Please help, I've been diagnosed with familial hypercholesterolemia =[ page 2

[AudrinaBlythe]

Pooka, thank you very much for your reply, I'll definitely check those podcasts out when I get home as I'm eager to know more about the condition.

Buffdv, I've been Primal for about two months now and I already feel a lot better since ditching the grains (I used to eat a LOT of brown rice). I wasn't following a completely SAD diet pre-Paleo because I've had problems digesting wheat, gluten and dairy for years but I did used to eat a lot of gluten-free alternative foods that were embarrassingly high in sugar. Since going Paleo, my stomach has been so much better and I don't crave the foods I wasn't allowed to eat in the first place.

JudyCr, thanks for your support, it is a bit of a downer to find out about something like this but hopefully I'll have more tests done when I go to see the lipid specialist I've been referred to. I'm going to stay as Paleo as I possibly can and maybe just use olive oil sparingly when I make omelette or fried eggs.

[Nady]

Just wondering~ how did you eat before April 2012? Not sure it's realistic to blame a WOE you've followed for at most, 6 weeks. For all you know, with time, primal eating may be what's best for your system. We do know know that people without a genetic condition don't usually do well on a high grain (carb) diet, so how would it benefit you?

ETA~ I see you've posted your former diet~ JMO, but I think it's probably why your cholesterol is so high right now~

[AudrinaBlythe]

Hi Nady,

I'm definitely not blaming Paleo for my high cholesterol because I don't overeat on the red meat or use excessive amounts of coconut oil. My doctor said that I've probably lived with the condition my entire life but because I've never been tested for it before, nothing was ever picked up.

I definitely do NOT want to go back to eating grains so if anything, I would just cut out the red meat and eat more chicken and salmon and cook my eggs in a small amount of olive oil instead of coconut oil. If I do have to cut the really fatty things out of my diet, I still want to be able to eat Primally but maybe a slightly modified version so it's low-fat.

[JudyCr]

Oddly wonderful, isn't it, that you started living/eating paleo just recently, almost like your body knew something was wrong and your good sense (karma) had you search out and change your eating habits? I would stay with what you've started, drink lots of filtered water, consider sugar & grains as poison, go prepared to all dr. appts. (Just my opinion but I tend to pray about things like this and have already done so in your behalf, sorry to offend anyone with that, but it's just me).

[Radialhead]

I think the first thing you should do is ring the doctor & ask them for the full set of figures. At the very least, you want to know the HDL, total cholesterol & triglycerides. If a doctor says your LDL should be around 2.2, then that's a doctor whose advice you need to ignore as frankly they haven't got a clue. I wouldn't accept a diagnosis of FH from someone like that. Also, do you know what your blood pressure is?

[billp]

Have you considered just ignoring your doctor? What do you want to go to the doctor for if you aren't ill, anyway? Either that or get a doctor who isn;t living in the dark ages. I don't think it is even possible for a woman to have hypercholestrolemia.

[Nady]

Hi Nady,

I'm definitely not blaming Paleo for my high cholesterol because I don't overeat on the red meat or use excessive amounts of coconut oil. My doctor said that I've probably lived with the condition my entire life but because I've never been tested for it before, nothing was ever picked up.

I definitely do NOT want to go back to eating grains so if anything, I would just cut out the red meat and eat more chicken and salmon and cook my eggs in a small amount of olive oil instead of coconut oil. If I do have to cut the really fatty things out of my diet, I still want to be able to eat Primally but maybe a slightly modified version so it's low-fat.

As for the blaming~ I know you won't, but your doctor probably will. If grains are so good for lowering cholesterol, then why are there so many statin drugs out there and so many people taking them?

You can buy beef with all levels of fat, depends on the cut. I don't push fats~ I try to eat foods where the fat is part of the total package, like eggs or chicken thighs~ bacon occasionally, olive oil in salad dressing, things like that.
Here's something to think about~

from Heart Surgeon Speaks Out On What Really Causes Heart Disease

Simply stated, without inflammation being present in the body, there is no way that cholesterol would accumulate in the wall of the blood vessel and cause heart disease and strokes. Without inflammation, cholesterol would move freely throughout the body as nature intended. It is inflammation that causes cholesterol to become trapped.

You've already started down a healthier path, keep going~

[Radialhead]

If a doctor blames a diet for FH he should probably be struck off. The whole point of FH is it's genetic. So if your family give you grief about what you eat, tell them to bugger off as it's their genes that are the problem, not what you eat...

[AudrinaBlythe]

Yes JudyCr, it's ridiciously bad timing. Not only is it inconvenient but my family now think it's related to being on the Paleo diet, which I think is wrong. I drink 3 pint glasses of filtered water every day at work and sugar and grains definitely are poison so I already avoid those at all costs !

Radialhead, I'm not sure of my blood pressure but last time I was checked (two / three months ago), it was normal. I'm going to ring my doctors up in a moment and ask for my full blood results to be sent out to me so if I can get hold of those, I'll definitely get them up on here.

billp, I don't want to ignore my doctor just yet because I do worry about my health a lot but I will be doing some investigating before I take my doctor's opinion 100%.

[AudrinaBlythe]

Nady, thanks so much for the article. I usually eat grass-fed beef burgers and lamb steak when I eat red meat (and they're top quality) but I think I'll cut out the lamb steaks now as they have quite a bit of fat on them. I know I'm definitely on the right path with my health so, like JudyCr suggested, I am going to continue to eat how I do and get tested reguarly to see if this has any affect on my health.

Radialhead, I discussed my diet with my doctor after she told me about the condition and she thinks that I eat really healthily and told me she doesn't think it's down to my diet but maybe just don't eat as much red meat as now, so that's okay.