Bad Kidneys and High Cholesterol
Discussion
Hi Guys.
While investigating if I have long covid, its come to light that my kidneys are not playing ball and my cholesterol is higher than it should be.
With regard to my kidneys, my function is at 54 apparently, but they didn't process the urine sample properly so that needs redoing (although why no one thought to let me know this over the past 3 weeks since I submitted it, I could have provided another and then could have had a full set of results this morning)
Anyway, need tips and hints for reducing my cholesterol. I don't eat a lot of red meat, maybe not as much fruit and veg as I should. I know I need to cut out/down fried food, but are chips done in an air fryer ok?
I walk 10 miles a day at work, so think I have the keeping active sorted.
Hit me with ideas guys, oh yea....female, 51, not a heavy drinker, do smoke (working on that one) 5ft 5in and 10 stone wet through. High blood pressure is not an issue.
While investigating if I have long covid, its come to light that my kidneys are not playing ball and my cholesterol is higher than it should be.
With regard to my kidneys, my function is at 54 apparently, but they didn't process the urine sample properly so that needs redoing (although why no one thought to let me know this over the past 3 weeks since I submitted it, I could have provided another and then could have had a full set of results this morning)
Anyway, need tips and hints for reducing my cholesterol. I don't eat a lot of red meat, maybe not as much fruit and veg as I should. I know I need to cut out/down fried food, but are chips done in an air fryer ok?
I walk 10 miles a day at work, so think I have the keeping active sorted.
Hit me with ideas guys, oh yea....female, 51, not a heavy drinker, do smoke (working on that one) 5ft 5in and 10 stone wet through. High blood pressure is not an issue.
There might be very little you can do by way of diet & exercise to cut the cholesterol levels; there's an awful lot of "genetics" in how we process fats/cholesterol. You might just have the wrong mix of DNA/genes for this and need pharmacological intervention, e.g. statins, or the like.
Kidney function, could be a whole variety of reasons. Generally ensuring you drink lots of water should be a good thing to keep them flushed, but there are situations where higher fluid consumption can make it worse.
IMO, wait for the clinician's feedback on likely causes to review actions you can take going forward.
Kidney function, could be a whole variety of reasons. Generally ensuring you drink lots of water should be a good thing to keep them flushed, but there are situations where higher fluid consumption can make it worse.
IMO, wait for the clinician's feedback on likely causes to review actions you can take going forward.
Thanks.
The gp has already said about diet and lifestyle to reduce the cholesterol, but she was vague, sort of cut out the fried food, crisps, red meat, sweets and cheese.
I don't really like cheese, so that one isn't hard. Crisps and sweets are a good boost for me while working, so I guess I can swap those for fruit and nuts (needs to be something I can eat whole walking and doesn't get me covered in juice and sticky). Was just looking for general ideas I suppose, I mean not even the big stuff, just the little things that could make a difference.
The gp has already said about diet and lifestyle to reduce the cholesterol, but she was vague, sort of cut out the fried food, crisps, red meat, sweets and cheese.
I don't really like cheese, so that one isn't hard. Crisps and sweets are a good boost for me while working, so I guess I can swap those for fruit and nuts (needs to be something I can eat whole walking and doesn't get me covered in juice and sticky). Was just looking for general ideas I suppose, I mean not even the big stuff, just the little things that could make a difference.
Chocolate bars, cakes/desserts and sausages/burgers are the worst. 70%+ chocolate is OK, chicken burgers are OK and some veggie burgers/sausages are good too, and you can get baked crisps.
Pasta dishes can be OK, you just need to be careful which ones you have.
Air fried chips are good, as are oven chips.
There are healthy alternatives to almost everything.
Pasta dishes can be OK, you just need to be careful which ones you have.
Air fried chips are good, as are oven chips.
There are healthy alternatives to almost everything.
You need the breakdown of your cholesterol to really understand anything. Just "high cholesterol" doesn't predict anything other than lifelong statin prescriptions.
Your doctor can arrange a "lipid profile". They will show triglycerides (TG), VLDL, LDL, HDL, and total cholesterol (TC). High triglycerides is "bad", high HDL is "good", as much as you can summarize this in one sentence. The TG:HDL ratio is quite predictive for things like coronary heart disease. You can change this with diet.
Your doctor can arrange a "lipid profile". They will show triglycerides (TG), VLDL, LDL, HDL, and total cholesterol (TC). High triglycerides is "bad", high HDL is "good", as much as you can summarize this in one sentence. The TG:HDL ratio is quite predictive for things like coronary heart disease. You can change this with diet.
grumbledoak said:
You need the breakdown of your cholesterol to really understand anything. Just "high cholesterol" doesn't predict anything other than lifelong statin prescriptions.
Your doctor can arrange a "lipid profile". They will show triglycerides (TG), VLDL, LDL, HDL, and total cholesterol (TC). High triglycerides is "bad", high HDL is "good", as much as you can summarize this in one sentence. The TG:HDL ratio is quite predictive for things like coronary heart disease. You can change this with diet.
She just said that I had a level of 6.3 and it needs to be 5 or below Your doctor can arrange a "lipid profile". They will show triglycerides (TG), VLDL, LDL, HDL, and total cholesterol (TC). High triglycerides is "bad", high HDL is "good", as much as you can summarize this in one sentence. The TG:HDL ratio is quite predictive for things like coronary heart disease. You can change this with diet.
I appear to have gone from a level of 7 something to 5 something by only eating meat once a week. Its something I've wondered about before but not felt motivated to do. Now I have done it I'm a fan. I dont do dairy as I dont like it so I am pretty much vegan I guess.
I find most dishes you can substitute the meat and not notice. I'm still eating well and I do eat fish.
I find most dishes you can substitute the meat and not notice. I'm still eating well and I do eat fish.
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