Cardiologist Warns To Avoid These Foods Before A Cholesterol Test

Certain foods can always bring comfort to people; things like pizza, chicken, and other fried delicacies are often eaten every day. People can adore these foods as kids and continue eating them every day well into adulthood.

However, as people enter adulthood, health experts remind them to eat these foods in moderation, especially unhealthy ones. According to cardiologists, eating certain foods can cause a spike in health test results, such as a cholesterol test.

Some medical patients are instructed not to eat for at least eight hours before a health screening. However, according to the Harvard Medical School, fasting before a cholesterol test can be considered unnecessary and almost “negligent.” Director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver, Dr. Andrew Freeman, is one of the doctors who doesn’t recommend fasting.

“You want to see what your numbers look like when you’re living every day, not as some artificial state,” he told TODAY.com

Despite this, almost all cardiologists recommend avoiding this food before testing.

“The truth is the only real parameter on the lipid panel that changes drastically and quickly is triglycerides, so I recommend that you not eat sweets and treats before you go to your lipid panel to avoid the spike in triglycerides,” says Freeman.

Like sugary foods and beverages, triglycerides are influenced by fatty foods, white carbs, and alcohol, so Freeman also recommends that people avoid those before testing.

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the most common fat in the body is triglycerides. Despite it being common in the human body, too much of it can risk heart disease and stroke. A good level of Triglycerides is below 150 mg/dL.

Currently, 25% of Americans’ levels are too high. Harvard Medical School notes that patients should fast before a cholesterol test to obtain a more accurate reading. Besides skipping sweets and treats, Freeman says that people can eat whatever they want the night before a test.

“If, you decide to eat nothing but kale for two weeks prior to your lipid panel your triglycerides will be probably really low, and maybe your LDL could be a little lower, but your goal is to try and catch what you’re like in the wild in the real world,” Freeman says.

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