This past week, I had several clients that bring up the fact that their cholesterol level was going up. Here is one of their questions and my answer:
Question:
I have not changed anything in my diet in the past 6 months except for adding whey protein which has 30 mg of cholesterol in one scoop. I just went to the doctor and he said that my cholesterol is up. Is it going up because of the cholesterol in the whey protein?
Answer:
Your cholesterol is more affected by the amount of saturated fat that you eat and not the amount of cholesterol that you ingest. Certainly, if you ingest too much cholesterol it could go up. However, whey protein has little to no saturated fat in it so the likelihood that it is contributing to your increase in cholesterol is little to none.
My suggestion is to ask yourself the following:
1. Have you decreased the amount of your aerobic activity?
2. Are you eating more saturated fats (the main cause of high blood cholesterol levels)?
3. Has your body fat increased?
If you answered yes to any one of these, I would recommend that you reduce your body fat by increasing your aerobic activity, decrease your saturated fats, and eat more fruits and vegetables.