# High cholesterol : meal and dessert



## Julian31 (Dec 18, 2015)

Hi,

My mom was recently diagnosticated as high cholesterol, I am in trouble because I know little about high cholesterol foods, she really loves sweets and pastries but now I have to help her in balancing sweets and foods though I always bake something for her. Do you know if there are any alternatives of pastries which are safe for her???


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## Andy M. (Dec 18, 2015)

Cholesterol is found in meats, poultry and fish and their by-products like milk, butter, cream.

There is no cholesterol in flour, sugar, shortening or flavor extracts like vanilla.


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## Zereh (Dec 18, 2015)

Reducing dietary cholesterol (from foods) will have little effect on elevated cholesterol levels in the blood stream. Having a "high" cholesterol number doesn't mean much unless you also factor in what kind of cholesterol is being referred to (HDL / LDL), the "fluffiness" of the LDL particles and most importantly the triglyceride/HDL ratio. All of that information needs to be looked at together for an accurate picture.

There is a ton of _new_ information out there regarding cholesterol, fat consumption in general, how our bodies try to regulate insulin and just how detrimental it is to have an irregular insulin response. Hope your search in finding ways to help your Mother become more healthy is a successful one!

Dr Peter Attia

Dr Johnny Bowden

jeesh, I'm having formatting issues today! I would look into using a sugar substitute (sugar alcohols) to use when making her some Christmas treats. I hear about xylitol or erythitol + stevia blends most often. I don't personally use them, but hear good things about them for those who do.


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## GotGarlic (Dec 18, 2015)

This is a good summary of recent research on dietary cholesterol and heart disease: http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/...rs-rethink-cholesterol-risk-from-foods-report

Lifestyle factors like exercise affect heart disease, too. It's a complicated subject. It might be a good idea to get guidance from your mother's doctor. Maybe ask for a referral to a dietitian.


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## Julian31 (Dec 24, 2015)

Thanks a lot all  I thought she cannot eat pastries anymore .. I'd also better ask a dietitian. Anyway, I wish you to have a wonderful Christmas Day.


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## fmw (Jan 20, 2016)

I'm a long time coronary heart disease patient.  Recently my cardiologist told me that the American Heart Association stopped recommending the treatment of high cholesterol.  He still has me on a statin but he says it helps prevent new heart attacks.  He says the cholesterol level isn't that important and ended my annual heart blood panel.

If you are of normal weight then you are doing what is good for your heart in terms of diet.  If you are overweight then you should cut back your intake.


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## Dawgluver (Jan 20, 2016)

fmw said:


> I'm a long time coronary heart disease patient.  Recently my cardiologist told me that the American Heart Association stopped recommending the treatment of high cholesterol.  He still has me on a statin but he says it helps prevent new heart attacks.  He says the cholesterol level isn't that important and ended my annual heart blood panel.
> 
> If you are of normal weight then you are doing what is good for your heart in terms of diet.  If you are overweight then you should cut back your intake.




This interests me.  My old-school doc keeps trying to put me on statins.  I keep refusing.  I pointed out that statins cause diabetes in post- menopausal women.  He still disagrees.  Medicine is a business.  The more you're on, the more money they make.


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## GotGarlic (Jan 20, 2016)

I don't know about that, Dawg. Many doctors are in practices where they earn a salary. They don't make extra money on procedures or lab tests and it's unethical, if not illegal, for them to accept money to prescribe drugs. 

I'm glad I live in an area with a medical school. All my doctors are on the faculty; they do research and teach medical students and residents, as well as patient care, so they're always up on the latest recommendations.


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## Dawgluver (Jan 20, 2016)

GotGarlic said:


> I don't know about that, Dawg. Many doctors are in practices where they earn a salary. They don't make extra money on procedures or lab tests and it's unethical, if not illegal, for them to accept money to prescribe drugs.
> 
> I'm glad I live in an area with a medical school. All my doctors are on the faculty; they do research and teach medical students and residents, as well as patient care, so they're always up on the latest recommendations.




I have a feeling that some of the older docs don't keep up with the latest medical research.  Though in my little home town, the docs were family friends, and even made house calls!


