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[one year in]

Well, something else I didn't know about menopause.

I just received the results of my general blood test and I have quite high cholesterol levels.  I knew it wasn't good news as the doctor asked me to sit down.

I was shocked to learn that cholesterol levels can escalate in menopause (because of lack of oestrogen which is a natural body protector in women).  At my last test in 2008 I was borderline at just over 200, but have now shot up to 280.

The doctor asked me whether I eat a lot of sweets, chocolate, fried foods, etc. and I really don't but then I remembered that I switched from marg to butter (which I love and do tend to lather it on a bit thick) about two years ago.  I don't know if it is that but she suggested that I cut it out altogether from today and then go back for another test in six months to see if it has made a difference.

I don't know why I'm so shocked.  I feel angry too.  Bloody menopause.

[ricky]

OYI


My levels were slightly high last year,

I love butter but don't have it every day and no longer eat much fried stuff.

Ain't losing any weight though, am going to try cutting out alcohol next. (Boring hell) Well just for a while 

Bloody menopause
Ricky
Xx

[silverlady]

one year in, I would change to Benecol and walk walk as much as you can.

Did she tell your your ratio's of HDL and LDL, also your triglycerides, they are considered now the most inportant reading, the lower the better.

Are in the UK as the measured number levels  that you quote are different to here, usually 7 or over is considered very high in the UK.

Thes estrogen connection is a difficult one as I have read that supplementation can cause cholesterol to rise along side triglycerides, though the patch is not suppose to effect  levels so much.

Maybe its something else that happens after menopause to effect women.

silverlady x

[countrybumpkin]

Ratio is the only important number in these tests. If your ratio is below 5% then you are fine regardless of the total result.  I too have found mine has gone up since peri meno but still under the 5% ratio.

I was already using benecol and my Dr said save your money they don't help at all!!

Cut out saturated fat - exercise and lose weight if you need to - so much easier said than done!

[Bette]

M-i-l managed to get her levels down without drugs and was convinced that it was due to Benecol products but who knows? 
Bette x

[Joyce]

I use the dairy free benecol and my cholesterol came down by about 1.5 over about a year or so.  It's still above what they would like, but it stopped GP having to give me drugs to reduce it.
My problems started when I had to give up dairy produce and substitute with soya based products. 
I'd love a slice of hot buttered toast!  Menopause or not I hate it!!!!!!

[jax]

Hi there...
   I can only offer this info following my husband being diagnosed with high cholesterol and blood sugars last year.
Basically he never ate sugary foods or fat, we have followed a low fat diet for over 20 years.
his vice was carbs, not sweets or desserts, only wholemeal bread with every thing and potatoes he loved too otherwise we have fresh cooked veg at least 5 days a week with chicken. fish etc.
As soon as they gave him the diagnosis the dietry advice was to start a low carb/low GI diet.
This was easy as I have followed this regime about 5 years ago but gave into pressure about fat being bad for you and shouldnt eat eggs, cheese etc.
long story short, we both went onto low carb with eggs, cheese, butter instead of low fat plastic poison and within 3 months and NO medication his blood sugars were down to normal AND his cholesterol as was mine. (please note, his bloods and cholesterol were very high) I forgot to mention when I did it before my cholesterol came down from 7 to 4.8 in 18 weeks. At the same time my friend was put on a low fat diet and hers continued to go up.....
As I say, I am not preeching anything here just passing on results.
problem is the food industry has been wrongly advising us for decades to eat low fat, my friend who is a food science dr at a university told me that eating dietry fat,ie butter does not make you fat or raise cholesterol, it passes through the body. However eating excess carbs result in them being converted to BODY FAT which is stored on us and in our blood as CHOLESTEROL.
 Personally, I am a believer as our results and those of friends who try it are good.
good luck which ever way you go.
Jacky x

[silverlady]

Actually I agree with what you say jax, if you read any on the Atkins forums many posters say the same thing.

