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 ;)

FWIW - eating well and exercising are all good and will help lower your number, but it may not be enough.


Mine number was 230 and I don't eat junk food, sweets, fast food or fried food. I'm a big veggie eater, non smoker, social drinker. My Dr wanted me under 200 and I'm on generic Lipitor medication. I do excercise 2x / week but in not not enough IMO.

Zocor

when mine was just a tad high I controlled it with psyllium husk (Metamucil) and exercise. It got worse over the years and I tried the usual dose of statins but they made my body ache. Now I take 5mg Crestor every other day, psyllium, and watch what I eat. It isn't under 200, but it's a lot better than it was a year ago.
I like the suggestion of frying bacon in olive oil. I might try that. I miss bacon.

Excercise and starting Juicing. It's a easy way to eat lots of raw fruits and vegetables..

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1383748911.jpg


regards,

Oh yeah bacon is bad and olive oil is good. Of course moderation in everything......

I'd skip the ice cream too and exercise 5x a week. Nothing crazy, but 30 minutes at elevated heart rate. Combined with a daily dose of high fiber, i.e. in your breakfast, you should be in the normal range again.

G

I don't drink any milk at all. The only time I have milk/cream is if it's in food. I'm going to work on reducing the amount of food with dairy as an ingredient

I eat very little fast food or deep fried food. McDonalds is maybe a once a year or every other year kind of thing.

2 years ago, I was rollerblading 3-6 days a week for 15-45 mins a pop. I was in decent shape. I changed jobs which made that much more difficult.

I eat some meat, but not tons. I eat 2 or 3 apples a day the 4 days a week that I work. I eat salads and other veggies. I get lots of fruits and veggies. I don't eat much bread. My wife is gluten intolerant, so we just don't keep it around the house.
I do love cheese, I'm going to cut that down a bunch. I'll also cut the ice cream/ froyo out completely, at least for a while.

I'll check it out.

I eat very little little packaged/processed/prepared food (actually, can't think of any). I haven't had soda in over 10 years.

I'm going to try to increase the fiber a bunch. I already get a fair amount, but I'll go for more.

I've seen your posts on Cholestyramine in 3 or 4 other Cholesterol threads. I'm very interested in trying it. I've called my Dr about it. I don't think he thinks it's going to get the job done, but I'd rather leave the statins as a last resort.

Yep, I'm going to try bumping the fiber way up.
I've been juicing for a little over 2 years. We use the Omega 350 Vert juicer. We usually do anywhere from 1 16oz juice a day up to 4 16oz juices. When I go into get my bloodwork done, I usually juice fast for 2-3 days prior. I've recently started making smoothies with a nutribullet so I get the fiber from the stuff, but I also still do juice.

Thanks guys for all of the tips.

Statins, generic Zocor. 300 to 160

That's impressive. I've heard that the statins can work wonders, but I've also read several threads about their side effects. I'd prefer to avoid that if possible.

I had high cholesterol and originally attempted to control/reduce this by diet (without success). Some people's bodies just produce a lot of cholesterol (Discovery Health "My Body Makes Cholesterol?!"). I then tried the typical statins and although they lowered my cholesterol, I opted for another, lesser known choice... Niacin (Niacin to boost your HDL, 'good,' cholesterol - MayoClinic.com). This approach was recommended by my physician-wife. There is a considerable amount of data available examining how Niacin can influence cholesterol that you may find extremely interesting.

Read this book
 

Read this book:

The Great Cholesterol Myth
By Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS and Stephen Sinatra, MD

It "may" just change the way you think about cholesterol.
I took cholesterol drugs (statins) for my ~280 high cholesterol levels for a number of years.

NO MORE!

This book is incredible....I've read it 3 times already because there is so much information or should we say mis-information about cholesterol.

It will scare you how little your doctor really knows about cholesterol.
He just follows the party line.

Likely the most important aspect of this book is that is shows you how cholesterol actually got it's bad rap many years ago.
And why it continues to this day.
Just smell the money.
Pharmaceuticals make so much money off statin drugs, that they will lie like the federal government to you to keep you on them.
It's something like a 20 billion dollar a year industry.
They love your money. :)

All kidding aside.
A must read for anyone on statin drugs.
I think it will definitely change your mind.

Warning: be prepared for all-out war from your primary care physician.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1383761701.jpg

The book is written by a cardiologist and a nutritionist.

I don't believe they have any axe to grind....just get the real truth out there to everyone.

Once you read the chapter about the side effects of taking statin drugs, I think you'll really not want to take them any more.
Sexual dysfunction and impaired cognitive function are just a couple of the nice things statin drugs can do for you.

Don't eat anything fried; bake all lean meat.

Things to eat:
Oatmeal
Peanuts
Fish (Salmon is best)
Albacore tuna
Lean meats (Avoid high levels of red meat)
Olive oil
1% or 2% milk
Fiber foods

Avoid:
All processed food
Cheese
Anything fried

In 60 days your numbers will improve.

Thanks, I had read about Niacin, and it was suggested by my Dr along with the Statins. I've got some on order that should be arriving at the house today or tomorrow.

Funny, yesterday I was at Barnes and Noble and bought that book. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I will over the next week or so.

Also, 500mg of Krill oil daily.


Cognitive function seems to be fine and I know that my sexual function is excellent. ;)

Get after it man....
If you're like me, you'll inhale this book and finish it in 3-4 nights.
Serious. It is only like one of the best books I've read in my entire life....period.
Tells you the real cause of heart disease (hint: inflammation) and what (sugar) is much more damaging to you and your heart health.

The book basically says the ONLY people that should be taking statins are middle aged men that have already had a heart disease issue.
No one else.
Artificially lowering your cholesterol can be damaging to your health.
Cholesterol is a VITAL compound that your body makes for a very important reason.

After you finish reading this book....you will understand that elevated cholesterol level (which are in reality normal healthy levels) is a "made-up" health malady
that benefits the pharmaceutical industry.

Working on lowering mine with Metamucil.....look into it.

I'll report my 6 month finding soon

How do you feel about fish?

Before I got married I would eat fish three or four times a week... just because I loved it.

At that time I had no cholesterol problems.

The best advice is to choose your parents carefully.

Looks like my Doc likes colesevelam (Welchol) which is one of the other bile acid sequestrants besides cholestyramine so I'm going to give that a shot.

Have you had any side effects with it? Do you do anything specific to counteract any effects that you've had?