How To Lower Cholesterol?

[jkmunchkin]

I went to my doctor last week for a physical (got results yesterday) and I was happy to hear that a lot of my vitamin deficencies are getting better, my thyroid numbers are good, etc, etc... but he said my cholesterol is a little high. I forget the exact numbers, but it was the LDL's (which is the bad cholesteral) and it was around 136.

I really don't know what to do to lower it. Ok granted I could start with excercise, but as far as what I eat... well obviously I don't eat fried foods, except for any baking I do I haven't used butter since I was a kid, I don't really eat eggs that often, a typical lunch for me is salad or grilled chicken and grilled vegetables. I don't really know if I have a typical dinner. I do eat a fair amount of the gluten free products like cookies, pizzas, bread, etc. Should I maybe cut back on that?

I've always been thin. Since going gluten free I'm finally at a normal weight for my height. I'm 5'6", 123 lbs, 29 years old (ok, technically I'll be 30 in about a week and a half.... but I'm still 29 as of today. LOL!)

Do you think maybe it's just a matter of me excercising; like running on the treadmill?

[jnclelland]

I went to my doctor last week for a physical (got results yesterday) and I was happy to hear that a lot of my vitamin deficencies are getting better, my thyroid numbers are good, etc, etc... but he said my cholesterol is a little high. I forget the exact numbers, but it was the LDL's (which is the bad cholesteral) and it was around 136.

I really don't know what to do to lower it.

Well, how much dietary change are you willing to make? I've been on the South Beach Diet for a little over a year, with some minor modifications to make it gluten/dairy/soy-free. At last check a few years ago, my LDL had been right on the borderline at 100, but this summer it clocked in at 80. I was amazed that it made that big a difference!

Starting the SBD was a pretty radical change for me, but I found pretty quickly that I really enjoyed eating this way and felt lots healthier. If you're interested you should get the book, but basically you eat lean meats, LOTS of veggies, good fats (e.g. olive oil, nuts), dairy (if you can tolerate it, which I can't) and small portions of fruits and whole grains. People tend to think of it as a "low-carb" diet in the same vein as Atkins, but it's really not. It's just focused on GOOD carbs (whole grains, fruits, veggies) and GOOD fats.

If you're interested, I'd be happy to talk to you about it in more detail. There are also some threads on this board on South Beach that you could find if you do a search. In any case, good luck finding something that works for you!

Jeanne

[cruelshoes]

I am in pretty much the same boat as you. I am 36, 5'6" and 135 pounds. I was very little red meat, butter or cheese. Yet my cholesterol total is still 240 with my LDL's way too high (can't remember the exact number). For me it is mostly genetic, as high cholesterol runs in my family. Once book I would reccommend is Open Original Shared Link. It's like all the other Dummies books in that it is an easy read, but I found lots of good information in it.

Lots of fiber, especially soluble fiber, can realy help from cholesterol in foods. Oats are, of course, high in soluble fiber, but I don't feel comfortable eating even the gluten-free oats in the quantity that is reccommended for a normal person. There are lots of other foods that have good soluble fiber content. Open Original Shared Linkto the American Heart Association website. Whole grains (brown rice, sorghum, etc) are good sources of fiber also.

I am trying to exercise more and increase my fiber intake. Other things that have been reccommended to me are: evening primrose oil, red yeast rice, flaxseed oil and fish oils. I need to do more research on those.

My doctor has also reccommended that I take a low-dose aspirin daily. This will not lower the cholesterol number, but it is supposed to help the junk from sticking together and forming a clot.

Good luck decreasing your numbers. I don't want to have to take any of the cholesterol meds, so I am trying different things to lower my numbers. I would be interested to hear any other ideas you might gather.

[Gemini]

I went to my doctor last week for a physical (got results yesterday) and I was happy to hear that a lot of my vitamin deficencies are getting better, my thyroid numbers are good, etc, etc... but he said my cholesterol is a little high. I forget the exact numbers, but it was the LDL's (which is the bad cholesteral) and it was around 136.