I do think though that Benecol has it use in bringing down cholesterol as long as you keep to a lower carb diet too and healthy fats.

Its just that most people find it very hard to cut out carbs, I found that after a while on the Atkins like diet, I was climbing the wall craving them, getting irrratable and not sleeping, though the weight did drop off.

As I said in my post its the triglycerides that the real problem, as you say excess carbs are transformed into fat into the blood stream.

silverlady x

[one year in]

SL, I think my UK equivalent is 7.2 so it's pretty high.  My triglycs were slightly higher than the recommended but not much and my blood sugar level was mid-range (normal).  It seems to be the LDL (bad) one that's gone up a lot although my HDL is quite high too. 

I am annoyed because I do already walk most days for around 50 mins and I do yoga once a week.  I am overweight and could definitely do with losing about 20 lbs, but I don't smoke or drink in excess.  It just seems to me that aging always gets you with something no matter how careful you are!

I've already bought the Benecol and read up on it.  Seems that there is truth in the claim that it reduces cholesterol - it blocks it from passing through the intestine wall into the blood, sending it instead to the bowel.  Plant stellars or something.

However, I will not be defeated!  I firmly believe in all things in moderation and once I've got my levels down a bit I will stop using Benecol and go on to a normal (albeit careful) diet.  Think you're right jax, it's not just the fats - it's a lifestyle. 

Won't be eating butter again for a while though.  Blast! 

[wombat62]

Hi

When I had my blood test to check for hormone levels which showed in theory I was post, my cholesterol had risen to over 7 which freaked me.  I did read somewhere that meno can cause this but the doc kind of poohooed it.

Anyway, Googled some stuff and all I did was to swap to the special spread (not that I eat a lot of it anyway), I skipped the fish oil as it gave me a bit of reflux even though I bought the one that said no reflux, I did try and eat fish twice a week, I swapped brekki to porridge or muesli and now I make my own without dried fruit just a variety of nuts with fresh fruit, tried but failed in the exercise dept but the main good thing is physillium husks.  I used to grind up a mixture in the UK when my IBS was bad an couldn't take normal fibre which was linseeds, pumpkin & sunflower seeds and sprinkle it on my brekki.  However, here in Oz I can get Gentle Fibre which is the same thing but with the husks.

Anyway, I went back for another test 6 months later and it had come down to 5.1 again - yippee!


It could be just a blip, try the above and get retested in 6 months.  Oats and physillium and fish oil if you can take it and a good daily walk are the best things.  I'm sure a glass of red wine a day is good for you, doesn't seem to do the French or Italians any harm

[Taz2]

Mine is around 6 but my doc looks at the overall picture and has decided that my risk is low. There is information on the BHF site http://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/conditions/high-cholesterol.aspx

Taz x

[grumpy2008]

My cholesterol has gone up in the past year and I found it a bit of a shock too. My diet is relatively healthy, I think, so can only put it down to changing hormone levels. Previously my good to bad cholesterol ratio was extremely good, but the gap is narrowing so I really need to make some changes to stop it getting worse  .

What a bugger it all is!!!!

[Taz2]

Men are also at risk of raised cholesterol as they get older but I am not sure whether this is related to their hormone levels too?

Taz x

[one year in]

Grumpy, I haven't seen the doctor who ordered the blood test yet but the microbiologist was quite certain that it is lack of oestrogen in menopausal women that causes LDL to go up.

Wombat, it could be a blip but the shock has made me rethink my diet which is no bad thing.  I need to lose some weight anyway and I think if I just cut the cr_p it's the way to go.  I can't do most of the things to the same extent that I did when I was younger (notably drink alcohol!), and I guess eating is no different. 

No sex, no food, no drink - what's left to live for   

[carol44]

I know the if your parents had/have high cholestrol you too can have raised chol in later years, they say porridge helps too, mine has come down to 4.6 since being diagnosed with diabetes and on  slimming world diet had helped me to lose near on 3 stone, still another 2ish to go x