You can probably look it up and give as much good information, but you've got the credibility gap to deal with. Make your husband pay (maybe covered by insurance), and perhaps he'll listen to an authority figure. Good luck!

Yes, I’m looking for an expert opinion.

I agree with sushi. With so much information on the internet, you can certainly educate yourself on a low cholesterol diet.

However, a dietician might be able to personalize ways that will work for your DH.

And, for those who are stubborn, hearing information first hand can go a long way.

Good luck.

ETA: Losing weight can play a big part in lowering cholesterol.

IMO, you have a modern-thinking doctor if she/he suggested a paleo diet. I suspect that few dietitians use a paleo model.

I read the Chris Kresser e-mail newsletters and find them interesting.He is a proponent of paleo eating and has written a lot on high cholesterol. He has gotten more and more commercial in the last couple years, selling e-books, etc., which I don't purchase, but he is an interesting read.

But to answer your question, no, I have never used a dietitian.

Has your husband ever seriously dieted before? My personal opinion is that if you remove cane sugar and wheat from your diet, you lose weight.

^^^ Listen to graywings^^^ There is much mis-information surrounding fat in diet as related to cholesterol and if you find a doctor who understands the correlation (or lack there-of) you are already ahead of the game.

Just an anecdote, but worth considering as you research Paleo. A friend was told by his doctor to reduce cholesterol (he was not overweight, though). He cut out starch and sugar and got his numbers into the right range in a few months. His wife was completely against his method, reasoning that increasing his consumption of meat would surely have a bad effect on cholesterol, but it turns out how we metabolize cholesterol may be more complicated that x amount in and y amount in the blood stream.

This may sound weird, but one place to look for a dietician is your local grocery. I often see them in ours with either single clients or groups, going through the store to help them understand which products they should be buying and what to avoid. I'm sure the store management knows who they all are by now.

It seems to me that whether paleo is good for low cholesterol is up for debate. I admit to a preference for specialists (having worked for a dermatologist and seen the things GPs missed). A dietician seems like the specialist in this area so I would think they would have the best odds of current research based diet advice.

Dh did atkins for a while several years ago. I was not thrilled but shopped and cooked accordingly. He did lose some weight but did not stick with it for the long haul and regained that weight.

Thanks for the suggestions and help.

Thanks Mimou! Dh said the doctor asked if he would go vegetarian and when he said no, the doctor said second best choice was to go paleo. Frankly I’d rather go vegetarian myself. I think Dh will have a hard time sticking to a restrictive diet based on my observations over the years—and I don’t blame him, I would too! And for that matter, I could really stand to lose some weight as well.

I think one of my issues is that I shop and cook, not only for Dh, but for me and for two kids. Dh does maybe five percent of this kind of work for the family. I refuse to cook separate meals on a regular basis so I need a plan that works for the kids as well as Dh. I checked the American Heart Association cookbook and the Mayo diet cookbook out of the library, but Dh then bought a paleo cookbook at the bookstore so he seems rather set on it at this point.

I think I will ask Dh if he would be willing to go see a dietician (or would you recommend a different speciality?) together. I think the grocery store trip is also genius. Frankly, I think some guidance on eating out would also be useful.

Thanks to all who have weighed in.

How about Weight Watchers? (I'm a lifetime member) If you follow it correctly, it will be low fat and will help with cholesterol. I have started to take Pravastatin, as my cholesterol overall was 250. But......it was always been 250. My doctor recommended a low dose and it working. I have never been overweight and I have always been active, so those components were already in place.

There are now 200 zero point foods. But what this really means is all fruits and vegetables, white meat turkey/chicken and fish are zero.

We are getting more and more men at our meetings. Probably the night time ones have even more.

We have visited a nutritionist. When my son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 3 it was part of the 'package'.

I have always been fairly nutrition savvy- 'thank you 4-H!' but the family visit was very helpful and my DH definitely learned a lot. I really enjoyed the experience and I would definitely recommend it.

I think the first thing any practitioner will ask your DH to do it so keep a food diary. I think some even will tell you that when you make the appointment, it will help to make the appointment productive.,

I remember when we went it was very hands-on, there was a kitchen and we went through the cupboards and read labels and poured bowls of cereal and then compared what we poured to the serving size- this is a fairly mind blowing exercise. The other mindblower, for my DH was learning that 1 bagel = 4 slices of bread.

Thank you! I think I will see if Dh will agree to this. Should I be seeking a dietician? Nutritionist? Other? Assuming he will agree.

I am not sure I know the difference but I know we say a nutritionist, and I think wanting to learning about nutrition might be more palatable than saying 'diet- anything' :)

A Registered Dietitian (RD) might even be covered by your insurance, especially if the doctor refers you for high cholesterol. Yes, you should see an RD vs someone with any other certification. Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, and there are some scary folks out there, but an RD is board certified practitioner who also needs state licensing. They work with clinical conditions like high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, etc., and some may specialize in sports. My oldest niece is a clinical RD in a dialysis unit and works with the patients there to keep their values in proper ranges.

As Mimou said, there is no one best diet, and the one you will stick to is the one that works. OTOH, The DASH diet is ranked consistently the #1 diet every year.

I have even thought about working with one of the RD's who teach for us to help me improve my diet for weight loss and overall postmenopausal issues.

But keeping a log is the first thing, and you can do this with apps like LoseIt or MyFitnessPal.

