The FastDay Forum

OK - as previously mentioned, I'm putting myself up for being a "Human Guinea Pig", and have today had my Cholesterol etc. levels checked. Last night I took my last Lipitor pill and I will now not take those for 1 month, at which time I will have another test done. In the meantime I will continue with my 5:2 regime (currently 7 weeks in, so on fast number 14).

For the record, here are today's figures:

Total Cholesterol : 5.27 mmol/L
LDL Cholesterol : 2.90 mmol/L
HDL Cholesterol : 1.52 mmol/L
Triglycerides : 1.88 mmol/L

The pharmacist seemed puzzled by the height of the Triglycerides reading - he suggested I must have had a lot of saturated fat in the last couple of days, which I most certainly haven't (I've logged everything I've eaten in the last 45 days or so). But overall I'm happy enough with these numbers - bear in mind that when it was first identified that I had a cholesterol problem, my Total was 11.8!

So... we shall see in a month's time whether the 5:2 diet alone can maintain these levels for me, without the use of drugs. Watch this space...

"Triglycerides in plasma are derived from fats eaten in foods or made in the body from other energy sources like carbohydrates. Calories ingested in a meal and not used immediately by tissues are converted to triglycerides and transported to fat cells to be stored. Hormones regulate the release of triglycerides from fat tissue so they meet the body's needs for energy between meals."

Perhaps the TGs are from the fat you're losing ?

Fructose, if not used for energy, is converted to triglyceride in the liver. Consumptions of large amounts of the stuff, in sweetener or fruit juice, can push TG levels up.

http://inhumanexperiment.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-does-fructose-affect-triglyceride.html

Alcohol is metabolized in much the same way. This is why more than one or two drinks, depending on body size, tends to elevate TG.

Fructose is not my particular issue - I don't use sweetener, nor drink fruit juice. And I have only drunk one pint of lager in the last week (and nothingin the 4 days prior to my test).

OK - this is a follow-up from my post of a month ago (see above) regarding testing the claimed advantages of the 5:2 diet with regard to controlling your cholesterol levels. As a statin-taker for more than 10 years, I would be very happy to be able to ditch that nightly chore and monthly expense.

Well, today I had another cholesterol check at the local pharmacy and here are the results:

Total Cholesterol : up from 5.27 to 6.08 mmol/L (should be <= 5)
LDL Cholesterol : up from 2.90 to 4.04 mmol/L (should be <= 3)
HDL Cholesterol : down from 1.52 to 1.20 mmol/L (should be >= 1.2)
Triglycerides : down from 1.88 to 1.84 mmol/L (should be <= 1.50)

Total / HDL ratio : up from 3.5 to 5.1 (should be <= 4.5)

So... on the face of it, this wasn't really very successful. Apart from the Triglycerides, everything headed in the wrong direction, and even then, the TG's are in the "borderline high" category anyway.

However, there are a few things to consider:

1. It has only been a month. The pharmacist told me it could take 3 months to see the full effects (which may mean it could get worse still, of course!),

2. Coincidentally, I had possibly my worst 2 consecutive days on my diet, over the last 2 days . Not that I overate particularly, or ate a lot of "bad-cholesterol" foods, but I don't feel that I really gave myself the best chance this morning,

3. Putting today's figures into perspective, they may not be as good as last month's ones, but they are still WAY better than they used to be - when I was first told I had a cholesterol problem, my Total figure was above 11(!), and it has been higher than this over the years, even when taking the Lipitor.

So, what to do? I think that the results, though not as good as I had hoped, are actually pretty much what I expected to see. Given what I've said above, I think that it is worth continuing my "human guinea pig" experiment for another month or two, to see what changes happen then.

If I find that the numbers continue to slip in the wrong direction, then I will obviously have to go back to the tablets, but you never know - as I continue to lose more weight and keep following the 5:2 lifestyle, maybe they'll start nudging back in the right direction instead? Whatever, I'll keep you posted...

What do you make of this report?
http://www.uab.edu/news/latest/item/218 ... art-attack

high-fat, low-carb diets affect the types of fuel the heart uses to function, alter insulin-signaling following a heart attack and increase post-heart-attack damage in normal-weight rats.

How do you resuscitate a rat after a heart attack?

"High-fat, low-carb foods are a popular choice for dieters" - Really? Not in my world, they're not...

[carorees]

Hi TwelveSticks

I'm sorry to hear you have seen no improvement in your cholesterol results as yet. May I ask whether you had blood taken after an overnight fast and how long the fast was before the blood was drawn? Circulating lipid levels will be high in people who are fat adapted (i.e., burn fat easily) during fasting.

Second, the amount of fat in your diet is less important for the amount of circulating lipids than the types of fat you consume. There is increasing evidence that foods high in omega-3 fats are the best for improving the HDL component, which is the key element. The total cholesterol is not an issue if the proportion of HDL is high, so I would concentrate on reducing the amount of saturated and omega-6 oils (sunflower oil, corn oil, margarines based on sunflower oils etc) and increasing the amount of omega-3 oils (flaxseed oil, rapeseed oil, nuts and seeds generally).

