I really need to lower my cholesterol.  Since being on the diet, my cholesterol has gone up instead of down.  I posted a thread yesterday, This diet does not seem to be working for me, and got a lot of really great responses.  Thank you very much!

A couple of the responses got me thinking.  My husband, who is an O+ secretor, loosely follows the diet.  He eats what I eat for dinner when we are home, has a fairly compliant lunch at home, but eats a large bowl of oatmeal with cinammon, a banana and antoher fruit every morning for breakfast.  When we go out or if he has a business lunch or dinner, he will cheat with wheat, sugar, corn, dairy, alcohol, you name it.

I, on the other hand, hardly ever cheat.  If I do, I still try to make sure it is not too terrible and it is usually because I am at someone's house and do not want to be rude.  I eat very few store bought prepared foods and cook from scratch.

Here is the kicker - his cholesterol went down 57 points and mine went down 4.  The main difference in our diet is his large bowl of oatmeal every morning.  When I posted on the other thread about eating oatmeal, both Lola and Henriette BSec posted responses that got me thinking.  Lola recommended using compliant grains and Henriette BSec response regarding oatmeal lowering cholesterol was:

Quoted Text

That is a one size fit approach imo

  Both had great points.

I did a little research on why oatmeal is used to lower cholesterol and it is the soluable fiber in the oatmeal that they believe helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure.  I really have to work on both of these and was wondering what compliant soluable fiber I could ingest that might help lower my cholesterol.  My cardiologist is pushing me to take a statin because of my family premature heart disease, so this is important to me.

Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Please post recipes as well.  Lola, you talked about sprouting compliant grains and making your own bread.  I have never done either of those things, so any additional help on those types of things would be welcome as well!

Thank you again for your caring and support.  This forum is great and I appreciate the support you have all given me  

Patty, I'm surprised that your cholesterol went up (I assume you mean total cholesterol, but what about the LDL and HDL numbers?).  I had my annual checkup last month, and my cholesterol numbers have improved on BTD/swami - after almost a year's worth of substantial reduction in grains (I do eat rice).  Do you eat veggies at every meal, and fresh fruit at some point during the day?  Do you watch your fats portions?  I don't have any brilliant ideas or recipes to offer at the moment, but I will be thinking about this.  I'll post again if I come up with any ideas for you.  Wishing you the best.

Quoted from O in Virginia

Patty, I'm surprised that your cholesterol went up (I assume you mean total cholesterol, but what about the LDL and HDL numbers?).  I had my annual checkup last month, and my cholesterol numbers have improved on BTD/swami - after almost a year's worth of substantial reduction in grains (I do eat rice).  Do you eat veggies at every meal, and fresh fruit at some point during the day?  Do you watch your fats portions?  I don't have any brilliant ideas or recipes to offer at the moment, but I will be thinking about this.  I'll post again if I come up with any ideas for you.  Wishing you the best.

OinV, my total went down only 4 points since March, but both are still above my pre-BTD/GTD totals.

My HDL, triglycerides and ratio is good, but my LDL is 168, only down 6 points since March, but up 25 points since pre-BTD/GTD.

I do eat veggies at every meal.  I don't eat fruit every day, probably 3-4 times a week.  Maybe I need to start doing that?  The problem is, there is so much food on my SWAMI, I couldn't possibly eat it all.  I only eat rice or rice cakes about 2-3 times a week.  I'm also eating ghee and wondering if I need to cut that out and also not eat any fat on red meat.  

With all the fist I eat and all the exercise, I really thought my numbers would be down since my last tests in March.  Could be hormones, too.  A couple of people have suggested that and it makes sense.

My girl friend is an O and she does Quinoa for breakfast. She generally use the whole grain, but it is available in a flake form that cooks up like oatmeal.

I would think fiber is what would be most effective. And Quinoa is not particularly high in fiber.

Flaxseed is quite high in fiber, so you may want to look at ways to include flaxseed meal in your diet (cereal, bread, ...).