I really don't know what to do to lower it. Ok granted I could start with excercise, but as far as what I eat... well obviously I don't eat fried foods, except for any baking I do I haven't used butter since I was a kid, I don't really eat eggs that often, a typical lunch for me is salad or grilled chicken and grilled vegetables. I don't really know if I have a typical dinner. I do eat a fair amount of the gluten free products like cookies, pizzas, bread, etc. Should I maybe cut back on that?

I've always been thin. Since going gluten free I'm finally at a normal weight for my height. I'm 5'6", 123 lbs, 29 years old (ok, technically I'll be 30 in about a week and a half.... but I'm still 29 as of today. LOL!)

Do you think maybe it's just a matter of me excercising; like running on the treadmill?

Jillian....first off, is your total cholesterol high or just your LDL? For the LDL, fish oil/flaxseed oil and foods containing these Omega 3 oils are the best you can take for lowering bad cholesterol. Oatmeal is good but that's more for total cholesterol numbers.

The other misconception is not to have butter or cream. In small doses, you most certainly can have them and it will not raise cholesterol. They are not fake, man-made oils and those are the ones that are bad. In fact, many people, by eliminating butter and using those fake foods as replacement, do not lower their cholesterol and then they think it's genetic. If you deprive the body of cholesterol in it's purest form, your body will hold onto the cholesterol you have. You have to keep in mind that's it's small amounts! Olive oil and canola oil are the good choices otherwise.

Other than that, eat loads of fruits and veggies, good protein sources like fish and drink more water. Do not be talked into cholesterol lowering drugs unless you want liver or kidney problems.

They have serious side effects and my brother, who has celiac disease (in denial) and Type 1 diabetes, took one and now his kidneys are in poor shape....from the drugs.

As far as the gluten-free snacks and bread are concerned, you will want to limit those, like the butter, eggs and cream, to reasonable levels. Most are derived from white flour sources and have little fiber but lots of calories. Exercise is important also.

Lots of luck but have patience!

[stargazer]

Hi, when I was first diagnosed with high cholesterol, I went on a strict diet and exercised daily. After six months of this, my doctor ran the test again. Guess what, my cholesterol was 50 points higher!!! After this news, I was so discouraged. I did some digging and found out that there was 10 people on my mothers side with high cholesterol, and 8 people on my fathers side. My doctor told me that your diet only plays about 15% in the roll of high cholesterol. Genetic factors play a hugh roll (unfortunately). Well I still am on the diet and exercise, but I also have to take medication to control the cholesterol because my body makes too much (thanks to genetic factors!). I hope you get yours under control.

[jkmunchkin]

For me it is mostly genetic, as high cholesterol runs in my family.

Jillian....first off, is your total cholesterol high or just your LDL? For the LDL, fish oil/flaxseed oil and foods containing these Omega 3 oils are the best you can take for lowering bad cholesterol. Oatmeal is good but that's more for total cholesterol numbers.

Yes, definately 2 things I should have mentioned. It is actually also genetic for me, which I know is a major factor.

And my overall cholesterol is ok. Not great, but ok. It is just my LDL's that are high. Gemini - if I were to start taking th fish oil or flaxseed oil in pill form, is there a dose and frequency you would recommend?

I'm not sure if I'm ready for the South Beach diet. If my cholesterol gets worse with my next blood tests, I will definately pick your brain for more info, but I just don't know if I want to do that yet.

[Guest hungryman]

Yes, definately 2 things I should have mentioned. It is actually also genetic for me, which I know is a major factor.

And my overall cholesterol is ok. Not great, but ok. It is just my LDL's that are high. Gemini - if I were to start taking th fish oil or flaxseed oil in pill form, is there a dose and frequency you would recommend?

I'm not sure if I'm ready for the South Beach diet. If my cholesterol gets worse with my next blood tests, I will definately pick your brain for more info, but I just don't know if I want to do that yet.