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## GotGarlic (Jan 20, 2016)

I agree. They only do as much continuing education as is necessary to maintain their licenses.


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## Dawgluver (Jan 20, 2016)

I think it's so important to keep up with medical research.  Docs are so quick to put everyone on statins.  My dad suffered terribly with muscle aches and pains from a statin.  His quality of living definitely suffered.


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## Addie (Jan 20, 2016)

Dawgluver said:


> I have a feeling that some of the older docs don't keep up with the latest medical research.  Though in my little home town, the docs were family friends, and even made house calls!



Poo sets aside every week time where he reads up on the latest and greatest medical information. He practices Emergency Medicine in an EM Room. In the winter they get all the broken bones from skiers who didn't quite make it all the way down the hill. Quite often when first treating their injuries, he will find something else that the patient was totally unaware of. As a result he does a sugar reading and EKG on every patient that comes through his ER. And he makes sure that all patients whether they are his or not, get the same treatment. The two go hand in hand.


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## GotGarlic (Jan 20, 2016)

Yes. I've been known to take printouts from research websites to ask my doctors about. They can't know everything, especially if it's not in their area of expertise. My family doctor doesn't hesitate to refer me to a specialist when necessary.


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## Addie (Jan 20, 2016)

GotGarlic said:


> Yes. I've been known to take printouts from research websites to ask my doctors about. They can't know everything, especially if it's not in their area of expertise. My family doctor doesn't hesitate to refer me to a specialist when necessary.



So glad to hear that. My PCP is a specialist in geriatrics. Not old bones with arthritis, not a heart specialist or any other practice. So like yours, he sends me off to the hospital the program is affiliated with. I swear he has sent me to every specialty except OB/GYN. Every doctor needs to be not afraid to say "I don't know, but I will send you to someone who does." So glad to hear you have one of those kinds of doctor.


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## fmw (Jan 21, 2016)

Dawgluver said:


> This interests me.  My old-school doc keeps trying to put me on statins.  I keep refusing.  I pointed out that statins cause diabetes in post- menopausal women.  He still disagrees.  Medicine is a business.  The more you're on, the more money they make.



This is from the American Heart Association and it reduces the amount of medical care we heart patients undergo.  We no longer take the blood panels and we don't worry so much about foods that contain cholesterol  While the statins do reduce cholesterol, their real purpose is to help prevent heart attacks.  The best thing we can do for our hearts is to stay trim with a proper diet and exercise.

What would have been my last heart attack was a strange feeling deep in my chest during a bike ride.  I finished the ride, visited the emergency room later in the day after consulting with the doctor, had a heart cath that day and had my second bypass surgery the following day.  Without the statin drug I would likely have had a heart attack and a bad one according to the cardiologist.

women are virtually immune to coronary heart disease prior to menopause.  It starts with menopause.  Your doctor is probably giving you good advice if you have any symptoms of atherosclerosis.  You may want to visit a cardiologist for a stress test or other type of test.


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## Addie (Jan 21, 2016)

I was having a problem with memory of some of the simplest words and things I do every day. So I began to suspect some of my meds. I sat down at the computer and looked up every med I am on. Sure enough, right there in black and white was the name of the statin I was on, and the major side effect was memory loss. It explained that it was not the same loss as Alzheimer's Disease. I stopped taking it. Again I was being overdosed, just like the blood pressure. I began to see an improvement in my memory within the week. I am not a big meat eater. Butter yes. I would rather sit down to a bowl of steamed leafy veggie with butter than a beautiful steak. I was never worried about cholesterol. 

When I did this I had a list of all my meds. It took three pages to print them all out. I started to question every one of them. I am now down to 1.5 pages. I also have not had any episodes of any kind that have sent me to the hospital in an ambulance. Unfortunately for doctors today, the patient has the Internet and can hunt for information on their own. Like I did. Just like my diabetes. I kept having sugar crashes. I am not a big carb eater. I can't tell you the last time I had even a slice of bread. And I do not eat sweets. So my doctor took me off my diabetes pills. I now control it by diet alone. And I don't find it difficult at all.


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