Cholesterol levels

[Merlin5]

I'm not sure jpaul. Once of my brothers is on statins now, I think his cholesterol was 5.5. I'll have to see what they say after another blood test which I think they're going to want to do.

I received my blood pressure machine, an Omron M3 Intellisense. I've had readings varying from 132 (< only once) to 166, and quite a few were 150+, but I think the higher readings were when I hadn't sat down and rested for a few minutes first.

At the press of a button, this machine can give me an average of the last 3 readings done within 10 minutes and my last average this afternoon was 145 over 89. I guess it's not too bad. What I've noticed is that whatever the top number is, the bottom diastolic has been high. Max should be 84. I had a few readings last night below 84 but today they're all around 90 to 92.

Edit: just got an average score 140 over 84. Happy with that!

Anyway, back to healthy food. I bought fresh Mackerel today. Very impressed with the amount I got for under £3, wasn't expecting that. Should give me 2, maybe 3 meals. I've frozen it all, just wondering if it was ok to wrap in cling film?

By the time I got home from Tesco, it had been off the ice for the best part of an hour. I read that it should be good for 2 to 3 months frozen, but if it hadn't have gone above 0°( which it did of course) then it would have kept indefinitely?

Just wondering about bones, is there an easy way to debone?

 

[Regy53]

Mine is / was 8.7 and that was when I was around 25. It’s in my genetics I’m only 5’6 and 70 ish kg.

I cut out everything for a few months and it dropped to 5. Somthing however I also lost 7kg. I went Back to a bit of normal eating cutting out all cheeses and red meat most things in good moderation and it rose to 7 again. So they stuck me on statins.

You can adjust with diet but it’s not so easy imo

 

[Illgresi]

The chances are that the above posts have covered this:

For a man, lifting weights is a much more acceptable method of 'going to the gym', than sitting on a bike.

Read about 'Starting Strength'. It's a brilliant way for middle aged men to get back to the gym. The book was written, and designed for skinny teenagers, but it's perfect for grown men also. I know, because I have been that middle aged man. Lifting weights is so much more attainable than climbing on a bike, or a treadmill.

Weights won't help your ability to run somewhere, but it's a gateway to being in the gym. You'll feel great for being there.

 

[jpaul]

you didn't immediately have a fresh grilled mackerel , with mashed potato, or fresh bread ?
they reiterated on r4 this morning 80% of uk mackerel/herring catch go abroad ... maybe brexit will fix that, if people then switched some of their red meat consumption.....
if I were freezing them I'd probably filet them first.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I was invited to see a health advisor today after the result of a cholesterol blood test in August. Obviously not urgent since my results were 2 months ago, but my cholesterol is 5.2mmol/L. It's meant to be 5 maximum. So it means I'm going to have to change my diet a fair bit.

She gave me an info sheet on what not to eat or at least, to moderate. Most importantly, avoiding food with saturated fat. Meat pies, sausages, butter, cream, hard cheeses, cakes and biscuits, and foods with coconut or palm oil. Everything I like to eat!

She also measured my blood pressure which was 155. But it was 144 in June. I suspect that is due to overdoing my vaping, so I'll cut back on that and hopefully that should lower.

I think that the 5.2 is not too bad, but because of the higher blood pressure, it's a recipe for potential heart attack or stroke. I'm going back in 2 weeks to see any improvements I've made.

Do you think I should avoid my macaroni cheese and cottage pies which in both cases I usually make a big amount and eat over 2 or 3 days, and try and eat mostly chicken, mackerel, boiled potatoes, fish with no batter for the next two weeks and see how that goes?

Has anyone else here had to change their diet due to high cholesterol?

First of all your health adviser doesn't have a clue what is good cholesterol and what is bad.

Coconut oil is good for you. Replace all cooking oil with coconut oil - the refined stuff is fine and cheaper.

Butter - again is good for you in moderation - avoid margerine. margerine is man made it's refined and the body see's it as a toxin and stores it which is bad.

Avocado's again whilst having high saturated fat - are probably the best thing you could be eating. start having avocados with egg, toast, wraps, salads, etc.

Basically you have people out there spreading myths like saturated fat is bad and all saturated fat is the same. it is not. complete myth. nuts for example have saturated fat and again very healthy for you. again everything in moderation.

Pies (cheap ones have terrible meat), sausages (terrible meat), cakes, biscuits, cream - this is all pretty obvious. Anyone should know this isn't good for you. Do I really need to add crisps, fried food, bacon, chips, etc to this list? You need to avoid cheap sources of meat especially red meat, avoid dairy as it's not normal for a human to be drinking cows milk, avoid obvious crap.

