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Comment by tim-tday | Hacker News Reader

My doctor had me on statins because I tested with high cholesterol. I switched to oatmeal for breakfast. Stopped statins tested again. Totally normal.

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I've eaten oatmeal for breakfast, have a heart healthy diet, and exercise regularly. My total cholesterol and especially LdL are always massively high.

My body hates me.

I have high cholesterol, have had for more than a decade. Was on a statin, they didnt help. Doubled them, they didnt help. Changed my diet radically, lost 25 lbs (I was a little overweight, but not bad), ate full medeteranian diet and did everything I could, my numbers didnt budge. Changed to a stronger one and within two weeks my numbers were perfect.

I believe for some of us its purely genetic.

"Changed to a stronger one"

Changed to a stronger one what?

I assumed they meant a stronger statin.

yes, changed to a stronger statin.

There are some people who just have high cholesterol but none of the other risk factors. I'm one of them. I did a calcium score on my heart, and it came back clean. The cardiologist basically said my cholesterol is just part of who I am, and it's not causing problems.

If you're similar to me, you might want to get a second opinion. There are different kinds of LdL cholesterol, and the small, dense particles are the ones that cause blockages. Big puffy ones don't. I have mostly big puffy ones, but classifying them is a different test that has to be special-ordered.

I also have a very low resting heart rate, exercise regularly, have a high VO2Max, and have a healthy diet. So the claim that I was at major risk of a cardiac episode just didn't pass the smell test. If it wasn't for those things, I probably wouldn't have asked questions when my doctor said I should go on a statin.

unfortunately im not in the same situation. I have a high incidence in my family, my calcium score wasn't clean (especially for someone my age) and my vo2max isnt the best either. Though my many stress tests have always been fine.

I don't think im in terrible shape right now, but looking ahead 10 to 20 years, without medical intervention I probably would be.

What does “Changed to a stronger one” mean?

yes, changed to a stronger statin.

My LDL is stuck between 145 and 155 permanently. Same for my mom and aunts. Oatmeal, exercise, etc. doesn't help.

I'm still young so my doctor isn't terribly concerned, but in 10 years I'll probably have to be on statins.

You should question this and advocate for yourself. The important number is total lifetime exposure to LDL (actually apoB, but doctors aren't routinely testing that yet). The arterial damage is cumulative. You shouldn't wait until you are at high risk of cardiac events to take action. The time to slow down the progression is now.

I'm just replying based on taking your comment at face value. LDL of 150 is very high and living with that for many years is very damaging. Obviously it's something between you and your doctor, I'm just encouraging you to consider and get reasoning from your doctor about whether this approach is really best for your health.

It's a borderline kinda thing. He said if it was consistently in the 160s he would probably recommend them. My previous doctor was basically in the same camp but had me taking blood tests every 3 months for a year to see if it was stuck there.

What do you mean by heart healthy diet?

Egg whites, lean meats, etc? Strict whole food plant based?

Mediterranean but also I like a good beef dish occasionally, so mostly Mediterranean with the occasional filet or tacos de lingua or something.

The Mediterranean diet is something of a myth, some Mediterranean countries fair quite well on the life expectancy, CHD, and CVD figures, some not so much.

Additionally the data used are considered suspicious in the case of at least Italy to my recollection.

What do you have for breakfast before that if I may ask?

Used to have a single egg, slice of peperjack cheese draped over it and some fruit. sometimes + meat of some sort. Nothing I thought of as overly unhealthy.

All of those things (other than the fruit) have cholesterol. Cheese and meat can also be quite a bit of saturated fat.

Dietary cholesterol has very little causation with blood cholesterol

Mmm oatmeal. Breakfast of champions. I usually do it for about 330 days a year. Take a month off every once in a while..

How do you take your oatmeal?

Buttered

Savory: add a fried egg, soy sauce, and cottage cheese

Like stirred in? Or as sides?

I think that was a joke, all those things increase cholesterol. Egg yolks high in bad cholesterol, soy sauce has tons of sodium, and cottage cheese high in fat.

