Hi.Im 27 and I have a 9 years old daughter and on a normal visit to the GP's office she noticed that my daughter has gained a lot of pounds since our last visit about 6 months ago.Her BMI went from normal to overweight.So the doc ordered some blood tests to see whats going on with her.When he got the results he called to book an appt and i couldnt imagine the things were so bad.My little daughter was found with very high levels of cholesterol as the doc said its not healthy for a girl her age to have cholesterol of 270 and such levels of triglycerides(about 360).He also checked her BP and as he said its above desirable.He sent us to a cardiologist for further tests and our appt is on Friday...Should I be scared?Can my daughter have heart problems at that age?And the doc also said something about cholesterol meds.Is it normal and safe for kids that age to take meds for cholesterol?I would appreciate any help...



Thanks
Debbie

Take your daughter off of sugar products, that is the reason for the high triglyceride level, and that is dangerous. That means no soda, not even diet soda, nor anything with high fructose corn syrup. Check labels and read ingredient lists.

No, it is not safe for kids to take cholesterol lowering drugs. Do some research on niacin. (non flush) That will lower cholesterol better than anything and without side effects.

More fibre, (fruits and vegetables) and no sugary snacks. That includes cake and cookies, and chips.

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Let Food Be Your Medicine And Medicine Be Your Food.(Hippocrates)

The diet changes proposed by PBD are good but I think he means the 'Slo Niacin' type of supplement.

The 'No Flush' Niacin is useless at lowering small LDL and raising HDL. Fish oil will also help to lower the triglycerides but its essential to cut out the the flour and sugar junk foods.

https://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/20...cin-kills.html

Actually I meant niacinamide.

This most likely is related to diet. You must research diet to lower cholesterol.
Elimination of sugar is essentail as well as many of the carbohydrates and toxic fats.
No french fries, no soy oil, no doughnuts, no white flour products of any sort, no soda pop, no candy. No potatoes.

She must learn to eat fresh vegetables and lean meats like baked chicken, (not fried), fish, especially wild caught salmon. learn how to make salad dressings with fresh olive oil because most of the dressings from the supermarket are trash.

If she does eat some carbohydrates it should be in small portions of brown rice, home cooked beans, white, red, black beans (canned baked beans have too muich trash in them). No more than one moderate serving a day.

Breakfast should not consist of trash cereal nor pancakes, waffels, french toast. Eggs, yogurt in moderation are ok. An oat bran hot cereal product may be good for some mornings. Learn about stevia and xylitol for sweetening and they are availabe at Iherb also. If you enter the coupon code BAR967 you should get a discount on your first purchase

It may not be easy to do as children can be difficult. You will have to get creative.
If you don't get this under control she could become diabetic before she leaves highschool. The cure for diabetes is the exact same type of diet, perhaps a little stricter on carbs if her disease were to develop to that degree. Carbs would be limited to sources of vegetables only

Do not allow her to overeat. Do not encourage eating if she is not hungry. If you think she desires to eat too much we can discuss that.
She should also be on a vitamin c supplement, 1,000 mg per day of ascorbic acid. Products like this are taken well by kids and they are a very good price at this site.
https://www.iherb.com/Search?kw=vitamin+c+packets

When you are at the doctors office ask them to check her vitamin D3 levels also to see if she needs supplementation there also

I am confident that this can be overcome with diet short of her having some sort of unusual genetic disorder, which is not too likely.

A complete modification in diet will probably do the whole family good.

Moderate exercise is also recommended but I would not force her to do sport activites that she hates. If she is not athletically inclined get out with her for frequent walks. In time learn how to turn a walk into a powerwalk.

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Dr Davis reckons this doesnt work either.

https://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/20...cin-scams.html

Thank you all for your replies and support....

Healthier t-C range is 200-240 mg/dl

Niacin Treatment of Hypercholesterolemia in Children

Twinlab, Niacin (B-3) Caps, 500 mg I use the 1000mg version of these but for a child these would be better. It may be worth building up to 500mg by sliding the capsules apart and removing half the white powder for a few days to acclimatise to the niacin.

