I went to my cardiologist yesterday for my six month check up (I have very high blood pressure). My cholesterol was terrible and I do mean terrible!!! I've had difficulty in the past taking the cholesterol lowering medications because they made me too achey. Well, he gave me samples of a different one and one of the side effects is gas! Great! Just Great! I'm trying to eat more fruits and veggies which have been causing gas and now this! Good grief! I'll probably just blow up from too much gas!

He told me that with my high blood pressure I was at risk for a stroke and now with my high cholesterol, high triglycerides, high LDL I had just doubled my risk for a stroke, then add to the fact that strokes are heriditary in both sides of my family WOW!

But on the up side - this has just given me yet another incentive to stay focused, watch my calorie intake, make healthier choices and lose this weight!

Any suggestions for websites about cholesterol lowering foods or any suggestions for meals that will help lower cholesterol and be tasty at the same time?

I had high cholesterol at one point and I found that using more fresh ingredients such as fruit & veg really helped bring it down. Try avoiding pre packed food. I'm not a meat eater but when I had high cholesterol I was and used to eat bread coated packed chicken breasts and that kind of thing, so if you can avoid ready made foods Hope this helped a little.

Hi Jasmine - last September my triglycerides were 507 (with 150 being normal).

Doctor suggested that I keep regular fats under 50 a day, saturated fats 10-15 grams a day. And - cholesterol around 200 a day. If you like, you can keep track of fats and cholesterol along with your calories. You can check with a dietician or your doctor to see what his/her suggestion or guidelines are for you.

I would eat alot of fish, chicken, beans and proteins like that. Also, fat free cottage cheese and 2% cheeses instead of full fat cheeses. Of course, low fat dairy, lots of fruits and veggies, etc.

A good website that I used then was the Cholesterol Support forum at Sparkpeople.com.

Here's the link: http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/g...l.asp?gid=1135 I don't know, however, if you are not a member if you can connect to it. It's free to join, though.

You can lowers those numbers! Mine were down to 175 by last December and 145 by last March.

Good luck!

Exercise. Physical activity. Less carbohydrate. Mostly, exercise! This will help your blood pressure a LOT!

Cholesterol is sometimes due to a stress reaction, and exercise helps with that, too.

Do some research--all kinds of information out there...

Jay

I read Gary Taubes book & highly recommend it. What an eye opener. I also liked Dr. Arthur Agatston's "The South Beach Heart Health Revolution". It really explains the difference between triglycerides and the different types of cholesterol. Omega-3's are recommended to help lower triglycerides also. I take fish oil every day. My Dr. also recommended fiber supplements. She said they may help reduce cholesterol levels.

The following is what the American Association for Clinical Chemistry has to say about a high triglycerides diet:

"Diets high in carbohydrates, especially sugar, lead to increases in triglycerides."

A diet to lower triglycerides omits alcohol and sugar - as they stimulate triglyceride production. Therefore, you should:

ELIMINATE or LIMIT ALL sugars such as, concentrated sweets, sugar, honey, molasses, jams, jellies, candies, pies, cakes, cookies, candy, doughnuts, ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sweetened gelatine.

Eliminate or limit as much as you can alcohol, such as beer, wine, hard liquor, liqueurs as well as other foods, like sweetened cereals, flavored yogurts, and sports or energy bars.

Cut down on red meat, especially fried, changing it to broiled or roasted poultry (turkey, chicken), preferably free-range. Add more dark green leafy vegetables.

Jasmine, if you're not keen on reading the medical literature, a good resource is the website of the American Heart Association, which advocates adopting a heart-healthy diet with lots of fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, fish and whole grains. The diet advice may not be as sexy as you'd find elsewhere, but it's based on solid science and it works.

Good luck to you!

Jay hit it on the nail. Exercise will help a lot, along with dietary changes.

Thank you everyone who replied to my post!

JerseyGyrl - thanks so much for book references! As I'm sure everyone is aware it can get so confusing to know what you should and shouldn't eat, what's a good carb vs bad carb and so on. THANK YOU!

Drina - I do check the American Heart Association website, get their newsletter and subscribe to the Heart Healthy living magazine. They are all helpful. I am also looking for recipes, food suggestions from people who have actually tried them. Even though I'm overweight I tend to be a picky eater and some of those recipes just sound terribly yucky to me!

Murphmitch - I never knew that diets high in carbs, especially sugar lead to an increase in triglycerides! Thanks so much for that bit of info! It's like a light just went off over my head!

This is a great website! I may not be losing weight yet, but all the info I am learning is helping me change the way I eat. I'm sure that soon I'll start losing weight.

I know I need to exercise and once I have my foot surgery and recover from that I can get started back. Actually since I haven't been able to exercise I find that I miss it!!!