High cholesterol?

HomesickTexan

HomesickTexan

New Member
Ok, you may laugh at my question, but I'm in the process of getting my PPL and aspire of one day being a professional piot. Ok... I am almost done with my 4 year active duty commitment in the military and upon my pre-separation physical the doctor reported that my cholesterol is a little high. This bothers me because I am 24 years old and work out 4 to 5 days a week including aerobic exercises and I eat well. So, if I have this now is it bad for 20 or 30 years from now? How important is high cholesterol to most flight doctors? This may be a dumb question but I've never had any internal medical issue my entire life and I'm a little worried.
 
Your cholesterol probably won't be checked during a civilian medical physical. I've never had it checked for any class medical. The only time I've ever had it checked was during my enlistment, separation, and initial pilot physicals for the military.
 
The AME doesn't check for bad cholesterol levels. I'm pretty sure of it. They do check your blood pressure for signs of hypertension and you have to be below 155/95. There isn't really any direct relation between high cholesterol and high blood pressure if you're wondering, but there are people out there with both conditions.

Also, there seems to be a big thinking today that you cannot get high cholesterol from eating foods high in cholesterol. That holds true for some people and it really depends on each person. Some people are more receptive to the buildup and a lot of it runs in the family despite your exercise regimen. Try reducing your diary intake: milk, yoke in egg, cheddar cheese, diary/grocery meats, etc. and any food you see that are high in cholesterol per gram/unit so look at the labels. If you need your protein from diary products and so, then substitute with lean meat.
 
And yes, as the experts say, the higher the longer, the more likely you'll have health problems. Your diet may have something to do with yours being "a little high", despite your exercise habits and age. These days 200 is considered a little high. 180 would be ideal and some doctors are saying 120 or lower is more ideal.

What's yours if you don't mind me askin?
 
falconvalley said:
And yes, as the experts say, the higher the longer, the more likely you'll have health problems. Your diet may have something to do with yours being "a little high", despite your exercise habits and age. These days 200 is considered a little high. 180 would be ideal and some doctors are saying 120 or lower is more ideal.

What's yours if you don't mind me askin?
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217. He said I didn't need medication, just recommended I eat better and work out more. He doesn't know me though and I may be able to eat a LITTLE better but I don't think I can work out any more. I spend 1 to 1 1/2 a day in the gym. If I do eat any better I'll be eating lettuce and rice cakes three times a day.
 
HomesickTexan said:
217. He said I didn't need medication, just recommended I eat better and work out more. He doesn't know me though and I may be able to eat a LITTLE better but I don't think I can work out any more. I spend 1 to 1 1/2 a day in the gym. If I do eat any better I'll be eating lettuce and rice cakes three times a day.
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Try getting in some essential fats(good fats) like the omega3s and 6s. I'm surprised your doc didn't tell you that. Get it from fish especially salmon or supplement with flax seeds/flax oil, hempseeds, olive oil, fish oil.
 
CoBuilder said:
Try getting in some essential fats(good fats) like the omega3s and 6s. I'm surprised your doc didn't tell you that. Get it from fish especially salmon or supplement with flax seeds/flax oil, hempseeds, olive oil, fish oil.
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Well, he "told" me in an email. I've never even met the guy. Which, raises the possibility that the less-than-perfect Coast Guard clinic just screwed the tests up... I'll look into the fish though. Thanks.
 
Don't sweat it! Well, no pun intended. 217 is a little high, but will still pass an initial flight physical for the Air Force, believe it or not. I think the limit is 230 or something. I know this because mine was too high (280). The medic said that he doubted that I could get it down in a week and I said "watch me". I don't recommend this, but I literally only ate Capt. Crunch and a couple chicken salad subs for a week and got it down to 180. The only problem was the AF also looks at the HDL and LDL. The LDL, being bad, also has a maximum limit and the HDL has a minimum. My poor eating habits not only drove the LDL and total down to within limits, they drove the HDL down too low and I had to work out even more to bring it back up. I think the medic was getting a lit-tle too paranoid, but I thank him for it, because it made me think about my eating habits. I work out a lot, too, so I learned that not being a kid anymore makes a big difference.

Again, civilian flight physicals- not a big deal, shouldn't be a cholesterol check. Any AME that does one is being too thorough.
 
On exam if your BP is over 155/95 then they do a full cardiac workup to include cholesterol levels. That is the only time a AME will check. Cholesterol is related to BP because when your chol is higher, it thinckens your blood thus raising BP.
 
CoBuilder said:
Try getting in some essential fats(good fats) like the omega3s and 6s. I'm surprised your doc didn't tell you that. Get it from fish especially salmon or supplement with flax seeds/flax oil, hempseeds, olive oil, fish oil.
Click to expand...

Not to promote a fad diet, but I would recommend the South Beach Diet or equivalent. My parents have had great results lowering their cholesterol in that way. It's all about the right and essential fats and oils like CoBuilder said.
 
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