I find that eating simply keeps prep/cook times to a minimum. For dinners I usually make one raw and one cooked veggie, a giant salad, fruit (usually berries at dinner) and a protein (generally beans in some form). Legumes seem to be off-limits on the paleo diet so lean meats on the grill could work. My DH and teen do eat meat and they are free to cook whatever they want for themselves.

Eating in restaurants is especially difficult when you are changing your dietary habits. You want to have a clear understanding of what you want to eat and how much, and that is hard enough when you are in complete control at home. Most US restaurants over-supply you with food, and you don't know what they are adding. A steak or grilled fish and a salad with dressing on the side, hold the bread, is a pretty safe bet. Beyond that, it's a minefield out there.

My husband and I went on a paleo-esque diet (we did still have dairy in the form of some cheese) several years ago. It was hard for the first few weeks as we adjusted to the changes but we found it relatively easy after that and stuck with it for the most part for a couple of years. Gradually things crept back in and we need a reset...although our diet is nowhere near as poor as it was prior to doing this. We lost weight (him quite a bit) and felt great...so great that we did not want to go back to the way things were before. Our bloodwork was great while following this eating plan...I had previously had high cholesterol. We read extensively on the website marksdailyapple.com as a source of quality, science based information. There are lots of good success stories which are very motivational. Good luck to you!

edited because I gave the wrong website!

All dietitians are nutritionists; but not all nutritionists are dieticians.

A Registered Dietitian (RD/RDN) must complete an accredited program (minimum bachelors degree), a supervised internship, pass a national exam, and continuing education.

Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist (no required education).

Most insurance plans will cover visits to a dietician for treatment of a medical problem (e.g., high cholesterol). Patients can find one by contacting their local hospital. Another option https://www.eatright.org/find-an-expert

If you are considering Paleo, I suggest Melissa Joulwam’s “Well Fed” cookbooks. She uses a lot of spices, and such a variety of ethnic fare that boredom does not set in, and it does not feel like you are giving up anything.

one thing that helped DH immensely was training his brain to say, “I don’t eat that”, rather than, “I can’t have that”. He lost 80 lbs, and we gained an ENTIRELY new life.....

Thanks, mldn!

Yes. Thanks dr. Ln for your always helpful info.

If he needs to lose weight, I'd suggest weight watchers. It is one of the most successful weight loss programs, and it has a good maintenance plan as keeping the weight off can be as challenging or even more so than losing it in the first place.

The other thing with WW is that the program is flexible enough to accommodate anyone's special needs be they diabetic, celiac, lactose intolerant or food allergies or whatever. They have done a lot of work to keep the program nutritionally sound and encourage people to eat more of the good stuff and less of the not so good stuff.

https://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/weight-watchers.aspx

I saw a dietician a few years ago. My insurance paid for initial visits, but I still had the deductible. Follow up visits equaled my deductible (50) so insurance did not pay anything at that point. The program was very similar to weight watchers. Portion control, particularly for carbs. Simple diary to stay on daily allowance.

I'm interested in nutrition, and last spring I took a 12 week course that came with two private meetings with a dietician. I was very impressed with the balance and solid research behind their recommendations and eating program. Nothing but common sense and great support. While I attended in person, they do offer it online.

https://www.weightandwellness.com/classes/nutrition-4-weight-loss-series/

I would read the end of heart disease by Dr Furhman. or the book by Dr essylsten. I do think that Dr Goldhammer at true north does phone consultations.

Dr. Fuhrman is the source we were pointed to by my husbands physician. His Doctor is into nutrition and holistic medicine and was a believer in Fuhrman’s diet philosophy’s before Furhman made it to tv.

Here’s a page from his website:

https://www.drfuhrman.com/library/health-concerns/37/cholesterol

I have a somewhat funny experience

as a student in college I was underweight..to the point the doctor in uni clinic was alarmed and set me an appointment with a nutritionist

She was a really nice lady, listening carefully and trying to come up with something tailored to me

but

a) there was no way I could afford back then any of her healthy suggestions:) Avocado, and cream cheese, and all sorts of nuts, and..I couldn't afford them not then not for several years after lol. So it was really amusing..I explained it to her and she really tried to be inventive, but.

(I could afford doctors though-everything like this was covered by insurance))

b) it took them another 20 years to figure out I was born with celiac disease. which kinda played a big role in how much I weighted. Granted I wasn't eating much back then too, in fact I was permanently hungry-yet that was a huge piece of very important info they had no knowledge of.

So. I'd say it matters less whether nutrionist or not..but that person should really know a lot about unique circumstances of youd DH, interplay of things big and small..he should be good in tying different pieces of the puzzle together.

It can be simple, a diet thing-or it can be not as simple as it sounds.Or it can be downright complicated. In such matters, there's no one size fits all.

I'm on a whole bunch of diets now because I can't tolerate tons of stuff-and some, I already know the reasons for it, and some, I've no idea why, but I just can't eat them no more.

But I feel immediate consequences-thus much easier to adhere to diets. if I deviate-my punishment is right there

when one doesn't see immediate feedback, whether good or bad, it's obviously harder to adhere to diets. So if one can have choice between several approaches-makes sense to find the one he'll stick with.

yes, then I need to correct myself-mine was dfinitely a dietitian

I went on a largely Paleo food plan some years back (I kept the milk in my coffee but otherwise...) Lost 40 pounds, and markedly improved my triglycerides and my HDL/LDL ratio.

Even though I am not so strict about it now, I've only gained a little weight back, and I do continue to avoid sugars, highly processed foods, and most wheat products. I don't miss them, either.

Everyone's mileage varies, your DH will have to find what works best for him.