However butter in small amounts is fine, so is coconut oil and try and have 1-2 avocados per day as part of a meal.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Yes, you're correct and I didn't need to ask that question about mac n cheese. For clarity however, I make either of those about once a month, not every week.

No, I'm definitely up for changing my diet. I'm just going to have to rethink new meals to make instead of the usual things I cook, and just treat myself occasionally. I buy too many frozen things in batter or breadcrumbs like cod or kievs, and way too many oven chips.

I think staying away or seriously reducing red meat intake is something I should do, and there was a time I only ever did white meat. As you say, grilling fish would be good. Fish can be really expensive though. What fish would you recommend I buy that could get me a few meals without being too pricey?

The cake baking hobby I've developed will have to be cut back because of all the eggs, cream and butter.

Frozen food the majority of especially processed stuff is all complete crap.

Frozen is only good when it's plain unprocessed stuff like vegetables, fillets, etc.

kievs for example is pretty obvious is just crap food. however chicken breast is fine so long as it's plain or just spiced. start adding batter or breadcrumbs and they start adding other crap too so it's cheaper to make and then more profit for them.

 

[Scam]

not sure about mixing curry paste with bass really ?, if it's good fish (OK most are farmed - QED) then, like mackerel, keep it simple; learning to cook fish without overcooking/shrinkage is a skill to maximise this expensive ingrediant.

Well it's not my recipe but curried fish is big in lots of places. It definitely works. I fry the fish in oil and butter (nicve crispy skin) and sit it on top of the 'curry' element. It's lovely. It's a more like a lightly spiced chickpea stew it sits on really.

kedgeree without smoked haddock too isn't cricket, ... mackerels not exactly subtle to combine iwth rice/boiled-eggs/peas.

Again, each to their own. There's plenty of recipes out there using either. Haddock is much more expensive and we try to budget.

Today I had porridge for breakfast, and mackerel and cucumber sandwiches for lunch from a tin of mackerel in sunflower oil.

The tins of mackerel you can find in most supermarkets are really good. Probably a bit of sugar etc in them but one of those on toast is great for a light lunch.

Just wondering about bones, is there an easy way to debone?

I got the impression you're not much of a cook. If I'm wrong I apologise, but would you not be better off buying fillets? I love cooking and experimenting and I am relatively skilled in the kitchen, yet I mostly wouldn't faff with whole fish unless it's needed for a particular recipe or I'm showing off. Keep it simple, and do things you'd be happy to do on repeat once a week.

However butter in small amounts is fine, so is coconut oil and try and have 1-2 avocados per day as part of a meal.

I just had my yearly health assessment and am waiting on the results. My cholesterol was fine but I'll post it up here. I was interested in that particularly because we do cook from scratch most night, using olive or groundnut oil and/or butter depending.

However you say eat in moderation, yet say 1-2 avocados a day. I'm no expert but that does not sound like moderation and to be honest I would be sick of them if I did that. 2 avocados a day? No way man...

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Well it's not my recipe but curried fish is big in lots of places. It definitely works. I fry the fish in oil and butter (nicve crispy skin) and sit it on top of the 'curry' element. It's lovely. It's a more like a lightly spiced chickpea stew it sits on really.

Again, each to their own. There's plenty of recipes out there using either. Haddock is much more expensive and we try to budget.

The tins of mackerel you can find in most supermarkets are really good. Probably a bit of sugar etc in them but one of those on toast is great for a light lunch.

I got the impression you're not much of a cook. If I'm wrong I apologise, but would you not be better off buying fillets? I love cooking and experimenting and I am relatively skilled in the kitchen, yet I mostly wouldn't faff with whole fish unless it's needed for a particular recipe or I'm showing off. Keep it simple, and do things you'd be happy to do on repeat once a week.

I just had my yearly health assessment and am waiting on the results. My cholesterol was fine but I'll post it up here. I was interested in that particularly because we do cook from scratch most night, using olive or groundnut oil and/or butter depending.

However you say eat in moderation, yet say 1-2 avocados a day. I'm no expert but that does not sound like moderation and to be honest I would be sick of them if I did that. 2 avocados a day? No way man...