High carb foods which increase the glucose levels in the blood can also worsen the lipid profile so it is important to avoid too much sugar, and to be aware that the low fat diet foods often contain high amounts of sugar as do much of the preprepared foods one can buy (they use sugar to disguise the amount of salt in the food and both are needed to improve shelf life).

See this study which shows the importance of increasing the amount of omega-3 fats and reducing omega-6 and blood glucose: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23533205

Last, for many people, their blood lipid profile is largely genetically programmed and appears to be resistant to dietary intervention.

However, as the pharmacist said, it is still early days and continuing with fasting as a way to reduce insulin levels is likely to help the blood lipid profile even if your genetics means it does not become totally normal.

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the reply and the tips. I had fasted for 14 hours prior to the test. Also, I've been following a controlled diet for the last 12 weeks now, logging everything I eat (on MFP). My fat intake (especially saturated) have been low and I eat almost no sugar (I average about 160g Carbs and about 13g Sat Fat per day). I could certainly eat more Omega 3 oils though.

The point about genetics is particularly valid - I really don't eat much of the "bad cholesterol" things (though I don't think my Doctor believes me!). My diet in the last 3 months has been about as exemplary as you could imagine, yet the levels are above recommended.

"High-fat, low-carb foods are a popular choice for dieters" - Really? Not in my world, they're not...

they are for low carb dieters

If you eat very low fat then by subtraction you're eating high carb.

I have had success using Niacin to raise HDL and Lower LDL. Still have to take a pill but it's over the counter, cheaper.

Units are different here but relative:
Total Chol Before 178 mg After 148 mg
HDL Before 35 mg After 53 mg

Another update on my Human Guinea Pig test to see if I can control my cholesterol levels without statins (see posts above). The news isn't exactly great again. The results are below (the comparison is to my original, statin-assisted levels).

Total Cholesterol : up from 5.27 to 6.79 mmol/L (should be <= 5)
LDL Cholesterol : up from 2.90 to 4.79 mmol/L (should be <= 3)
HDL Cholesterol : down from 1.52 to 1.34 mmol/L (should be >= 1.2)
Triglycerides : down from 1.88 to 1.43 mmol/L (should be <= 1.50)

Total / HDL ratio : up from 3.5 to 5.1 (should be <= 4.5)

Now, it's not all doom and gloom though... although Total Cholesterol and LDL have continued to slip in the wrong direction in the last month, the HDL and Triglycerides have both improved, and the Total / HDL ratio is actually unchanged since last month. As this is the factor that many believe is the most significant, I'm going to choose to believe that keeping this the same while increasing my HDL back into the healthy range means these results are actually a slight improvement on last month.

All in all, I think these are enough to make me happy to give it another month and then check again - this is only 2 months off the statins and I was advised it could take 3 to see all the changes anyway.

Me again... It's 6 months on, and I have continued to not take my statins and push on with the 5:2 lifestyle, so the time came to have another test and see where I stood. Here are today's results:

Total Cholesterol : up from 6.79 to 6.84 mmol/L (should be <= 5)
LDL Cholesterol : down from 4.79 to 4.06 mmol/L (should be <= 3)
HDL Cholesterol : up from 1.34 to 2.10 mmol/L (should be >= 1.2)
Triglycerides : up from 1.43 to 1.50 mmol/L (should be <= 1.50)

Total / HDL ratio : down from 5.1 to 3.3 (should be <= 4.5)

So, a mixed bag. The Total Cholesterol and LDL figures are still outside of where they should be, but at least the LDL headed in the right direction. The HDL is great, and consequently the Total / HDL ratio (which many consider to be the most important thing) is looking super. Overall, I'm quite happy, and it was agreed that I should give it another 4-5 months and then re-check, but that there was no need to go back on the statins, which is all I'm really interested in.

I should point out that the last 6 moths have seen me lose more than another 3 stone in weight, and take up running (I run about 25k a week now), and I have reached my goal weight. So, my feeling is that I am not far off being as light and as fit as I'm likely to be.

Conclusion (for now): A combination of 5:2 living, losing weight and getting fit seems to be allowing me to control my cholesterol. I clearly have genetic issues (I still don't eat a diet that would cause me to have high cholesterol), but it looks like I can manage it adequately without medical intervention.

Looks perfect to me - most men who have heart attacks have low cholesterol, and it seems to be protective to have higher cholesterol as we age. As for eating cholesterol, I have switched breakfasts from raw oats to eggs fried in coconut oil with mushrooms & baked beans, I will be interesting to see my next blood test but the weight is staying off and I feel fine...
I am sure that lowish-carb is the answer, just using carbs to fuel exercise requirements.

Thanks for posting. Sounds encouraging. I have tests next month and keen to know my own numbers especially given my fat consumption.