Putting off an annual checkup with a PCP (I’m 42, and the last PCP I had was a pediatrician). I had long suspected my cholesterol and triglycerides were high due to family history and my excessive love for cheese, and last week that suspicion was confirmed. I’m now more resolute than ever on lifestyle changes (exercise, less red meat, getting most of my calcium from 2% milk). On the bright side, I also got reassuranc…
IIUC, they no longer believe that lipid cholesterol levels are directly correlated with intake of dietary cholesterol. See, for example: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you...
> The biggest influence on blood cholesterol level is the mix of fats and carbohydrates in your diet—not the amount of cholesterol you eat from food.
> Although it remains important to limit the amount of cholesterol you eat, especially if you have diabetes, for most people dietary cholesterol is not as problematic as once believed.
I would recommend committing to getting a full blood panel (specific to your sex, male or female) at least every 6 months, especially if you are going to be making significant changes to your diet. This was a game-changer for me. I started working with a practice that does health optimization and blood work/labs and has doctors who know how to interpret the results and give recommendations based on them. For me, I had several biomarkers significantly improve by consuming more red meat. I hadn't been trying to avoid red meat consciously, just somehow over the years I started consuming a lot more chicken and turkey and really wasn't having enough beef, etc.