Being someone who has fought the battle of hyperlipidemia for years, the best advice I could offer is to talk to your doctor about possible medication, should the levels continue to worry you.

If someone has a genetic predisposition for high cholesterol levels, it is very possible all the dieting and exercise on the planet won't keep it under control.

I take medication that has the side effect of elevating cholesterol levels and skews the HDL/LDL ratio. For more than 11 years, I have tried just about everything I could, from diet changes to exercise tpo flax seed oil, you name it.

At some point only medication will help.

I take Pravastatin, Zetia and will be starting Tricor shortly. I also take 4,000 mgs of fish oil each day (not cod liver oil).

I also switched out one of my other medications to one that is more lipid friendly.

It has helped and, for the first time in more than decade, my cholesterol is normal.

Good luck and don't give up.

[CMCM]

I also struggle with elevated cholesterol (257), but I've read a bunch of things lately that have made me re-think things. First of all, cholesterol is a vital, necessary substance. Second, a lot of recent studies have dispelled the notion that EATING cholesterol raises your own level of it. In fact, everything points to sugars/high carbs which lead to excessive insulin response which in turn leads to high cholesterol! And there's also the hereditary factor....and for what this is worth, my mom has always eaten LOTS of dairy, especially since she was diagnosed celiac 40+ years ago. She has always been thin, still is, but her cholesterol is still high. But she's now 86, very healthy, no heart problems. And contrary to what people have been led to believe, those who get heart attacks/strokes do NOT all have high cholesterol. In fact, some studies showed a higher relation to heart attacks/strokes and those with very LOW cholesterol.

There are lots of dissenting opinions of course, as with virtually everything in the health care field, but it's definitely worth keeping in mind that it is to the benefit of the pharmaceutical industry to convince us all to take statins.....having lost the multi-billion $$ hormone replacement revenue stream suddenly, it's useful to replace that with statins which people can be convinced to take until the day they die. Lots of revenue coming in from that, despite some scary things coming out about the drugs.

I'm taking my chances, and no drugs. I'll eat right, exercise, etc etc, and if my cholesterol doesn't go down much, I'm not going to worry.

If you go to amazon and enter "cholesterol", you can find some very interesting books on the subject, many of which "expose" the big "con" of high vs. low cholesterol. Very good reading, definitely.

[Gemini]

I also struggle with elevated cholesterol (257), but I've read a bunch of things lately that have made me re-think things. First of all, cholesterol is a vital, necessary substance. Second, a lot of recent studies have dispelled the notion that EATING cholesterol raises your own level of it. In fact, everything points to sugars/high carbs which lead to excessive insulin response which in turn leads to high cholesterol! And there's also the hereditary factor....and for what this is worth, my mom has always eaten LOTS of dairy, especially since she was diagnosed celiac 40+ years ago. She has always been thin, still is, but her cholesterol is still high. But she's now 86, very healthy, no heart problems. And contrary to what people have been led to believe, those who get heart attacks/strokes do NOT all have high cholesterol. In fact, some studies showed a higher relation to heart attacks/strokes and those with very LOW cholesterol.

There are lots of dissenting opinions of course, as with virtually everything in the health care field, but it's definitely worth keeping in mind that it is to the benefit of the pharmaceutical industry to convince us all to take statins.....having lost the multi-billion $$ hormone replacement revenue stream suddenly, it's useful to replace that with statins which people can be convinced to take until the day they die. Lots of revenue coming in from that, despite some scary things coming out about the drugs.

I'm taking my chances, and no drugs. I'll eat right, exercise, etc etc, and if my cholesterol doesn't go down much, I'm not going to worry.

If you go to amazon and enter "cholesterol", you can find some very interesting books on the subject, many of which "expose" the big "con" of high vs. low cholesterol. Very good reading, definitely.

Excellent post!!!!! I agree completely and only wish others would not take what their doctor's tell them as God's word.

