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Celiacs And Cholesterol?

C-Girl

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C-Girl Contributor
C-Girl
Posted

Have any of you seen your cholesterol go up after going gluten free?

 

I hate to keep complaining about my doctors here, but I just can't help it. Are they all complete idiots or do I just have really high standards??

 

I saw my GP for a physical, I wanted specifically to make sure the limited diet I have to have because of celiac and microscopic colitis wasn't giving me high cholesterol or dangerous vitamin insufficiences. Currently,  my food insensitivities ranging from all dairy, all fresh vegetables, most fruits, cooked greens (though I eat them anyhow, I need something, dammit), onions, garlic and peppers, as well as fructose. It means I have diarrhea on nearly a daily basis, and my normal BM's are a minor miracle when they occur.

 

My doctor said to me that people with inflammatory bowel disease don't have problems with cholesterol. That we all eat way too much of everything, and that what I'm absorbing would be equivalent to the diet of someone in India (or some other place where people are starving). That this is better for us anyhow, and even if my blood cholesterol was high, I shouldn't worry about it.

 

WTF? My mother had triple bypass in her early 60s. she's had cholesterol up to 300. she's had a stroke, she's had her carotid artery unclogged, she has COPD. My paternal grandmother had high blood pressure, my grandfather had a stroke. My maternal grandmother had heart disease. And I'm not supposed to be concerned because I'm eating like an ethiopian famine victim?

 

All of this was in the context of me being taken off the Enterocort that made my able to eat normally, because steroids are bad long term. I wanted to find out which was worse, slowly starving or taking steroids? I guess starving is better. Either way, I feel like the doctors would just rather I went away and died in a corner somewhere rather than got well again. FML.

 

<rant over>

 

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HavaneseMom Explorer
HavaneseMom
Posted

My cholesterol has gone up and is high since going gluten free.

I have also gained weight and haven't been eating as healthy as I was before, so I am sure that plays in to my higher cholesterol some.

Have you had your Vitamin D level tested? I have been reading up on Vtiamin D deficiency and found that it's connected to high cholesterol. My husband has a family history of high cholesterol, like it sounds like you do, and he has been able to lower his cholesterol substantially by remove animal fats from his diet, but it is still considered high.

I'm sorry to hear you aren't able to eat normally again. It sounds like you were doing very well on the steroid and it must be so upsetting to have that taken away. Are you thinking about trying another doctor? I would seriously consider it if I were in your shoes.

nvsmom Community Regular
nvsmom
Posted

(hugs)

 

Cholesterol can go up after going gluten-free.  Mine did a bit, but mine was too low to begin with.

 

From what I have recently read, it is usually the sugars that raise cholesterol and not animal products and eggs as it used to be believed.  Foods like baked goods and any added sugars can raise cholesterol.

 

I've also read that cholesterol is not as closely linked to heart disease as doctors once thought.  There is definitely a link in some people, but it is unclear if it is the high cholesterol that causes the heart disease or if it is just sometimes a link.  There's quite a few books out there on it now.

 

Best wishes.

icelandgirl Proficient
icelandgirl
Posted

((Hugs))

It can be such a struggle!

I've always had impressively low cholesterol! Lol! Probably because my body wasn't absorbing. Anyway, a few months after my celiac diagnosis I had a physical that included cholesterol. All of a sudden I had high cholesterol. What? My triglycerides were 155. Anyway...my Dr gave me a whole lecture and printout on good eating. Funny to me because I was really and truly only eating meats, fruits and veggies. Very healthy. The other thing they found is that my thyroid had gone hypo...so they upped my meds. I didn't change anything about how I ate. 6 weeks later, my thyroid was in a better spot and so was my cholesterol. My triglycerides were down to 80. My ldl was down, hdl was up. My Dr was so happy with me.

Anyway...point is...hypothyroidism can cause high cholesterol. Just something to keep in mind.

frieze Community Regular
frieze
Posted

yeah, now that all but one statin is off patent, cholesterol isn't "the issue" anymore, hint is wasn't anyway.   the body makes cholesterol, in your liver.  only if you have familial hypercholesterolemia should that be a problem.  and per above post checkout your thyroid.

t 

C-Girl Contributor
C-Girl
Posted
  • Author

I got my results back, finally - it turns out my bad cholesterol is down 10 pts since the last check, and my good cholesterol is up 9. So I guess all that bacon isn't a bad thing after all. Indeed, it's a "whole food", right?! I'm definitely not getting enough calcium but my supplements don't agree with me AT ALL. Chalky diarrhea, no bueno. Does anyone have a brand that is gentle?

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