The FastDay Forum

Hi there, I have seen cholesterol levels mentioned in a few posts and wondered whether you thought that fasting will help lower my cholesterol levels, which are slightly raised (just over 6 I think). I had a blood test for thyroid recently (I have an under active thyroid and take medication) and the doc said he wanted to do cholesterol check too. I was surprised when he rang a few days later and said it was raised, as I thought I was quite healthy etc but apparently it can run in families and is not necessarily cause for alarm. But I so tend to go for sugary/ starchy things and think there may be a link? Anyway, am curious to know whether others have seen their cholesterol levels fall with this woe.
Thanks!

Hello Rosie!
We are in a similar position. I recently had a problem with my thyroid (gained 4 kilos in less than 2 weeks) and my recent blood tests showed increased cholesterol.
It seems that not all bodies can handle gained weight and apparently mine showed that it cannot.
Fasting will help you to lower your cholesterol levels, as long as you don't overdo it on feast days. By overdoing, I don't necessarily mean overeating but eating too many things that increase cholesterol.
Stay away from lamb and saturated fats for a while. Try to eat more olive oil instead of butter. Eat fruit and veggies, green tea and try to not drink too much alcohol. Omega 3, 6 and 9 will also help you.

[carorees]

Hi there

Some folk have seen decreases in cholesterol after following 5:2, others have not. It seems that during fasting your cholesterol is raised because you have to have some fat in your bloodstream if your body is going to burn it up for fuel (which is the idea after all). It may be, therefore, that the actual amount of cholesterol found in your blood on being tested depends a lot on when the blood is taken because of this fasting effect. So, the more important thing is the amount of HDL cholesterol (aka good cholesterol). The risk of heart disease is much more closely connected with the amount of HDL relative to the total cholesterol. As long as the total cholesterol is less than 3.5 times the HDL cholesterol you would be considered to be at low risk of heart disease.

As you say, there is a strong genetic component so fasting and weight loss may or may not change you're blood lipid profile.

You are also right that sugar and starchy food can increase cholesterol, so reducing carbs is a good idea. The amount of fat in your diet does not necessarily worsen blood cholesterol but the balance of types of fats can do. Saturated fats (animal fats from intensively farmed animals) and those high in omega 6 (corn oil and sunflower oil) are best avoided while those high in omega 3 are good (nuts, seeds, flaxseed oil and rapeseed oil).

Hope that helps!

So when it is better to go to the blood-sucking place?
After a fast or a non-fast day?

[carorees]

Non-fast! I think that once you are fat adapted and your body readily mobilises fat for fuel (which is what fasting does for us), then even an overnight fast will cause your blood cholesterol to be raised.

Hhhhmmmm I went on a Thursday and I fasted on Tuesday. So it was after a non-fast day. But I had eaten lamb twice that week (my mum brought me some very fresh, fatless lamb and I couldn't resist cooking it).

[carorees]

As I said it's the total:HDL ratio that's important...make sure you get both results so you can work out the ratio. My total C was high but my HDL was also high so the ratio was good. Doc was happy!

It was just the total they tested. Since I never had a problem with high cholesterol they only test the total once a year. Now that this occurred, I will repeat the tests next week and this time they'll probably test for both cholesterols.