Pharmaceutical companies, along with the insurance companies, run health care in this country and one way to keep things cheap is to just put everyone on pills and convince them that cholesterol problems are more hereditary than not. This is a factor but I think way lower than the MD's proclaim.

Statins have side effects and some are deadly. It will affect liver and kidney function and as you age, sometimes these are not fixable. So instead of maybe dying of a heart attack or stroke, you'll die of liver or kidney failure, or end up on dialysis. Great choice.

The other problem is a population unwilling to change their diets and give up fast food and get up off the couch to exercise. Walking is exercise and it doesn't get any easier than that.

Did anyone hear that the drug, Zelnorm, which is often given to Celiac's when they are misdiagnosed as IBS sufferers, was pulled off the market? I guess it upped a patient's chances of a stroke to the uncomfortable range so it was pulled. Many, many drugs have had this outcome and we'll never know how many will die from the drug companies push to market a pill to make them rich. Remember....it's a business.

It takes time to bring levels down but I think the above advice is excellent. Eat right with lots of green vegetables, drink water and ditch the soda, and indulge in a little dairy from time to time and don't worry about it.

[jerseyangel]

I agree with CMCM and Gemini.

My current cholesterol reading is 228. Before I became ill with the Celiac, it was 280. I got it down, gradually, to 213 using diet and exercise only. I think that because I'm absorbing better, it went up a bit. It's been holding at 228 for 2 years now.

My mom has high cholesterol, and after years of trying to bring her levels down is now on meds. My dad always had great levels--in the 160's. He's 80, and just recently, his levels began to creep up a little--and right away his doctor put him on a statin. His heart is fine--after his last stress test, they said he had the heart of a 25 year old. So I don't agree with him being on the drugs--but he does what the doctor says without question. His generation, I guess...

I don't plan on going on any meds--I'll be happy if I can keep my numbers where they are--happier if I can lower them a little

[albaanderson86]

To low your cholesterol there is only one thing that you can control your diet and free from any tension or any thing. The doctor concern should be there every time.

[Reba32]

did you know that the current "healthy" level of cholesterol is a lot lower than it used to be? Lower since the invention of statin drugs!

Dietary cholesterol (eggs, butter, etc) do not contribute to blood cholesterol levels. BODY fat does, and your body stores fat when you eat more fuel than it needs.

The western diet is primarily carbs (look at the food pyramid) and is killing more people than it is helping.

Cut out packaged convenience foods, cut out all refined sugars, eat whole natural foods, INCLUDING butter, red meat, whole eggs, and FATS, and you'll lowever your cholesterol.

There are dozens upon dozens of studies that disprove the pharma industries and the food pyramid, and yet they continue to push it on us and make everybody sicker.

[mushroom]

Many people also just look at the total cholesterol number and fail to take into account how much of it is HDL vs. LDL. So long as your ratios are good the total number is not that significant, i.e., if most or a goodly percentage of your cholesterol is HDL cholesterol.

[jerseyangel]

I agree with CMCM and Gemini.

My current cholesterol reading is 228. Before I became ill with the Celiac, it was 280. I got it down, gradually, to 213 using diet and exercise only. I think that because I'm absorbing better, it went up a bit. It's been holding at 228 for 2 years now.

My mom has high cholesterol, and after years of trying to bring her levels down is now on meds. My dad always had great levels--in the 160's. He's 80, and just recently, his levels began to creep up a little--and right away his doctor put him on a statin. His heart is fine--after his last stress test, they said he had the heart of a 25 year old. So I don't agree with him being on the drugs--but he does what the doctor says without question. His generation, I guess...

I don't plan on going on any meds--I'll be happy if I can keep my numbers where they are--happier if I can lower them a little

Wow--just saw this old post of mine.

Update: I had my cholesterol tested last summer and was shocked to see that in 2 years it had gone up to 305! My bad cholesterol was up also.

I managed to lower the total number to 212 by February of this year by cutting down on full fat dairy, fatty meats like bacon, and sugar. I began taking Citrical Heart Health which contains plant sterols, and incorporated flax meal into my diet as well as other seeds.