It may be worth asking your doctor for a child aspirin to prevent the potential niacin flush problem. Doctor may also be willing to prescribe slo niacin.

Please do not think that taking a few nutritional supplements will solve all your problems. She should not be needing these supplements at this age. Although supplements may help in the short term diet must be adjusted and established as a new lifestyle to prevent long term health issues.

While I agree that in the long run diet/lifestyle changes should be sufficient to control the situation, in the short term the use of supplements is probably safer and more effective than the use of statin for someone this age. krill oil is effective for the management of hyperlipidemia by significantly reducing total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides, and increasing HDL levels.

Hi Debbie, welcome to the forum! I don't think you should be scared, just use this as a 'wake-up call'. All suggestions regarding diet and exercise are very good.

If it were my daughter, I'd avoid putting her on ANY cholesterol meds. There's more natural things to try first, like lecithin and garlic. Everyone, at all ages, should try to avoid going on prescription meds, unless it's their last resort.

Please keep us updated on any further test results for her.

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"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~Immanual Kant~

NatMedTalk and Beyond

Thank you all for being so helpful...All yous advice really helped me...And i dont want my daughter to be on meds at such a young age but if she needs meds then i'll do as the docs say

Of course, you know what's best for your daughter, and I wish her well. Just a word of warning, many doctors, regardless of how good or well-meaning they are, are prepped to dispense prescription drugs. The drug companies are in the background, pushing their samples. Take a good look at any and all side-effects before you give these to your little one.

My 2 cents worth-
First thing to realize is that lowering cholesterol with a medication does no good whatsoever. Cholesterol is not bad in itself. Just as many people with low cholesterol as high have heart attacks they have found. Even LDL is no longer linked with anything bad. Low HDL is but the real culprit is inflammation.
More than anything the child probably needs EXERCISE which raises HDL and does many other good things including getting SUNSHINE for vit D. Now that winter is setting in you need to supplement vit D 2000 units/daily at least. See vitamindcouncil.org. Then make sure the veggies are eaten in some form or other and moderate carb intake. Eliminate dessert or make it very small after a good high protein meal. Never eat carbs alone- always have some protein and good fat with it (olive oil, butter, peanut butter (natural) is good). And eat EGGS. Preferably organic. Studies show eating lots of eggs REDUCE cholesterol. Include real orange juice for breakfast. High fiber bread is good. Apple snacks. A chewable vit C supplement would be good. Eliminate High Fructose Corn syrup, artifical sweeteners, which make you HUNGRIER the next day according to studies. NO sodas or even diet sodas. Try to reduce stress- school may be causing some issues. Don't worry about the cholesterol or heart at all at her age. It just causes more worry. Avoid veg oils like corn oil etc. as these are highly processed and inflammatory. Do not use margerine. It's far worse than butter. And find another doctor.

Does your daughter eat way more junk food than the normal kid? Or does she eat just about as much as her peers who have no problems? If that's the case, then something is wrong and instead of trying to control the symptoms with diet, you should look to see the cause of the problem, Especially if it just came about so quickly. If she is put on a diet and meds and live with it, that's just controlling it. You want to cure it, not control it. If I were you, I would refuse any cholesterol meds! Eeew you do not want that crap entering her body especially since she's only nine years old!

I am wondering if this could have been brought on by stress. Do you know if there might be anything she is really stressing over? Something that has come about in the past year? Stress often causes a rise in BP and it also causes people to eat more. I know that I was at a pretty healthy weight when I was 12. By the time I got into 7th grade, I was tortured by my peers and I gained weight like crazy! If this is the problem with your daughter, don't just try to control her symptoms, but try to reduce her stress. Once that is the case, she can eat what she wants again and she will be fine.

I'm not saying that stress is the cause of her condition, but it is something you can discuss with her and her doctor.