Best supplement to increase HDL (good) cholesterol?

murphydog999

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Low carb reduces your maximum exercise capacity and to affect cholesterol you need to be working at high intensities (interval training).

Sorry Fire Fox, not true. Apart from the fact that 'low-carb' can mean anything from 10-150g carbs per day - so it's difficult to quantify - once a person is adapted i.e. after the first few weeks, the body can train quite happily - and it prefers - using fat as it's main energy source. A great many sports people and personal/fitness trainers, including me, testify to this fact.

Fire_Fox

murphydog999 wrote: »

Sorry Fire Fox, not true. Apart from the fact that 'low-carb' can mean anything from 10-150g carbs per day - so it's difficult to quantify - once a person is adapted i.e. after the first few weeks, the body can train quite happily - and it prefers - using fat as it's main energy source. A great many sports people and personal/fitness trainers, including me, testify to this fact.

150g for what weight/ bodyfat of person? From working in lifestyle healthcare (qualified to degree level) I testify the opposite and have had many colleagues who feel the same. Had plenty of clients on different low carb type plans who have high heart rates/ visible signs of significant discomfort/ high RPE at relatively low intensities. As soon as they increase carbs in their diet, they appear fitter. Then there is the dehydration ... It is physiologically impossible to release enough fat fast enough to fuel good quality higher intensity or intervals workouts tho it is acceptable for low to medium steady state workouts.

It may be in some cases part of the problem is not correctly adhering to the diet, but that is exactly the problem, most people combine restrictive diet plans with personal tastes and lifestyle considerations.

murphydog999

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Then there is the dehydration ... It is physiologically impossible to release enough fat fast enough to fuel good quality higher intensity or intervals workouts tho it is acceptable for low to medium steady state workouts.

most people combine restrictive diet plans with personal tastes and lifestyle considerations.

I don't want to debate the rights and wrong of eating fewer carbs on this thread, but to reply.....I have to disagree, you have - like many other people - assumed that having a low-carb lifestyle is restrictive and 'a diet,' which it is most definitely not - unless dictated so on supervision i.e. diabetes control. We are all individuals and what is suitable for one person may not be suitable for another. (I am not including professional sports people in this issue.)

There will always be glycogen stored in the muscles, however fat is still the preferred energy source at 50-60% intensity. Above 60% of maximum effort the stored glycogen will take the dominant role (although this is altered with people adapted to low-carb), then if you are familiar with gluconeogenesis - a process where lactate released from muscles gets taken up by the liver and made back into glucose - you will know that the liver uses mostly fat in the process, so the end result actually ends up powering resistance/circuit-type exercise from energy released by fat oxidation in the liver.

Personally, on 50-60g carbs a day I certainly don't have any problems with interval and circuit training, neither does my husband, some clients (like I said it's not for everyone) and friends. (But I've only been in the health and fitness industry for 19 years, so perhaps I don't have enough experience!)

It has been so over-hyped that to train properly requires extra carbs, when the majority of the UK public have too many to start off with!

There are numerous well-renowned websites (marksdailyapple and rocofit, to name two) for reference. Also resources such as 'basic human energetics and fuel partitioning', by Drs Volek and Finney.

I have also not heard, or have come across, or have experienced any issues with dehydration??

Advice on a site like this should only be taken generally, not literally, as it is down to the individual to take advice from an individual professional assessment.

Fire_Fox

murphydog999 wrote: »

I don't want to debate the rights and wrong of eating fewer carbs on this thread, but to reply.....I have to disagree, you have - like many other people - assumed that having a low-carb lifestyle is restrictive and 'a diet,' which it is most definitely not - unless dictated so on supervision i.e. diabetes control. We are all individuals and what is suitable for one person may not be suitable for another. (I am not including professional sports people in this issue.)

There will always be glycogen stored in the muscles, however fat is still the preferred energy source at 50-60% intensity. Above 60% of maximum effort the stored glycogen will take the dominant role (although this is altered with people adapted to low-carb), then if you are familiar with gluconeogenesis - a process where lactate released from muscles gets taken up by the liver and made back into glucose - you will know that the liver uses mostly fat in the process, so the end result actually ends up powering resistance/circuit-type exercise from energy released by fat oxidation in the liver.

