People just do NOT understand the link between fat & sugar (i.e., carbohydrates) particularly as to how it relates to cholesterol.
As a RARE individual with a NEGATIVE Cholesterol Risk Factor (i.e., my cholesterol-related risk factor is even BETTER THAN ZERO) I am kind of qualified to talk about this. Plus, I have spent the last 9 years controlling my carbs — & you can see the results. SMILE.
Totally contrary to what you might think & may have been led to believe over the decades eating too much fat IS NOT the only thing that will make you fat (even obese) & increase your cholesterol. Carbohydrates (i.e., SUGAR) plays a pivotal role.
IF you can keep your carbs low, i.e., low-carb diet, you can consume a LOT of fat & still not gain any weight. You might even see a drop in your cholesterol. Google it. Look it up.
Reducing carbs (i.e., sugar) is invariably better than reducing fat! Fact of life. Proven.
You have to learn the relationship. Until you do these new nutritional labels will do diddly.
Click to ENLARGE. Note it is -0.3, i.e., MINUS 0.3. Click to ENLARGE & read here. From ‘National Library of Medicine‘.
Click to ENLARGE. And here is my HDL number, i.e., 80.
Click to ENLARGE. It has been negative for 4 years, starting in 2019.
First & foremost I don’t take this too seriously. I know that I am going to die. That, of course, is a given. I can still die from a heart disease. I don’t take any of these numbers too seriously. Plus, if heart disease doesn’t kill something else will. Given my lifestyle I will most likely die as a result of an accident or by being SHOT. (Brown lives do not matter etc.) So, let’s not get too excited about this. I am NOT.
But, I would like to SHARE some facts with YOU because so many folks have the WRONG NOTIONS about lowering/controlling cholesterol. So, let me, please, tell you how & why I got here. I will probably dispel most things you previously believed when it came to lowering cholestrol.
I lucked out. In 1997 I ran into a young, Indian (Tamil) cardiologist who had just moved to Central New Hampshire. He was THRILLED to come across another brownie. We hit it off instantly & became social friends. I was 44 at the time. I was not as healthy then as I am now. I led an incredibly hectic life, travelling (by plane) 3 to 4 days a week — working 14 – 16 hour days. He was ‘worried’ about me. He said I am going to put you on a heart disease PREVENTIVE regime. He went onto add: ‘you will THANK ME when you turn 60‘. I was 44 then. I am 69 now. There is a list of 4 doctors I thank in my mind each day (in gratitude): this cardiologist, my cataract doctor, my knee doctor & an early urologist.
In 1997 he put me on 10mg of Lipitor & three (3) low-dose blood pressure medications. Around the same time, this young ex-Air Force urologist put me on ‘Cardura‘ (a miracle drug that slow down (but does not prevent) prostate enlargement). [Cardura also reduces your blood pressure!] I have been taking those 5 pills, daily, at the same dosage, for 25 years! My current doctor says I can come off them, BUT we both agree that it would be a shame to disrupt what has been a WINNING formula.
I tell anyone who will listen that they should take Lipitor, whether they need it right now or not, as a preventative — as I did. Really no side-effects to talk off. Win-Win.
OK, so I do take Lipitor — & have done for 25-years. That sure helps. It would be stupid to argue otherwise.
My eating habits.
1/ I am NOT a vegetarian. Far from it. I eat a LOT of meat, near daily — sometimes having meat for breakfast, lunch & dinner. Yes, I tend to eat ‘lean’ meat: pork, chicken, steak, turkey & ground beef & occasionally lamb, bison, venison & duck. I stay away from bacon. I used to eat ham, sausages & hot dogs more or less everyday but cut back drastically over the last 12-months to reduce the amount of processed food intake.
I eat up to a dozen eggs a week & a TON of CHEESE. I love cheese. I can live on cheese. I eat a lot, BUT AGAIN over the last 12-months I have made a conscious & conscientious effort to cut back on the amount of cheese I eat. I no longer, ALAS, eat cheese everyday. Not even every other day. Yes, I make sacrifices like that.
2/I have really cut back on carbs over the last 3 years. And I mean REALLY. No bread, no rice, no lentils, no pasta, no chocolates, no cake, no pizza, no pies, no potatoes … Yes, the list goes on. But, I do CHEAT by consuming LARGE QUANTITES of RED WINE on a daily basis. Red wine is what keeps me going. I do not function without red wine. I am told red wine is medicinal & helps with cholesterol etc. Doesn’t really matter. I can’t live without red wine.
So, I eat a lot of meat, eggs, cheese but very little in terms of carbs bar red wine.
But, my doctor FINALLY worked out how & why my HDL is HIGH.
To quote him (from last year): “That is what happens when you walk 8-miles everyday”.
