Celiac Diet And High Cholestral

[kathya]

I have been on the celiac diet for alittle over a year and now my cholesteral and trigycerides had skyrocketed. Is there any correlation?

[happygirl]

Taken from a highly respected source: Open Original Shared Link

"9. General health measures

Patients need to be aware that they are at somewhat increased risk to develop obesity and elevated cholesterol levels on the diet. This is probably due to several reasons. Gluten-free food may have more calories than regular food and absorption of food becomes more efficient in patients with celiac disease once this is treated with a gluten-free diet. Many patients are already overweight at diagnosis; this will obviously become a greater problem for these individuals. For some patients, elevation of the serum cholesterol also becomes a problem. This should be monitored and treated appropriately by diet and occasionally with medications."

[kathya]

thanks for the info I am looking for an alternative to medications to help with the cholesteral and triglyceride elevation.

[cyberprof]

thanks for the info I am looking for an alternative to medications to help with the cholesteral and triglyceride elevation.

I just mentioned this on another post but cinnamon has recently been found to naturally lower cholesterol: try a google search. You can get capsules or just sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon total a day over pancakes, hot chocolate, etc.

Also, 15-20 almonds a day is also supposed to help.

[nmw]

Fish Oil

Evening Primrose Oil

Nuts like almonds and walnuts - in moderation

These help lower cholesterol.

Statins = bad. Do not go on these meds if you don't absolutely have to.

Do you have any other conditions such as PCOS?

[lonewolf]

Have you increased your sugar intake significantly? There is a definite correlation between sugar intake and trigliceride levels.

[BRUMI1968]

Please beware cholesterol drugs - they are worse than high cholesterol. Do some google searches and you'll see what I mean. The connection between cholesterol and heart disease is correlative, not causative.

The liver makes cholesterol. Did you know folks with too low cholesterol have problems? I think it's important to figure out if your body is making too much cholesterol, or if the foods you are eating are giving you high cholesterol.

The culprit is probably baked goods with refined sugar. This tends to raise cholesterol, not meat. Also, trans-fats or hydrogenated oils cause a raise in cholesterol, even though they were "invented" to do the opposite.

Also, good fats fight cholesterol, like cod liver oil, fish oil avocado, flax, coconut, walnuts, etc. RAW fats are important. Raw butter might help fight cholesterol. Heart disease in American skyrocketed when folks started eating less meat and eating trans-fats, instead of healthy oils.

One source to find out more is mercola.com. Lots of folks here on the board like him; others don't. But as long as you take your own willingness to be open about learning and then make your own decisions, it's worth checking out.

[Gemini]

Please beware cholesterol drugs - they are worse than high cholesterol. Do some google searches and you'll see what I mean. The connection between cholesterol and heart disease is correlative, not causative.

The liver makes cholesterol. Did you know folks with too low cholesterol have problems? I think it's important to figure out if your body is making too much cholesterol, or if the foods you are eating are giving you high cholesterol.

The culprit is probably baked goods with refined sugar. This tends to raise cholesterol, not meat. Also, trans-fats or hydrogenated oils cause a raise in cholesterol, even though they were "invented" to do the opposite.

Also, good fats fight cholesterol, like cod liver oil, fish oil avocado, flax, coconut, walnuts, etc. RAW fats are important. Raw butter might help fight cholesterol. Heart disease in American skyrocketed when folks started eating less meat and eating trans-fats, instead of healthy oils.

One source to find out more is mercola.com. Lots of folks here on the board like him; others don't. But as long as you take your own willingness to be open about learning and then make your own decisions, it's worth checking out.

This is one of the best posts I've read in a long time! Excellent information and so very true.

Everyone jumps on statins if their cholesterol goes up and that is absolutely the last thing you want to do....unless your body is producing too much but exercise can combat that. Very few people actually have that problem also and most cases are caused by other diseases you may have or meds you are taking or just plain, old eating the wrong foods.