IIRC the relationship between cholesterol and diet is more complicated than eating cholesterol == more cholesterol. Especially in this case you're eating cholesterol with a high-fiber meal which prevents a significant amount of the absorption of it.

Cottage cheese is quite low in fat for cheese. The one at my local supermarket is 11.3g protein, 2.4g fat, 6.3g carbs, and it's not a diet version.

It's still very salty and most of the carbs are in the form of the sugar lactose, I'm not really recommending it as a health food, it's just comparatively low in fat.

Haha sorry never meant to imply it was a cholesterol friendly meal, it’s just how I make my oatmeal.

Good: Oat flakes. I like Bob's Red Mill in North America and Karavansay in Colombia. Boil them a short time, drain part or all of the water, and eat them with a little bit of honey or a fruit such as blueberries.

Bad: Oatly

I usually eat mine like cereal, uncooked old-fashioned in cold milk, with a bit of honey or brown sugar for flavor. Apparently this is normal overseas.

Steel cut is just a different thing altogether. I like mine a bit on the firm side, with butter, brown sugar. On top, some plain yogurt pair nicely. Cranberries and walnuts are pretty great too.

I think one-minute/instant oatmeal is terrible, no matter how it's prepared, which is unfortunately most people's first experience with oatmeal.

Honey is good, but there is never a reason to add any sugar even if brown. Oatmeal can be sweetened with practically any fruit. Berries work really well, whether dried or fresh. I add wild blueberries.

> Berries work really well, whether dried or fresh.

Frozen berries work really well too and they are much cheaper than fresh. Just have to leave them out for an hour (or overnight in the fridge) to thaw

I soak mine overnight with nuts, in water and a tsp of yogurt, then drain/rinse off in the morning. Steel-cut if I'm cooking it stove-top, large-flake if I'm just microwaving the oats. Serve with the nuts, alongside berries and whatever else.

Years ago I'd sometimes go over-the-top with homemade kefir, cocoa nibs, lemon zest. I stopped the kefir habit not so much because of the hassle but because I didn't want to consume that much volume of dairy every day. I get enough lactic acid from kimchi, and protein from other sources.

Overnight oats have been my go to lunch and pre workout meal for a couple years now.

75g 0% Greek Yogurt, 75g Almond Milk, 10g Maple Syrup, 8g ISOpure unflavored protein powder, 8g PBfit powdered peanut butter, Salt to taste. Whisk everything else together in one bowl. Pour over 85g of old fashioned oats and stir.

511 calories, 79g carbs, 30g protein, 9g fat. Easy to tune the recipe to macro targets.

Cholesterol numbers are great.

I like a splash of maple syrup, oat milk, and maybe half a packet of sweetener if I'm feeling cheeky. Cocoa nibs and dried fruits are excellent too.

I use minute oats. Drop in boiling water, toss in a Half handful of raisins or crasins.

Peanut butter, chia seed and banana slices.

If you make plain oatmeal with less water so that it is thick rather than runny, it can be treated like a side dish like mashed potatoes or polenta in a savory meal. It can be a bit odd at first for people who are used to thinking of oatmeal as a sweetened food but it's something one can get accustomed to quickly and avoids the downside of consuming extra sugar.

In my opinion oatmeal is better as a spicy-savory rather than a sweet dish. You could add black pepper and a bit of salt to it and maybe a hot sauce for even more flavor. Montreal steak spice also works well.

Could take it to the next level with green peas, diced carrots and other things.

In fact once you go savory, you'll never go back. Sweet oatmeal grosses me out.

look up upma, a semolina based indian breakfast dish that can be adapted to oats pretty easily.

I add 1-2 tbsp of soy milk powder (not to be confused with soy protein powder) which adds bulk. In the end I add wild blueberries to sweeten it. Sometimes I add chia seeds, especially if I can leave it soaked overnight.

We heat up unskimmed milk, add oatmeal, let them soak for at least 10 minutes. Then serve them and pour a little bit of cold milk over the cooked oatmeal. Plain, or add some fresh fruit, nuts, berries to taste.

From what LDL-C or AboB level to what?

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