1-2 is moderation. also avocados help open up your arteries temporarily so you may want to re-evaluate that. also when i say 1-2 i mean have it 1-2 times per day. not a full avocado maybe a half but usually when cooking you share food with your household. so 1-2 avocados per day shared between 2-3 people is fine.

having 5 a day would be too much but tbh i reckon even that would be fine with avocadoes. there are certain things you can have as much as you want within reason. water for example is fine within reason. you can have that 10 times per day. avocadoes is a genuine superfood. so you could even have 3 a day and it be fine. that is moderation. having 10 a day would be an issue probably as you would then be cutting down on other stuff just to have avocados instead.

 

[Scam]

avocadoes is a genuine superfood. so you could even have 3 a day and it be fine. that is moderation. having 10 a day would be an issue probably as you would then be cutting down on other stuff just to have avocados instead.

Um, if you had 3 avocados a day you would definitely be cutting down on other stuff to do so. A whole avocado on toast could be a meal for one person, definitely if you're adding some protein and other accoutrements. So your reply doesn't make much sense.

I don't think it's wise to suggest somebody eats a ton of something because it's classed as a 'superfood'. The best diets are good stuff, in moderation.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Um, if you had 3 avocados a day you would definitely be cutting down on other stuff to do so. A whole avocado on toast could be a meal for one person, definitely if you're adding some protein and other accoutrements. So your reply doesn't make much sense.

I don't think it's wise to suggest somebody eats a ton of something because it's classed as a 'superfood'. The best diets are good stuff, in moderation.

I wouldn't eat a whole one though. But you should be eating it with every meal as it helps open up your arteries. So half an avocado with each meal = 1.5 avocado's per day.

 

[jpaul]

also avocados help open up your arteries temporarily

Um too, educate us what's the benefit of that ? ... like my multiple espressos.
( personally don't like avocadoes enough to consecrate a large part of my daily calories count to their intake )

Again, each to their own. There's plenty of recipes out there using either. Haddock is much more expensive and we try to budget.

yes - I use tinned salmon frequently ... but you only really need sub 150g

edit: big earlier thread on the right cococnut oil to buy .. all animals are equal

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Um too, educate us what's the benefit of that ? ... like my multiple espressos.
( personally don't like avocadoes enough to consecrate a large part of my daily calories count to their intake )



yes - I use tinned salmon frequently ... but you only really need sub 150g

edit: big earlier thread on the right cococnut oil to buy .. all animals are equal

it can help fat pass through your veins without clogging them up. which leads to guess what high levels of cholesterol and heart disease, etc. then needing stents put in.

avocados is one of those things for people with high cholesterol or heart disease can work wonders with a healthy diet in place.

coffee has caffeine which raises cortisol levels. which is bad for the heart. so it's not the same thing as having an espresso.

 

[tom_e]

avocados is one of those things for people with high cholesterol or heart disease can work wonders with a healthy diet in place.

So is it down to the avocados or the generally better diet?

 

[Merlin5]

First of all your health adviser doesn't have a clue what is good cholesterol and what is bad.

Coconut oil is good for you. Replace all cooking oil with coconut oil - the refined stuff is fine and cheaper.

Butter - again is good for you in moderation - avoid margerine. margerine is man made it's refined and the body see's it as a toxin and stores it which is bad.

Avocado's again whilst having high saturated fat - are probably the best thing you could be eating. start having avocados with egg, toast, wraps, salads, etc.

Basically you have people out there spreading myths like saturated fat is bad and all saturated fat is the same. it is not. complete myth. nuts for example have saturated fat and again very healthy for you. again everything in moderation.

Pies (cheap ones have terrible meat), sausages (terrible meat), cakes, biscuits, cream - this is all pretty obvious. Anyone should know this isn't good for you. Do I really need to add crisps, fried food, bacon, chips, etc to this list? You need to avoid cheap sources of meat especially red meat, avoid dairy as it's not normal for a human to be drinking cows milk, avoid obvious crap.

However butter in small amounts is fine, so is coconut oil and try and have 1-2 avocados per day as part of a meal.

Well, you're definitely correct about avocados. I don't like avocado much, but I'll start eating them if they're good for opening arteries.

Not sure about your thumbs up for coconut oil and butter though? Here's the info sheet I was given.

The tins of mackerel you can find in most supermarkets are really good. Probably a bit of sugar etc in them but one of those on toast is great for a light lunch.

I got the impression you're not much of a cook. If I'm wrong I apologise, but would you not be better off buying fillets? I love cooking and experimenting and I am relatively skilled in the kitchen, yet I mostly wouldn't faff with whole fish unless it's needed for a particular recipe or I'm showing off. Keep it simple, and do things you'd be happy to do on repeat once a week.

Nice to know the tins are good. I buy those from Aldi, only about 55p per tin.

