Help for 9 Year Old with High Cholosterol

I too have suffered with high cholesterol. With daily exercise (at least 30 minutes of cardio activity) and taking fish oil I have decrease my numbers quite a bit. I would see if there is another form of fish oil that he can take. Somethings up if all the changes had been done and the numbers have gone up. Could someone be sneaking into the cookie jar?
C.

Hello J.,

at sprouts they have omega-3s orange flavor in little packets that look like ketchup pouches... check it out. it doesn't taste too bad. it's like a pudding. I was a sprouts once and one guy told me that he puts some in popcorn (lemon flavored fish oil) --it tasted OK. I have not tried that yet. I figured I only eat popcorn 3 - 4 times/year...I'm having butter. LOL!--.
does he like beans? lentils? chili? you could make lowfat chili. Would he eat salmon? can you decrease his carb intake (that includes sugar, potatoes, white rice) switch to brown rice. can you switch to soy milk for certain things? if you eat pasta, check out the barilla plus. sugar/simple carbs will make your triglicerides go up. eat more oatmeal (cherioos?) and avoid french fries.
and about the fake butters... my husband used for years and it didn't help. now we use organic butter and avoid all hydrogenated oils (as much as possible of course). I cook w/ olive oil.

good luck! ~C.~

I would reccomend learning about nutrition, there is not a lot you can do about heredity. So change and control what you can. I have done a lot of reading on nutrition. The two authors I recommend are Dr. Andrew Weil - very thorough and easy to read. Dr. Dean Ornish - people have actually been cured of cancer following his lifestyle guidelines (with out treatment) They say a lot of the same things so either author would be good to start with. Which ever is easier for you to read. Your son's life is on the line so take it seriously. I would really consider cutting out processed pre-packaged food and eating organic whole foods as much as possible. Also there is a great Vegan restraunt you may want to try and you can experience how great healthy whole foods can taste! It is called Spiral diner and is in downtown fort woth off of magnolia. I am sorry you are having to struggle with this when your son is so young! It has to be really hard for you (and your family) I will be saying a prayer for you.

Hi J., you have probably already thought about this, but from reading that you like to bake cakes I thought I might add to limit the #of eggs you use in baking. Maybe you could try the "no yokes" brand if you have not already. Sorry I don't have any more to offer, but I hope your son will be okay.

You really don't have as much to worry about as you think. It sounds like a typical case of heredity. I have it from my dad's side. My average cholesterol is about 370. Almost 600 during pregnancy. It is elevated, yes; but causing him to be too aware of it will make it elevate due to stress.

Just relax and continue doing what you are doing.

Blessings,
P. <><

Sounds like you are doing a great job, but it is just not working for his body. I would call your doctor in the morning and get an appointment with an Nutritionist. This way she/he can tell you exactly what he needs to be eating.

My husband has high cl. We use a product called red rice yeast. It is an herbal remedy and not subject to FDA regulations but we have had great results with it. You can get it from an online company called Far East Secrets. The fish oil is good too but the pills are huge. Check out a company called Res-Q. They may have a product for kids cl. The smart balance products are the way to go. Also try to stay away from hydrogenated oils. This is a main culprit of high cl. Even if the package says no cl. or low cl. check the ingredients list and if hydrogenated oils are in the first 5 ingredients then do not buy it. I hope this helps.

I didn't think doctors worried much about children's cholesterol. What prompted them to test your son? I have high cholesterol and my father's is super high. I have asked if my children need to be tested and the doctors said no, not until they're in their teens. I have been tracking mine, but not much else so far. 3 pregnancies and breastfeeding for the last several years seems to keep my cholesterol high and the doctors say to give my body time to get back to normal before we look into drugs.
I can tell you a little about my dads history. He's been going through years of this. He has been on every type of pill and now takes a combination of them with limited success. He tried to control it with diet, but that wasn't his problem and didn't fix it; only made it worse. He learned the more he restricted the bad foods the more his body made up for it, buy producing it's own cholesterol. Exercise is the best treatment. My father walks miles now. It has really helped him.
You have made me think I should do more research into high cholesterol in children. Thank you for bringing it to my attention with your post.

Some people (including myself) see more results from limiting high-fat foods rather than high cholesterol foods. If you can't stand milk lower than 2%, try looking for other dairy products that are made with 2% milk, like cheese, sour cream, etc. Look for low fat icecream or frozen yogurt. What about the salad dressings you put on those salads every week? Fat can hide in some of the most unexpected places. You don't necessarily have to cut out beef altogether - just get lean cuts or extra lean ground beef. Have you tried other milk-like beverages, like soy or almond milk? I used to be a 2% only girl, but I started getting skim for cereal and other recipes and 2% for drinking. After a year or so, I was able to drink just skim milk and 2% is just too thick for me now.

You don't mention anything about your son's weight. Is his weight normal for someone his age and height? Carrying around just a few extra pounds can effect cholesterol levels too. If he is overweight, don't put him on a diet to lose unless he has surpassed his lifetime maximum (which I doubt). Any pediatrician would tell you that overweight children should grow into their weight, not lose it.

My cholesterol is 380 and my daughter's is high too etc etc. But, I found an article online about cholesterol and how coconut oil or coco milk may lower your cholesterol and boost your metabolism (which could play a role in high cholesterol). Next, get tons of exposure to the sun! The sun filters your body of cholesterol by bringing the cholesterol to your skin. Also, if you have a low vitamin D that can also cause a H cholesterol along with an underactive thyroid. The best thing to keep in mind is the exercise and walk an hour every other day or ride a bike. I just started with the sun exposure and the coconut and fish and exercise about 8 days ago, I will let you know if my cholesterol comes down with all these attempts to lower it. Best of luck to you and may I add, I began to ask myself - do they really know that much about cholesterol and why would my body produce so much of it. (when your body lets off a growth hormone it also signals the cholesterol and your body does not know how much it is letting off at one time). Good luck! Oh yeah p.s. getting the blood to your thyroid will help get it working better to burn the cholesterol - lay down on the floor and raise your legs to your face and balance your back with your hands, this will help the blood go to your head (thyroid) or stand on your head and let the blood flow to your head. (yoga stance) ____@____.com if you have any questions.

Just wanted to insist on what was told earlier: fake butters and margarines are actually very bad for people in general and people with high cholesterol in particular. Use real butter in small quantities and olive oil for the rest of your cooking.