Buckwheat is high fiber and can be cooked for a cereal.

Rice bran and Teff could also be used to up fiber levels.

Wild rice is another option.

Quoted from C_sharp

My girl friend is an O and she does Quinoa for breakfast. She generally use the whole grain, but it is available in a flake form that cooks up like oatmeal.

I would think fiber is what would be most effective. And Quinoa is not particularly high in fiber.

Flaxseed is quite high in fiber, so you may want to look at ways to include flaxseed meal in your diet (cereal, bread, ...).

Buckwheat is high fiber and can be cooked for a cereal.

Rice bran and Teff could also be used to up fiber levels.

Wild rice is another option.

Great suggestions, C Sharp!  Flaxseed bread, Artichoke flour pasta (which I have never been able to find) and teff are all diamond SF's for me.

Quinoa, Millet, rice brand, rice flour, basmati, brown and wild rice are all SF's

Buckwheat is a black dot.

I have never made bread before.  Maybe it is time to start?  I have some ground flax seed.  I will begin looking at ways I can incorporate that into my diet.

Patty what are your triglycerides?

I would second flax.

Guggul gum will have a positive effect as well; it has a lot of studies behind it.

I love oatmeal but it is such a fattening food like all grains.  A comfort food for sure.  

I have some experience sprouting grains, that's what I did last winter when I was avoiding flour products. I didn't make them into anything; just ate them "as is", on salads or in soups/stirfrys.

Flaxseed bread recipe

(I do not find it necessary to use as much oil as this recipe calls for)

http://www.dadamo.com/typebase4/recipedepictor7x.cgi?1215

Patty,
Introducing flaxseed to your diet might be a good idea. However, it doesn't necessary have to be in the form of bread. What I do is to pour in a tablespoon or two every morning to my protein shake. I usually use my alloted portion of fruits, plus a scoop of Dr D's Protein Powder for "O", then add some hemp seeds as well. The fruits and flaxseed make me very regular and by eating the fruits in the morning I don't have to worry about them fermenting with my other meals during the rest of the day (which used to be an issue for me). You said that you're not eating fruits every day. But if your plan allows, the diamond and beneficial fruits really do wonders. Perhaps you can try this trick with the morning shake to see if your body feels fine with it

some of you, the O's do have higher cholesterol/triglyzeride of hereditary origins, so far... ... but instead of the idea to reach you aim with grains at that important  issue... would rather change your mind and go for aminoacids  likewise dlpa for example and some other goodies (B3 as niacin for example
and I recognize you as a hunter but O nonnie... nearly no chance for the grains   

Quoted from Andrea AWsec

Patty what are your triglycerides?

Total Cholesterol = 254
HDL = 70
LDL = 168
Triglycerides = 78
Chol/HDL Ration = 3.63

It is the total and the LDL my cardiologist does not like.  I had hoped all the exercise I am doing would bring it down, but it only came down 6 points since it was tested in March 2011.

Quoted from Mark

I would second flax.

Guggul gum will have a positive effect as well; it has a lot of studies behind it.

Thanks, Mark.  I do have some ground flax and will start using it daily.  I will look into the guggul gum for sure.

Quoted from Drea

I have some experience sprouting grains, that's what I did last winter when I was avoiding flour products. I didn't make them into anything; just ate them "as is", on salads or in soups/stirfrys.

Do you think that would help?  It seems to be the soluble fiber that researchers say lower the cholesterol.  Oatmeal is the highest but I know flax is on the list as well.