Well, I can cook a few things, but only have a small repertoire and not that healthy. Never cooked fresh fish though other than boil in a bag cod, lol.

I enjoy baking bread and cakes a lot more and am pretty good at that. But will have to severely reduce it.

Yes I'd be better off with fillets. Thing is, that is more expensive and I'm trying to do healthy on a budget. BUT, I think deboning might be a pain in the ass so I think filleted will be the way and as you say, more likely to keep me repeating it. The mackerel I bought was under £3 for almost 800g. I'll be interested to find out how much 800g of filleted mackerel would cost. Hopefully not too much more.

you didn't immediately have a fresh grilled mackerel , with mashed potato, or fresh bread ?
they reiterated on r4 this morning 80% of uk mackerel/herring catch go abroad ... maybe brexit will fix that, if people then switched some of their red meat consumption.....
if I were freezing them I'd probably filet them first.

Yeah I should have eaten a piece while fresh, but I had chicken waiting to be cooked plus I was panicking about the fish getting to room temperature, so thought I'd better just go ahead and freeze it. And yes, I should have filleted before freezing. So, how long does it take to defrost a fish in the fridge, and do I need to slice off a thin layer across the fish get rid of most bones? I don't even know how to grill it properly. I guess season it with salt and pepper and stick under grill for 5 minutes a side?

 

[Psycho Sonny]

So is it down to the avocados or the generally better diet?

both, there is no point adding avocados to your diet then continuing to eat deep fried battered bacon rolls every day.

but if he is going to make his diet better and if he also adds avocados that will help open up his arteries when he is eating a meal which will allow fats to move through them easier and less chance of clogging them up.

he should do both. add avocados into diet and also make his diet a lot healthier where possible.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Well, you're definitely correct about avocados. I don't like avocado much, but I'll start eating them if they're good for opening arteries.

Not sure about your thumbs up for coconut oil and butter though? Here's the info sheet I was given.





Nice to know the tins are good. I buy those from Aldi, only about 55p per tin.

Well, I can cook a few things, but only have a small repertoire and not that healthy. Never cooked fresh fish though other than boil in a bag cod, lol.

I enjoy baking bread and cakes a lot more and am pretty good at that. But will have to severely reduce it.

Yes I'd be better off with fillets. Thing is, that is more expensive and I'm trying to do healthy on a budget. BUT, I think deboning might be a pain in the ass so I think filleted will be the way and as you say, more likely to keep me repeating it. The mackerel I bought was under £3 for almost 800g. I'll be interested to find out how much 800g of filleted mackerel would cost. Hopefully not too much more.




Yeah I should have eaten a piece while fresh, but I had chicken waiting to be cooked plus I was panicking about the fish getting to room temperature, so thought I'd better just go ahead and freeze it. And yes, I should have filleted before freezing. So, how long does it take to defrost a fish in the fridge, and do I need to slice off a thin layer across the fish get rid of most bones? I don't even know how to grill it properly. I guess season it with salt and pepper and stick under grill for 5 minutes a side?

I can't see the images but I'll basically explain what coconut oil is and what butter is.

Coconut oil is MCT - Medium Chain Tryglycerides. Basically it isn't like a normal saturated fat. do some research into MCT's and you will see what i mean. What those leaflets do is spread the myth that all saturated fats is bad. there are three types of saturated fat. short chain, medium chain and long chain. Basically Medium chain ones are good. in fact people can eat vast amounts of them with no real issues as part of keto diets. it's the other things within the keto diet which will be bad like large amounts of red meat and processed meats.

Butter is a natural fat. Basically you get Milk then cream from the milk then you spin that to seperate the fat. There you have butter. This can all be done without the aid of chemicals or advanced refining processes. Margerine or butter replacements are made using chemicals, lots of refining processes which didn't exist 200 years ago. So essentially they are alien to the human body, butter has existed for hundreds of years, margerine hasn't. So margerine is the issue here the body see's it as a toxin, it's not used to processing it. So margerine is actually bad for you as the human body isn't capable of processing it properly. Butter however has been around for centuries and the human body can process it. However this doesn't mean you can go out and eat a stick of butter every week. Cut down it's usage but use it over margerine. Just use less of it and look at other alternatives like peanut butter.

It's a bit like Honey vs refined sugar. Honey is better but you still can't consume 100g of honey everyday it's still sugar.

