Question
I had my cholesterol checked and it was too high according to the M.D. I'd rather not give the exact number here.
How much is our cholesterol level determined by heredity and how much is determined by what we eat?
Answer
Hi Opie,
That is a really good question. And the answer is not one that has any specific numbers to it.
What you eat AND heredity play a big role in what YOUR body does with cholesterol. As with almost anything in medicine, your system may handle things differently than others. So your body may process cholesterol differently than mine.
Let me give you a f'rinstance.
My ex-inlaws are country folk who butcher a lot of their own food. She renders lard out of pork and beef to cook with, they make their own scrapple, and so on and so on. She bakes home made bread and rolls, with real butter, too. When they had to get blood drawn for health insurance purposes, I expected the worst from the results. He is short and heavy she is taller and thinner. Guess who had high cholesterol? SHE did. His was hanging right around normal in spite of a lifetime of eating this type of food. She was off the chart! Now here is where it gets interesting...out of their 4 children (who are now all adults) 3 have to watch their cholesterol intake closely (one daughter has already had a mini stroke at age 38)and one, stays pretty close to normal even though he still eats Momma's cooking 2 or 3 times a week. The other three are fairly diet conscious and only sit at Momma's table on holidays. So, you can see that how your body metablizes cholesterol laden foods is fairly individualized.
Opie, I hope your doctor offered you dietary information such as: cut back on red meats,eat more fish and poultry (remove the skin), trim as much fat as possible from your meats, opt for baked and broiled foods over fried, and read package labels closely to determine cholesterol content of the foods you buy. Also, there are a couple of medications on the market to help lower blood cholesterol a little faster. One of the oldest is Mevacor. Very few side effects have been encountered with this medication, and when used in conjunction with dietary control is quite successful in helping people manage their cholesterol levels.
Please let me know how things progress for you.
Dr. Briggs (The Truckers' Doc)is currently researching information on diet, and will be penning a new article that will offer some guidance on healthy eating. He will especially focus on how you can eat healthy on the road for our trucking friends. When it is finished, I will put it in the read only section of this forum.
Keep in mind too, there is good cholesterol and bad cholesterol.
Keeping you safe, healthy, and on the road.
Nurse RedVisit us at
Answer
Nurse Red, a question about those medications. Is it true that once you start on them, you have to take them for life? And, is one better than another?
My mother-in-law is on them, although I don't know which one, and it hasn't helped. Should she ask the doctor about switching to a different one, or are they all pretty much the same?
Thanks for any help!
Cheri
Answer
Cheri,
As always, everyone is different and responds differently to each medication. You didn't specify how long your mother-in-law had been taking the medication before determining that it isn't helping. Also, is she controlling her current cholesterol intake? If she is depending on the medication to help, she must also help by watching her diet. If she has been on this long term, watches her cholesterol intake, and still no progress, then discussing an alternative medication with her doctor is a good idea.
Keeping you safe, healthy, and on the road.
Nurse RedVisit us at