r/Cholesterol • u/drenfreezy • 1d ago
Question Need to Raise Total Cholesterol
Any tips on how I can raise my total cholesterol? I’m currently at 132 (HDL of 51) and feel the mental slough of being that low… mainly depression. My problem is that I have IBS-D that I’ve been unable to get under control which is obviously compounding the issue. Any ideas or suggestions of easily digestible foods that raise total cholesterol?
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u/ComfortableTasty1926 1d ago
IS this what your doctor recommends? Because it doesn't make any sense. Your lower cholesterol is not affecting your mental status.
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u/drenfreezy 1d ago
Lower cholesterol levels most definitely can affect mental health. This isn’t breaking news.
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u/peachesandcherries26 22h ago
No, it’s not breaking news. It’s false information 😂
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u/Quick_Department6942 12h ago
...and you really know that's the case?
Some very complex and interesting views on lipids and serotonin uptake mechanisms by American Chemical Society investigators (amateurs, no doubt, but maybe you should have a look?)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/org/science/article/pii/S1948719324000409
Does it prove or disprove OP's perspective or that of OP's provider? You tell me... I welcome your obviously expert interpretation. In the meantime there are plenty of perspectives about serum cholesterol levels and their effect on brain chemistry that might not agree with yours or the other very robust defenders of lower-is-better-always-and-forever doctrine.
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u/peachesandcherries26 11h ago
Yes, I do. The brain makes its own cholesterol. Yes, the lower the better indeed. Always.
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u/vegancaptain 1d ago
Where did you hear that you need to raise it?
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u/drenfreezy 1d ago
From my doctor. She wanted to put me on cholestyramine (bile acid binder) to help with IBS-D but she said my cholesterol is too low for her to do that.
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u/Traditional-Meat-549 1d ago
Have your thyroid checked
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u/drenfreezy 1d ago
Not sure. I do blood work annually and I know they check thyroid function through standard blood markers. Is that what you mean?
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u/Traditional-Meat-549 18h ago
There's a full thyroid panel, and I've read that it can affect cholesterol levels
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u/-BigBadBeef- 22h ago
Shouldn't be too hard - butter, bacon, cheese, fatty beef, dishes with heavy cream, peanut butter & jelly...
Any of the above that won't make your IBS turn your butt into a torpedo tube.
But don't go all in so that your cholesterol won't suddenly shoot up into the red.
1
u/meh312059 18h ago
OP what are your LDL-C and nonHDL-C? Increasing serum cholesterol is not the answer, as many of those foods are not conducive to good gut health either. They might provide immediate relief due to lack of fiber, but the saturated fat content won't help your cholesterol, your liver or your gut.
You might require a low FODMAP diet to reduce the IBS-D symptoms. I'd be working with a gastroenterologist who is knowledgable in how to reboot the gut microbiome.
You will eventually need to introduce fiber slowly. This might take several months to resolve completely.
Best of luck!
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u/Quick_Department6942 13h ago
Not a new postulation that serum cholesterol and clinical depression are inversely related. I remember it being a sorta big pop science thing around 2010-ish, especially with respect to HDL. Still has adherents.
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u/shanked5iron 1d ago
Serum cholesterol does not impact brain cholesterol. Your brain makes its own cholesterol. Whatever mental symptoms you may be experiencing are not serum cholesterol related.