A question about the treatment of raised cholesterol

I recently had a cholesterol test and the result indicated that my cholesterol level was slightly raised - nothing to worry about said the doctor and definitely not high enough to need medication.

He then went on to explain that people generally think that the way to treat this is to avoid saturated fats etc, but this isn't the way to go about things, sugar intake is the culprit of raised cholesterol levels he says. Avoid sugary stuff, eat brown bread and not white.

So I'm confused, he's a good doctor who I respect, but all the stuff on the NHS websites say saturated fats is the culprit, no mention of sugar - is the sugar thing based on new research?

For the record I've stopped having sugar in tea (one day it will start to taste O.K I hope!)

I've also swapped white bread for brown, and 'normal' pasta for wholemeal pasta, and I'm laying off the chocolate and icecream.

That’s a new one on me, I thought it was saturated fats, trans fats, and foods high in cholesterol that caused high cholesterol.

Do Carbs and Sugar Cause High Cholesterol?

Three types of lipids comprise your cholesterol profile: low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein and triglycerides. Sugar can elevate triglycerides, a type of fat that, like LDL cholesterol, tends to clog your arteries. Some types of carbohydrates, such as fiber, can help lower cholesterol. Sugar and refined carbohydrates may lead to weight gain, which can adversely affect your LDL and HDL -- "good" and "bad" -- cholesterol as well as your triglycerides.

Do Carbs and Sugar Cause High Cholesterol?

 

Three types of lipids comprise your cholesterol profile: low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein and triglycerides. Sugar can elevate triglycerides, a type of fat that, like LDL cholesterol, tends to clog your arteries. Some types of carbohydrates, such as fiber, can help lower cholesterol. Sugar and refined carbohydrates may lead to weight gain, which can adversely affect your LDL and HDL -- "good" and "bad" -- cholesterol as well as your triglycerides.

Ah, that's interesting reading and sheds some light on the doctors recommendations - thanks for the link

I believe a daily dose of lecithin reduces cholestrol as well as other benefits.

you can buy them from most health food shops.

saturated fats as above. plus eating 'right' things, wholemeal and particularly oats is good. The cholesterol lowering products do work-to some extent but are expensive-and if you are a smoker, stopping does improve things particularly the ratios of good to bad cholesterol..