Quoted from C_sharp

Flaxseed bread recipe

(I do not find it necessary to use as much oil as this recipe calls for)

http://www.dadamo.com/typebase4/recipedepictor7x.cgi?1215

Thanks, C Sharp.  I will try it next week.  It looks really easy  

Quoted from balletomane

Patty,
Introducing flaxseed to your diet might be a good idea. However, it doesn't necessary have to be in the form of bread. What I do is to pour in a tablespoon or two every morning to my protein shake. I usually use my alloted portion of fruits, plus a scoop of Dr D's Protein Powder for "O", then add some hemp seeds as well. The fruits and flaxseed make me very regular and by eating the fruits in the morning I don't have to worry about them fermenting with my other meals during the rest of the day (which used to be an issue for me). You said that you're not eating fruits every day. But if your plan allows, the diamond and beneficial fruits really do wonders. Perhaps you can try this trick with the morning shake to see if your body feels fine with it

I am not much one for eating in the morning and I am also not much one for shakes but maybe I need to rethink that.  My husband and I don't care for the protein powder Dr. D sells.  Do you use something different?

Quoted from Amazone I.

some of you, the O's do have higher cholesterol/triglyzeride of hereditary origins, so far... ... but instead of the idea to reach you aim with grains at that important  issue... would rather change your mind and go for aminoacids  likewise dlpa for example and some other goodies (B3 as niacin for example
and I recognize you as a hunter but O nonnie... nearly no chance for the grains   

Amazone, I did look into niacin at one point, but as I understand it, one needs to take it for the rest of their life?  Would it be possible for you to share more information regarding aminoacids, etc?

if you go and google : *aminoacids lowering  cholesterol* you will have a lot of time to research all about soy or fish or other aminoacids who're working
co-factors.....
dlpa is one of the quickest but here take care not being one of those who are victims of phenylalanin-ketonury....

Quoted from Patty H

Do you think that would help?  It seems to be the soluble fiber that researchers say lower the cholesterol.  Oatmeal is the highest but I know flax is on the list as well.

I do not know if eating sprouted grains will help, sorry. I just wanted you to know that I could offer support for sprouting, if you choose to go that route.

Quoted from Amazone I.

if you go and google : *aminoacids lowering  cholesterol* you will have a lot of time to research all about soy or fish or other aminoacids who're working
co-factors.....
dlpa is one of the quickest but here take care not being one of those who are victims of phenylalanin-ketonury....

Soy is an avoid for me and I eat fish all the time.  I eat fish generally at least once a day, sometimes twice a day.  I will reseach the amino acids.  Thanks!

I second brown rice bran, which is sold in a box at health food stores. And I have used and loved Simply Whites eggwhite protein powder.
I'm also gonna try the flaxbread recipe.

Quoted from jayneeo

I second brown rice bran, which is sold in a box at health food stores. And I have used and loved Simply Whites eggwhite protein powder.
I'm also gonna try the flaxbread recipe.

Are you trying to lower your cholesterol, too?

Hi Patty,

My Cholesterol dropped from 297 to 215 (I am in Germany/ Russia) after I started with the O type diet (I was told I had Epstein Virus). I cut down on grains, milk, nightshadow veggies, sugar and eat with every meal a protein (chicken, beef, salmon or eggs). With every 100g beef/chicken or fish, I get at least 300g veggies. I am using now only Olive oil... and I do not heat it - only cold. I use ghee or butter for cooking. The veggies i normaly cooked in the microwave (even though many say it is not healthy). I dropped quite a lot of kg (pounds) and I feel very very well. Oh... and when I eat some ice cream I get the whole ice cream (at leat here in Russia- unfortunately there is sugar in it.... but eating ice cream is not a routine - so it is quite OK
Oh..after hearing to much that "we need grains" and that my body needs some vitamin that come only with grains- I decided to have once a week some rice and last week I sprouted some 30g. That was OK. In the morning when I miss my "bread" I prepare the magic bread with flax seed (flax seed meal and egg).
Oh... I drink a lot of herbs tee and water. Coffee ist out  
Regards
Ingrid

I would think that exercise would normalize your lipid panel as well. I tried oatmeal (soaked) a while ago.

These were my results:

LDL: 89 --> 106
Triglycerides: 21 --> 39
Cholesterol: 156 --> 175
Very LDL: 3 --> 9

Needless to say, I was not eager to continue my daily oats. I think that if I did not exercise during that second period my lipid panel would have been worse.