The only thing that went up for me after 2 years gluten-free was my good cholesterol and it was extremely low because I was not absorbing anything towards the end, before diagnosis. If you eat a diet loaded with fruits and vegetables, with some lean protein thrown in and really watch those desserts, there should never be a need for meds. Statins can strain the kidneys, especially if you are a diabetic, and ending up on dialysis can happen from statins. My brother watched his kidney function hit the skids after going on Lipitor and there is no fix for it.

[Linda56]

My cholesterol was 265 my doctor wanted me to take zocor. I started using the supplement advertised that lowers cholesterol and eating a couple apples a day. When I got tested again my cholesterol was 206. Also I noticed my cholesterol went down when I was getting b-12 shots. My doctor said no way would b-12 shots bring it down. I have a high homosystene level that is one of the things that cause heart attacks. Reading about homosystene it says low b6 and b12 can make a person have high homsystene. I have perinious anemia (not able to absorb b-12 in the stomach) and think that is why I have high homosystene which is as dangerous as high cholesterol. You would think doctors would tell patients all this stuff and treat more root causes of heart disease instead of throwing a med that has side affects at us. I guess they think its safer to get us on meds but I like to know all that might be causing me problems. I think B-12 brought down my cholesterol as that was the only thing I had changed in my diet at that time.

[hathor]

Here is quite a bit of information about cholesterol, triglycerides, and statins:

Open Original Shared Link

The doctor wanted to put my husband on statins. Instead, dh went on the diet described above and his blood levels dropped substantially. Worldwide, people who eat this way rarely, if ever, get heart disease. Indeed, this is the only diet I know of that has been shown to reverse already existing disease. I'm talking here about observed improvement in the arteries, themselves, not cholesterol level. You can look up the work of Drs. Esselstyn and Ornish. Both have peer-reviewed studies on this, as well as books written for the general populace. No one has had any studies or published clinical experience failing to replicate this work. Doctors just don't usually mention it. Counseling dietary change doesn't give them a continuing source of income, nor does it give them the feeling that they are the ones helping the patient. Perhaps they don't want to change their own diets and suggesting this causes cognitive dissonance. Some will claim that patients won't do it. But actual patients presented with the evidence seem to do quite fine, for the most part.

Everybody in my family of my generation or older is on medication for cholesterol, high blood pressure, you name it. But for all the ones that have died from cardiovascular disease -- it seems to be the only problem I know of on both sides. I'm just fine. However, you see, I'm the extreme one because I'm on this "crazy" diet. It would be far more conservative and acceptable if I just ate a Standard American Diet and had a drawer-full of drugs like everyone else.

Sorry -- I guess I went off on my own personal rant there. It just frustrates me that I can't convince anyone in my family to even adjust their diet a little bit. I don't know if I can convince any strangers on the internet, either, but hope springs eternal

Dr. McDougall used to work at a hospital. The cardiologists themselves would come to him for dietary intervention when they or loved ones had problems. However, they wouldn't refer patients to him. No, the patients got the drugs and the surgeries. That's why he left that hospital.

Cholesterol level and the like is a marker for heart disease, not a cause of the disease. Yes, drugs can bring your cholesterol down. But it is the diet that caused the high cholesterol; if that diet continues, the risk for heart disease continues. The drugs just cost money (and put money in the pockets of doctors and pharmaceutical companies), mask the underlying disease progression, and can cause side effects.

Look at the evidence. There is no evidence that statins reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, at least among those who haven't already suffered a heart attack, stroke, etc.

[Glutenfreefamily]

I agree with hathor, me and my husband are mostly vegetarians and my husband's cholesterol dropped fifty two points from being on the diet.

[bakingbarb]

This is an excellent thread with excellent information. It is amazing to me how Dr's treat us in ways that benefit them and the pharma giants. Of course when we need medicine its great it is there but as you all pointed out if you can stay off of medications do so.

There was a point in time in my life (low low points) when my whole family ended up on one drug or another. We finaly went to another Dr and found out my son was on a medication black boxed for being highly dangerous to youths - caused liver failure in a high number. No one ever mentioned this before, he had been on it for 3 years. Makes me sick to think of how they profit and how many people were hurt because of that. So many drug companies today would rather pay from law suits - it costs them less then not making it in the first place. Did that make sense?