cholesterol reduction - what you did
 

I need to lower my cholesterol according to the Dr. In the grand scheme of things, I don't think it's that big a deal for me, but healthier is better. I know the missus would prefer me to be around a while and stay healthy.

If you have reduced your cholesterol

What was your cholesterol before you started?

What did you do to reduce your cholesterol?

What is your Cholesterol now?

I'm in my early 40s. I'm 6'2" and 190#. I eat lots of fruits and veggies, and some meat and dairy (mostly cheese) but not tons. I do eat a pint or two of ice cream a week. I don't get much exercise. I don't really drink and I don't smoke. My cholesterol over the last several years has been in the 230-260 range. My HDL is generally around 40 and my LDL is usually 160-180. Triglycerides are have been going down over the past few years, starting at around 190 and most recently down to 140.

Ran (or walked) and ate salads for lunch every day.

We all love to eat food that tastes good and that is not good for us. You have to cut down on the cheese. And exercise, ;)

Yes you can do a lot to reduce cholesterol. I am married to a retired dietician so that really helped me. About 8 years ago my daughter used to work in a bakery so we got free goodies. Doc told me to reduce cholesterol as also I had high blood pressure. So I took pills for high bp but would not take anti cholesterol pills.

To reduce cholesterol - the bad kind you must reduce fat intake.
If you are using whole milk consider 1% milk or if you want to go whole hog(pardon the pun) skim milk.

Read food labels for fat and sugar levels.
Less fat the better.Avoid deep fried fast food.

Exercise more but get doc's advice first. Would suggest short slow walks first.

Eat less red meat. Eat more Poultry, fish, pork(lean?).

Eat more vegetables, more fruit.

Eat nuts. These are a good fat.And they fill you up.

Wholewheat bread is better for you than white.

Low fat yoghourt.
Do not be scared about high chol. but do something about it.
If you have a combo of high bp, high chol. and overweight then risk for diabetes, stroke, heart attack increases etc. Anything higher of the three or combo increases risk.

I am not a health professional but my cholesterol is normal. I do not know my numbers but was fine last medical. PM me if you need any more info. You can do it
too!

Also eat low fat cheese and eat low fat frozen yoghourt instead of ice cream. Look at the % of fat on the labels - the lower the better.

I fry my bacon in olive oil.

lol lol

Yep..use oilve oil in place of butter or other oils.

Exercise, add oatmeal with some walnuts and raisins to your diet.
Check out the "Nutrition Action health letter"

So, just how good is olive oil? We cook with it most of the time instead of other oil. Since I hear its good for you, I eat lot of it with my bread. I am having second thoughts.

A whole bunch of stuff. My doc is leading edge on this. PM me. I don't want my medical history in front of the world.

I lost 35 lb and got in shape, then my doctor took me off the cholesterol drugs (and the other meds too).

Transformed the food I choose to eat and walk 3 miles 4 times/wk.
No more fast food, no sodas, whole meats instead of processed meats, lots of seasonal fresh fruit and veggis, reduced or eliminated packaged/processed/prepared foods from the grocery store. Whole foods are far more satisfying to me than processed which tend to keep you hungry by design so you will want to eat more.

Fitness levels and vitals are now quite good for an old coon of 57. I take no medications except moderate beer and wine.

Medication is the only thing that did it for me. The first time I had my cholesterol level checked in my early 30's, total was 282. I was put on a Mevacor for a few years with no change, so the doc said there was no benefit in taking it & took me off of it. My level went up from there to 320 over the years. My HDL was always in the mid 50s range and the rest was LDL. My current doc put me on something (don't remember what) some years ago, and it reduced the total level to the mid 200s. Later on he put me on Vytorin which lowered my total level down to an amazing 115 at which time I had one of those really bad reactions to it and stopped that. Currently I'm on Atorvastatin which keeps it around 230 with an HDL still in the 50s. Some people genetically tend toward high levels. I've never been overweight, always been active and ate reasonably well. I tried a low fat diet in the past for a period of time to no avail. My advice is to always eat well, get some exercise, avoid the obvious problem foods, but medication is sometimes the only thing for some people.

Fiber really works for me. Every weekday breakfast I have a home made oatmeal mix with flaxseed, nuts, rasins and fresh fruit. This is worth at least 30 points from what I experience. Also, there is zero white bread, white pasta and white rice served ad my house. Only whole grain stuff. You get used to it after a while. Also, since the pasta now only tastes good instead of awesome, you eat less in the first place!

Good Luck!

G

If you don't want the side effects of statins (muscle cramps, etc.), and all the suggestions above don't help, consider Cholestyramine (Questran). Its a powder you mix with orange juice once or twice a day. It's completely innert (does not get absorbed into your blood stream). Rather, it absorbs fats and oils in your intestine before they reach your blood stream....and you simply pass the bad stuff as part of a nice healthy dump each day.

I started taking it shortly after gall bladder removal as I had problems with the runs due to all that bile (oil) running directly in to the small intestine. Doc put me on one pack a day and that did the trick. Although moderately active, my cholesterol stays well under 200 (good HDL, LDL and Tri numbers) regardless of diet.

Ask your doc. Not sure why more people don't use the stuff. My 2 cents.

43 yo Height 184cm (6') (Weight 85 kg (187 lb)
Total Cholesterol = 6.5 mM (253 mg/dl)
Got back into running. Ramped it up over past 4 years. Currently > 50 km / week (>31 miles) (4x week, 6 to 15 miles, occasional 18 miler)
Now:
47 yo, Still 184 cm, Weight 72 kg (158 lb).
Total Cholesterol =4.5 mM (175 mg /dl)
Also: feel better, less fatigued on night duty, less viral RTIs, improved temper*

*my wife and colleagues tell me

A high-fiber diet sweeps the G.I. tract of all bile, and there's nothing left to be reabsorbed.
The body then has to make new bile, from cholesterol.

How does fiber lower cholesterol? - Yahoo! Answers
"Dietary fiber is also associated with improvement in diabetes and reduced risk of colon cancer. The most important mechanism is by inhibiting the reabsorption of bile salts from the gastrointestinal tract. The bile salts are synthesized from cholesterol and released into the gastrointestinal tract to help absorb fat soluble foods. Normally the bile acids are reabsorbed at the end of the small intestines (ileum) and recycled again. Inhibiting the reabsorption of bile acids means that more cholesterol will be used to synthesize bile acids."

Olive oil is very good for you in its natural state. However the research I have read states that heating olive oil to a very high temperature such as frying actually is very bad for you. Heating Olive Oil | The Olive Oil Source ;)