So long as you can follow what I'm saying then you should be okay. Use coconut oil for cooking. Butter in moderation when you need to. Cut out hugely refined oils such as vegetable oils and margerine spreads. Coconut oil is refined too (not always but the cheap stuff is) however it's okay as it's MCT and the amount of refining needed is nothing compared to say rapeseed oil. rapeseed oil goes through massive amounts of refining procedures and processes to get to the final product. it's not normal. would be good for lubrication no doubt but not for human consumption.

 

[jpaul]

also avocados help open up your arteries temporarily

can't see anything to substantiate that - a link ? ... yes they have similar benefits to cholesterol like mackerel ... almonds too, beyond that it's apparently nitrate full veg eg celery if you want vasodilation !
[eg Hass Avocado Composition and Potential Health Effects
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...ods-seaweed-avocado-goji-berries-the-evidence - apparently 100L water for 1 avocado ]

mackerel -
you'd need to buy them with head on to fillet them really .. the head holds the spine was surprised T don't charge for weight of original fish, asda do.
must be some pics on line showing how to do it - for each side - knife behind head towards tail, release section above spine, then do more delicate lower section by rib(?) cage.

unfilleted can grill, laying like a book with back upwards, and flip once .. usually season salt only, with some malt vinegar too once cooked.

 

[Hilly]

can't see anything to substantiate that - a link ? ... yes they have similar benefits to cholesterol like mackerel ... almonds too, beyond that it's apparently nitrate full veg eg celery if you want vasodilation !
[eg Hass Avocado Composition and Potential Health Effects
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...ods-seaweed-avocado-goji-berries-the-evidence - apparently 100L water for 1 avocado ]

mackerel -
you'd need to buy them with head on to fillet them really .. the head holds the spine was surprised T don't charge for weight of original fish, asda do.
must be some pics on line showing how to do it - for each side - knife behind head towards tail, release section above spine, then do more delicate lower section by rib(?) cage.

unfilleted can grill, laying like a book with back upwards, and flip once .. usually season salt only, with some malt vinegar too once cooked.

That's because he's talking ****.

You're better off with olive oil, over coconut oil. Like for like, coconut oil contains 6x the amount of saturated fat compared to olive oil.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/21/well/eat/coconut-oil-good-bad-health.html
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/coconut-oil (note it also increases HDL AND LDL levels
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a22792545/coconut-oil-bad-for-you/

Taken from the last link:

That said, the professor does have a few points about coconut oil worth considering: a tablespoon of coconut oil has 117 calories. That's why LaValle encourages coconut oil intake “in moderate amounts, like 1 tablespoon per day or less,”

Also the quote about opening up your arteries temporarily is 'lol' worthy. Avocados contain tonnes of potassium, potassium is great for arteries, but they don't 'open up your arteries' like some natural stent.

 

[Merlin5]

Thanks Hilly, noted. I guess still worth eating some avocado then if it's good for the arteries, even if they don't open them.

mackerel -
you'd need to buy them with head on to fillet them really .. the head holds the spine was surprised T don't charge for weight of original fish, asda do.
must be some pics on line showing how to do it - for each side - knife behind head towards tail, release section above spine, then do more delicate lower section by rib(?) cage.

unfilleted can grill, laying like a book with back upwards, and flip once .. usually season salt only, with some malt vinegar too once cooked.

I just found this video which makes it look pretty quick and easy to fillet. I reckon I can get 3 meals out of my 3 mackerels, although they're not massive, but decent sized fish. I've got one defrosting for tomorrow night's dinner. Once I'm familiar with filleting and cooking it, I can buy and eat fresh in future instead of freezing all of it.

A few questions for you if you don't mind:

So will I not be able to fillet it without the head? Surely I just locate the end of the backbone as he shows, and slit along it?

I can still grill if filleted though right? And for how long per side?

What about the pan frying in the above video, would that be good or much unhealthier than grilling?

 

[Psycho Sonny]

can't see anything to substantiate that - a link ? ... yes they have similar benefits to cholesterol like mackerel ... almonds too, beyond that it's apparently nitrate full veg eg celery if you want vasodilation !
[eg Hass Avocado Composition and Potential Health Effects
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...ods-seaweed-avocado-goji-berries-the-evidence - apparently 100L water for 1 avocado ]

mackerel -
you'd need to buy them with head on to fillet them really .. the head holds the spine was surprised T don't charge for weight of original fish, asda do.
must be some pics on line showing how to do it - for each side - knife behind head towards tail, release section above spine, then do more delicate lower section by rib(?) cage.

unfilleted can grill, laying like a book with back upwards, and flip once .. usually season salt only, with some malt vinegar too once cooked.

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/food-unwrapped/on-demand/64465-018