Personally, on 50-60g carbs a day I certainly don't have any problems with interval and circuit training, neither does my husband, some clients (like I said it's not for everyone) and friends. (But I've only been in the health and fitness industry for 19 years, so perhaps I don't have enough experience!)

It has been so over-hyped that to train properly requires extra carbs, when the majority of the UK public have too many to start off with!

There are numerous well-renowned websites (marksdailyapple and rocofit, to name two) for reference. Also resources such as 'basic human energetics and fuel partitioning', by Drs Volek and Finney.

I have also not heard, or have come across, or have experienced any issues with dehydration??

Advice on a site like this should only be taken generally, not literally, as it is down to the individual to take advice from an individual professional assessment.

I have not assumed that, please read what I actually posted. I use the word diet both for weight management AND general eating plan because that is the true meaning of the word. I prefer degree level exercise science and nutrition texts, websites like the ACSM, meta-analyses and longitudinal population studies; Mark's Daily Apple is not a primary source and contains inaccuracies and half truths as well as valuable information.

1g of glycogen is stored alongside 3g of water, you must have learned that in your degree? How are you measuring your clients body fat and total body water? Surely you learned how long it takes for the body to release fat and then convert to a format useable during exercise? I am well aware of that the percentage of fat to carbs used at higher intensities changes somewhat with diet and fitness levels thank you. Again it's not that clients are incapable of intervals or circuits, they cannot work to their potential: heart rates, discomfort and RPE are higher than they should be. I did NOT say anything here or elsewhere on MSE about extra carbs please read what I am actually post not what you expect me to think and say. :mad:

stormCat99

Fire_Fox wrote: »

What are you eating if you are not eating meat, fish or much carbs?

Lol, yes I can understand why you might ask that :-)

I did say I have potato based items probably 5 out of 7 days. For lunch if it's weekend, I have soup. If it's a work day I take a home made salad which will vary, but a mix of salad and quorn pieces.

For evening meals I'll have vegetables plus a quorn based product. Usually with potato of some form, but sometimes with rice. A couple of nights a week my husband works away from home, so as I'm here on my own I'll sometimes have a Graze box for my tea - nuts, seeds and fruit.

I've never done any type of special diet before, I haven't felt the need to as I believe I eat healthily. But in light of my low HDL if this is something which may help I am willing to at least look into it.

I have ordered this book from Amazon which seems to come well recommended:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/074992649X/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00

I will read through that first before making a decision. Also, I will be seeing a cardiologist tomorrow, my first appointment. So I will be asking him if he has any view on a lower carb diet.

From the bits I have read so far, I wouldn't really need to alter my diet a great deal in order to reduce my carb intake. In fact the foods listed that you CAN eat seem to be all of my favourite things. I've never been too keen on bread, and potato is just something I have because everyone else does. I don't think I'd be too bothered without it.

Whereas all my faves like nuts, cheese, quorn, vegetables, are allowed.

stormCat99

floss2 wrote: »

Increase your oat intake by having porridge or an oat cereal daily; this will reduce the LDL level, and help improve your LDL:HDL ratio.

I'm not sure I would manage this. I know it probably sounds odd but anything oat based makes me want to gag. I can't help it - whether it's cereal, or snack bars, flapjacks, whatever. I just cannot do products which are primarily oat based - I dont know why

Fire_Fox

boots_babe wrote: »

Lol, yes I can understand why you might ask that :-)

I did say I have potato based items probably 5 out of 7 days. For lunch if it's weekend, I have soup. If it's a work day I take a home made salad which will vary, but a mix of salad and quorn pieces.

For evening meals I'll have vegetables plus a quorn based product. Usually with potato of some form, but sometimes with rice. A couple of nights a week my husband works away from home, so as I'm here on my own I'll sometimes have a Graze box for my tea - nuts, seeds and fruit.

