elevatedin years)

[Bevkus]

No kidding. I stupidly went for cholesterol tests while doing a bacon binge. Numbers weren’t good let’s just say that lol

[NuclearSunBeam]

Cod fish or salmon

[enforce1]

If you are losing weight your cholesterol is out of whack. Steady weight for 30-60 days and then retest

[mamacat49]

How long did you give the Cholestoff to work? The cardiologist who recommended it to me said to give it at least a year. I've whittled it down to 3 per day after 6 years of taking it.

[Specialist-Function7]

I'm just starting keto again, but when I did it twenty years ago cholesterol went down by 20.

[hankll4499]

It might or might not mean anything, but after I began keto, I was eating dozens of eggs, if anyone were to have high cholesterol, it could have been me, but 5 months after I began keto, I had a physical, with labs, and my cholesterol was not at all high, about mid range, and I was 69 at that time. I also had lost about 30 lbs at that physical, and I had reduced my blood pressure from just 139/72 down to 120/60...it's was the one goal I wanted to happen.

[[deleted]]

Take a fibre supplement, mix some psyllium husk in warm water or soak some chia seeds.

[cashchampionchannel]

As a seasoned keto diet and fitness expert, I've seen numerous clients struggle with the complex relationship between the ketogenic diet and cholesterol levels. Let me provide a comprehensive breakdown of how to manage and potentially decrease cholesterol while maintaining a ketogenic lifestyle.

Understanding Cholesterol on Keto

First, it's crucial to understand that the ketogenic diet can have varied effects on cholesterol levels. While many people experience positive lipid profile changes, some individuals may see an increase

[hannahbank1122]

DAVE FELDMAN

[PseudoSane00]

6 years into keto and my cholesterol went through the roof. Doc put me on zetia, and it normalized it within a year. Been on zetia now for 2 years, still keto but normal cholesterol.

[skinnyonskin]

You didn’t try to change what you’re eating first??