my sister became a strict vegetarian because of her cholesterol level but after three months its still high?

Question

her level went from 287 to 260 and it is still considered high, she cant take the meds to lower it because of her kidney condition, why is this strict diet not working for her

no she doesnt drink and she has seen a couple of nutrutionist, i remember them telling her to stay away from coconuts and other plant stuff that is high in chlestorol and calories

Answer 1

Three months is not long enough to see a significant drop. I think she's doing well for the first three months.

You didn't say whether she's eating dairy products. Since you didn't say vegan I'm assuming she is.

Besides cutting out the saturated fat from animal sources there are other things she can do.

1. Watch all fat intake and try to strictly limit dairy products because of their high levels of fat. Things like fat-free yogurt, etc. are fine.

2. When added fat must be used for things like toast, sauteeing or on vegetables use only LIGHT olive oil. This is not light in calories or fat but in flavor, which makes it suitable for every kind of use. With appropriate herbs/spices it's great even on vegetables.

3. Try not to use any margarine. When absolutely necessary use the Smart Balance with flax oil. It helps to lower cholesterol.

4. Limit carbohydrate intake (particularly the white foods like potatoes, rice and pasta), avoid high sugar fruits and vegetables and avoid all sugar. It's the carbohydrates that wreak havoc with your triglycerides. There is a brand of pasta (Dreamfields) that is extremely low in carbohydrates and works well with all the vegetables she's eating. It tastes just like the real deal.

I had high cholesterol and went on Atkins, which she can't do because of her kidney issues but my triglycerides went from 600 down to 43 by cutting the carbs. My HDL cholesterol went from 29 up to 89.

She has quite the challenge ahead of her but give it time. When done by altering diet it takes longer than with drugs.

The most important things to do are to watch all fat intake and try to limit added fats to the mono-unsaturated fats like olive oil. It will help to raise her HDL cholesterol while lowering her LDL.

Answer 2

Sometimes its genetic and hence more difficult to control by just changing the diet.
She needs to exercise too specially if shes overweight.
Also since it has come down so much in 3 months, in another year or so, it'll be back to normal most likely.
Consult a doc on how to do it without medicines , a good dietician for a start.
Good luck!

Answer 3

www.ravediet.com. She should not be using any hydrogenated oils. That means no french fries from any restaurants (fried in "crisco" type fat). Her fat intake from diet should be limited to nuts and seeds using as little virgin olive oil as possible to keep food from sticking to the frying pan. She needs to dump even the vegan margerines that claim to have healthy fat. By strict vegetarian, I am assuming you mean vegan. If she consumes dairy cheese or any egg yolks she is getting saturated fat and cholesterol. I helped my neighbor get on track with his diet and his cholesterol dropped but only by 30 points even though he "was doing everything". Come to find out he was still having chicken nearly every day. By the way, here in the US companies can still use hydrogenated oils in foods and still say "0 grams trans fats". They are allowed to say that as long as the serving has under 1 gram of trans fat. You have to read every ingredient list and double check for the word hydrogenated. Buy the video + book from www.ravediet.com. It has all the answers.
Our friend went vegan and his protein spillage dropped into normal range and his kidney disease is now under control.

Answer 4

Does she drink alcohol? My friend's high cholesterol is due to alcohol consumption.

Answer 5

Eggs are the highest source of cholesterol,so she has exclude that from her diet.The cholesterol content of three glasses of milk is equal to what one would get from 53 slices of bacon. Do you know of any doctor who recommends that much bacon per day?So she has to cut out dairy and eggs.

Answer 6

No dairy also. and she has to exercise everyday.No Oil at all. No NUTs.No avocado, No Seeds. No animal fat. It will take her cholesterol level down very fast. and actually this is the healty life stye.

Answer 7

It's in her genes , heredity! There are herbs that might help her, check out
www.puritan.com

Answer 8

Diet does not always help by itself. Is she exercising?

Answer 9

Did you know that "Vegetarian" is an old Indian word, it meens "Lousy Hunter"