I've never done any type of special diet before, I haven't felt the need to as I believe I eat healthily. But in light of my low HDL if this is something which may help I am willing to at least look into it.

I have ordered this book from Amazon which seems to come well recommended:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/074992649X/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00

I will read through that first before making a decision. Also, I will be seeing a cardiologist tomorrow, my first appointment. So I will be asking him if he has any view on a lower carb diet.

From the bits I have read so far, I wouldn't really need to alter my diet a great deal in order to reduce my carb intake. In fact the foods listed that you CAN eat seem to be all of my favourite things. I've never been too keen on bread, and potato is just something I have because everyone else does. I don't think I'd be too bothered without it.

Whereas all my faves like nuts, cheese, quorn, vegetables, are allowed.

I know you haven't given much detail but that sounds like your current diet could be lacking in basic nutrients, overall calories and possibly variety. This alone could be causing or contributing to the cholesterol issue. If you cut out carbs you will be reducing the calories and nutrients still further. Please be very clear with your cardiologist about your current eating habits, don't just ask about low carb. That book is written by a cookery writer, not a healthcare professional.

Almost all vegetarian protein sources are much lower in protein than meat or fish, so you need to eat higher amounts and combinations - not only to get a 'complete' protein but to get enough total protein. When meal planning I would class quinoa and pulses as carbs because that is the macronutrients they are richest in by a mile: the little bit of protein being a bonus. Potatoes are a fairly poor source of nutrition other than carbs and are high glycaemic index, I'd really like to see you replacing those with beans and lentils for protein, minerals and soluble fibre. Quorn and soup are low in fat - what are you eating for your healthy fats? How much dairy and eggs are you eating? Are you eating Quorn twice daily? What is breakfast?

stormCat99

Hi,

I'll try and answer everything. I eat plenty of beans/lentils, I included those within my lunchtime 'salad' items. Don't usually eat quinoia but funnily enough had some this week, just for a change.

I love dairy and eggs although I guess I probably don't eat them that often. Eggs I would happily eat a lot of, but it's not something I tend to buy very often, probably once a month when I fancy them.

I have milk with breakfast every day, and have taken to drinking a glass of milk each evening also. I also adore cheese and probably eat far too much of it!

For snacks, I would either have nuts, dried fruits, or sometimes just a few slices of lovely cheese.

I wouldn't ever dream of eating fried foods, don't eat sweets/cakes/chocolate. I do eat grilled items using olive oil - grilled vegetables, grilled quorn.

Not sure what you class as healthy fats sorry, so can't really answer that one.

Minniethemoocher

I am not a vegetarian, in fact I eat red meat at least once a week, but I have lowered my cholesterol from 6.2 to 5.3 without the use of statins, by following a low carb eating plan, and losing over 3 stone. I still eat butter, full fat milk, some cheese, full fat mayo. I snack on nuts such as almonds and I do drink one benecol yoghurt drink per day.
I feel very much healthier on a low carb eating plan. I average around 100g of carbs per day, so no way near as low as something like Atkins, but is works for me!
I eat oily fish at least twice a week, and cook with rapeseed oil. I also take an omega 3 supplement daily, and drink a glass of soya milk (meant to lower cholesterol)

stormCat99

Minniethemoocher wrote: »

I am not a vegetarian, in fact I eat red meat at least once a week, but I have lowered my cholesterol from 6.2 to 5.3 without the use of statins, by following a low carb eating plan, and losing over 3 stone. I still eat butter, full fat milk, some cheese, full fat mayo. I snack on nuts such as almonds and I do drink one benecol yoghurt drink per day.
I feel very much healthier on a low carb eating plan. I average around 100g of carbs per day, so no way near as low as something like Atkins, but is works for me!
I eat oily fish at least twice a week, and cook with rapeseed oil. I also take an omega 3 supplement daily, and drink a glass of soya milk (meant to lower cholesterol)

Been away for a few days so only just had chance to check back. I'm not sure if I said in my original post, but I don't need to lower my cholesterol at all, as my LDL cholesterol is already nice and low.

It's just that my HDL cholesterol is too low also.