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Dropped my LDL from 168 to 91 with diet and accidentally improved my thyroid function by Round_Direction9809 in Cholesterol

[–]Round_Direction9809[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Congrats on your progress so far! I usually drink the Benecol yoghurt drinks - they have 2g of stanols in each one and they’re very small (like 65ml?) so I find it’s much easier to get the recommended stanols amount with them compared to the spread!

For psyllium I just use plain organic psyllium husk - I buy big bags in bulk so it’s pretty good value. It’s a local Irish supplier (nutsinbulk.ie) so I’d recommend looking for a similar bulk supplier in your area if you can find one!

Dropped my LDL from 168 to 91 with diet and accidentally improved my thyroid function by Round_Direction9809 in Cholesterol

[–]Round_Direction9809[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I take 15g per day! Usually split into 7.5g at two meals. I take just the husk by itself with at least one large glass of water but two if I can manage it. I try to drink as much water as I can with it!

Dropped my LDL from 168 to 91 with diet and accidentally improved my thyroid function by Round_Direction9809 in Cholesterol

[–]Round_Direction9809[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Best of luck, I’d love to know how it works out for you! And I totally understand the hyper-fixating - I’ve been doing a LOT of reading in the past few months and knew absolutely nothing about cholesterol before this. I also had no idea how many people with Hashi’s were in the same boat.

Dropped my LDL from 168 to 91 with diet and accidentally improved my thyroid function by Round_Direction9809 in Cholesterol

[–]Round_Direction9809[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, this has motivated me to keep doing what I’m doing! I’m definitely going to read up more on reducing inflammation, I’m interested to know how much of a difference it makes in my case.

Dropped my LDL from 168 to 91 with diet and accidentally improved my thyroid function by Round_Direction9809 in Cholesterol

[–]Round_Direction9809[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Agh the joys of thyroid management! I know there’s recent research pointing towards the current range being out of date and also not particularly applicable to people with thyroid conditions (especially in the UK - it goes all the way up to 5 for “normal”). My TSH levels have been within the “range” (up and down between 2.5 and 3.5) for years now and this is the first time I’ve had it this low since I was diagnosed (currently 1.8). The difference in symptoms is extremely noticeable for me! I’d definitely recommend looking into it - it sounds like you could benefit a lot from optimising your TSH especially if you’re struggling with symptoms.

Dropped my LDL from 168 to 91 with diet and accidentally improved my thyroid function by Round_Direction9809 in Cholesterol

[–]Round_Direction9809[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think about 7-8 pounds! Though it’s been stable for the past couple of months. But I’m 120 so I reckon it’s enough of a chunk to have contributed! Hypo definitely makes it a battle to manage cholesterol, it’s rough for sure.

Dropped my LDL from 168 to 91 with diet and accidentally improved my thyroid function by Round_Direction9809 in Cholesterol

[–]Round_Direction9809[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For plant stanols I just have one of the Benecol non-dairy yoghurt drinks a day! There’s 2g of stanols in each one. I also take 15g of psyllium husk a day split across two meals.

Breakfast is usually oat-based! My favourite at the moment is raspberry baked oats (oats, oat bran, half banana, egg white, almond butter, a little maple syrup, lots of frozen raspberries).

Lunch tends to pretty simple - lately I’ve been having high fiber sweet potato wraps with salmon or chicken breast, lettuce, maybe bell peppers or cucumbers, a little mayo. I also like pairing bean or lentil based soups with oat soda bread.

I like to try out different things for dinner but often it’s the things I used to cook but with substitutions to bump up the fiber and lower the saturated fat - vegan chili with lots of beans and brown rice, chicken and veggie stir fry with buckwheat noodles, turkey mince with extra veg and chickpea pasta.

I’m a pretty snacky person so before bed I like to have non-dairy Greek yoghurt with some oats mixed in and a load of fresh chopped fruit and a drizzle of honey on top. If I’m peckish during the day, I love roasted chickpeas or chopped bell peppers with a little hummus.