It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.

[hungryman]

Wow--just saw this old post of mine.

Update: I had my cholesterol tested last summer and was shocked to see that in 2 years it had gone up to 305! My bad cholesterol was up also.

I managed to lower the total number to 212 by February of this year by cutting down on full fat dairy, fatty meats like bacon, and sugar. I began taking Citrical Heart Health which contains plant sterols, and incorporated flax meal into my diet as well as other seeds.

It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.

I would ask whether you added any exercise to assist with lowering your overall cholesterol.

Diet if fine, but if you aren't exercising as well, you are missing out on additional health benefits.

I am a man in his 50s, who had problems with choleseterol in part because I ate red meat, butter, eggs, etc., religiously rather than lower-fat alternatives, and because I take medications that raise both the overall cholesterol, the LDL cholesterol and the triglycerides.

I cannot take statins because they interact with one of the other meds I take. I can, however, take fish oil, Niaspan and red yeast rice, all of which have helped.

I would recommend anyone who wishes to lower their lipids first concentrate on cutting out the fats in the diet, both man made and natural. That goes for fried foods as well. Cut down on the red meat, making it a treat rather than a staple, reduce the number of eggs you eat to only two a week, and cut down on the amount of sugar you consume.

The sugar and high fructose corn syrup that is in everything really don't do much for you, except to add on pounds. My doctor said that losing just 10 pounds can help lower just about anyone's cholesterol.

Next, incresase the amount of whole grains and fiber you eat, drink more water, eat a couple of vegetarian meals a week, eat fish at least twice a week, and pile on the veggies.

Adding olive oil or flax oil also helps.

This is often referred to as a Meditteranean diet, although I think the South Beach diet is somewhat similar.

I now have good cholesterol levels, thanks to sticking to this diet relatively closely (special treats and special occasions notwithstanding) and exercising just three days a week for two hours.

I would, of course, check with your doctor to let him/her know what you are doing, but I have seen this combo of diet and exercise do wonders for people.

Peace,

M

[Korwyn]

did you know that the current "healthy" level of cholesterol is a lot lower than it used to be? Lower since the invention of statin drugs!

Dietary cholesterol (eggs, butter, etc) do not contribute to blood cholesterol levels. BODY fat does, and your body stores fat when you eat more fuel than it needs.

The western diet is primarily carbs (look at the food pyramid) and is killing more people than it is helping.

Cut out packaged convenience foods, cut out all refined sugars, eat whole natural foods, INCLUDING butter, red meat, whole eggs, and FATS, and you'll lowever your cholesterol.

There are dozens upon dozens of studies that disprove the pharma industries and the food pyramid, and yet they continue to push it on us and make everybody sicker.

I so second Reba and mushroom both. My diet is now (over the last six months) changed so dramatically that it is pretty much the exact opposite of the dietary recommendations pushed by the AHA and the NIH. Yet my HDL/LDL ratio is better than it has ever been in my life, my triglycerides are better, I've dropped from 265 to 219 pounds, etc. Even when I was avidly practicing and studying martial arts in my 20's (7 to 10 2.5 hour classes a week) my cholesterol ratio stunk, and I could not lose weight. The highest my HDL ever reached was 34. And I was doing everything right. Eating healthy, lots of whole grains, veggies, low fat diet, intense exercise (I easily burned 2,500 calories a class). My last cholesterol checkup (3 months ago) my HDL was 45. The checkup before that (9 months ago) it was 32.

Sugars, refined - in fact most all grain based carbs. Stop sautéing or frying with oils and start using natural fats (butter, lard, bacon grease). All the vegetable oils and grain oils break down into trans fats when heated. The only exception is coconut oil - which does, but at a much higher temp. Canola (rapeseed) is one of the worst for this. Use only cold-pressed olive or coconut oil in your salads and baking.

Read 'Good Calories, Bad Calories' by Gary Taube.