Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I had very high cholesterol before this diet -- over 340. I tried niacin, exercise, but nothing really brought it down. I figured it had to be genetic. I decided with my doctor's advice, that I would go on a statin. I had been on one once before and gotten joint pain. He put me on one that is new wand not supposed cause pain. So far so good.

I am supposed to go in and get tested for cholesterol next week. Everything I have read says eat a low cholesterol diet. However I find this hard to do on Paleo. I do eat good fats, avocado, olive oil, etc. However, I do eat eggs, meat, and other high fat foods. I'm trying to eat more tuna, salmon, fish.

Does anyone have a suggestion for how to eat low cholesterol on this diet? Thank you very much.

flag	asked Oct 14 at 6:07 Monkeyjebo 189●2●8

Steamed fish, mollusks and crustaceans. I don't think you can change it in a couple days though. I concentrated on eating 50g of fiber a day for a month before a test and my TC and LDL went up. – thhq Oct 14 at 14:42

Janknitz · Accepted Answer · 2012-10-14 16:07:03Z UTC

Total cholesterol doesn't tell you much about your risk. Although its a cause for concern, basing treatment on that number alone makes little sense.

Listen to Dr. Thomas Dayspring here http://www.askthelowcarbexperts.com/2012/10/29-dr-thomas-dayspring-cholesterol-testing-what-matters-most/.

If you are eating Paleo and not going overboard with the starches, you may have a form of familial hypercholesterolemia and you need to learn more.

Jeff · Answer 2 · 2012-10-14 06:25:32Z UTC

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Do you eat dairy? If so I'd start by avoiding that (esp butter).

answered Oct 14 at 6:25

Jeff
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Diane · Answer 3 · 2012-10-14 13:41:27Z UTC

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I don't think dietary cholesterol actually has much effect on the levels in your blood. Your body is making the cholesterol, not just dumping it from stomach to blood. But you can eat a diet that is heavier on the olive oil and seafood for good health. Paleo doesn't have to mean all beef and bacon and it really doesn't have to mean high fat, either.

answered Oct 14 at 13:41

Diane
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	My body is a cholesterol factory. I've been able to get HDL up from 30 to 80, and my particles are fluffy, but I never have had much success getting TC down. I've tried high fat, low fat, high fiber, obese, normal weight and exercise, and my TC sits at 220-240 year after year. – thhq Oct 14 at 13:53
	I can see OPs concern, but why are you worried thhq? – JayJay Oct 14 at 14:51
	I have no personal concern about cholesterol, but I've worried about in the past. I've also had it tested for 20 years and have seen what I can and can't change. 340 would worry me and I have tried to offer some useful hacks. – thhq Oct 14 at 15:21
	I concur with Diane on cholesterol not having a particular macronutrient origin. It's devilishly hard to change the level for me. But it has been possible to change the form of it to be more benign: from small hard to large fluffy particles, and to higher HDL (molecular weight increase?). Statins are effective for LDL lowering, but I'm not certain that this has much of an effect on the particle morphology, and it had nil effect on raising my HDL. – thhq Oct 14 at 15:37

wes90 · Answer 4 · 2012-10-15 18:11:14Z UTC

First, get your test results. I was surprised at mine. My cholesterol levels have run at "take a statin" levels for a long time. however I am a strong pattern A. since eating a pretty strict Paleo regimen for about two months I took a non fasting test that showed my best numbers ever. well under 200 TC. LDL 127 HDL 55. trigs 50 (non-fasting!). I was one of the top Lipitor sales reps in the country and this thing has turned my understanding of lipoprotein science on its head. admittedly I am an "n" of one. I always knew that fruit juice would pump your triglycerides. I just didn't connect the dots to that leading to poor colesterol numbers overall. if you have been careful about your intake of all sugars, which includes starches, and your numbers remain high, get a VAP test. that's a very accurate cholesterol test where your Sub fractions are measured directly, not calculated. you will also be typed either A or B. A is better. when you get your numbers let us know how they turned out.

CD · Answer 5 · 2012-10-15 12:40:24Z UTC

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Start here: http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/the-straight-dope-on-cholesterol-part-i

and be prepared to have your foods-high-in-cholesterol-increase-body-cholesterol world rocked.

answered Oct 15 at 12:40

CD
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This thing you linked opens like a door on a rusty jeep. What I got open basically said that HDL was bad and don't trust your dr. What this so called expert has learned in his/her 9 months of uncited "study" is that the 30 year Framingham population study can be thrown out. This hubris is WAY over the top, and I'm GLAD to throw rocks at such a toff. – thhq Oct 15 at 13:29

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You obviously failed to read even a paragraph of the series. This, so-called expert, is the president and co-Founder of the NuSci. In this series of articles there are numerous citations to cutting-edge work and information provided by leading researchers in the field. The articles specifically cite work from the Framingham study (amongst others), including work by Jim Otvos. Keep throwing rocks before you look. – CD Oct 15 at 13:41

A lot of people find the science in Peter Attia's blog daunting and difficult to follow. John Briffa's blog is a little more accessible: drbriffa.com/blog What we have been fed about dietary fat causing cholesterol is the toff, but first we have to overcome decades of misinformation. – Janknitz Oct 15 at 14:37

I don't know why someone would downvote this answer. This link is probably the most complete and accurate free series on cholesterol available. Chris Kresser just came out with a more layperson friendly series, but you have to pay for it. (highcholesterolplan.chriskresser.com) – Todd B Oct 15 at 16:53

It's hard to look at something that opens like that. I don't like hubris, so if someone comes right out of the gate challenging conventional wisdom with their nine months of gestation time I'm expecting baby talk. – thhq Oct 15 at 18:25

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ry · Answer 6 · 2012-10-15 19:11:33Z UTC

Eat a low fat plant based diet. Olive oil is not heart healthy. A piece of skinless chicken breast has as much cholesterol as a cut or sirloin.

http://www.pmri.org/publications/newsweek/The_Great_Olive_Oil_Misconconception_Dr_Dean_Ornish.pdf

http://www.webmd.com/diet/ornish-diet-what-it-is

Cholesterol that high is dangerous. I wish you the best.

thhq · Answer 7 · 2012-10-15 18:52:52Z UTC

I've finally pried CD's link open, and what I find is worse than I expected. It's first of all associated with Taubes through NuSI, so controversy for the sake of controversy was expected. I quote a bit of it:

"One of the unfortunate results of the eternal need to simplify everything is that we (i.e., the medical establishment) have done the public a disservice by failing to communicate that there is no such thing as “bad” cholesterol or “good” cholesterol. All cholesterol is good!

The only “bad” outcome is when cholesterol ends up inside of the wall of an artery, most famously the inside of a coronary artery or a carotid artery, AND leads to an inflammatory cascade which results in the obstruction of that artery (make sure you check out the pictures in the links, above). When one measures cholesterol in the blood – we really do not know the final destination of those cholesterol molecules!"

So what's the big surprise? Cholesterol is GOOD except when it's BAD? This adds nothing to our knowledge of cholesterol; it's merely a recitation of conventional wisdom. Like Taubes the co-founder there is no money where the mouth is. Just the same mouths, regurgitating the same thing we all knew beforehand in a new and exciting way.

I expect healthy downvoting for this and would like to establish a new PR if possible.

Cholesterol — Up, Up and Away

7 Answers