High choleseterol diagnosis. What works(ed) for improving your numbers?
FreakinFlabuless
Posts: 29 Member
The more digging I do into this topic, the more confused I become. Some sources say Paleo/low or no carbs is the answer while some claim it's not and is dangerous. Some sources say it's about limiting your saturated fats and cholesterol intake and some say it has nothing to do with it and it's reverse. Anybody on here addressed and improved their cholesterol numbers without medications and care to share how? I would love to hear some firsthand stories.
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Losing 40 pounds took me from high cholesterol to normal levels. I also increased my meat intake, and reduced my grain intake.0
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Thank you for your reply db. Mine is outrageously high. She suspects it is familial because it is so, but I'd like a shot at avoiding medications and therefore need to pick a path to follow for the next checkup. I had read that chia seeds and flax seeds/meal is good for lowering your cholesterol, so I have been consuming those, but those are grains. Sigh. <Confused>0
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Went from over total 300 cholesterol with almost zero good to normal levels in 3 months.
Daily
Fish oil pills
Coq10
1 8oz glass of cab (has the most health benes)
1oz pomegranate juice
3oz (drank as shots) of grapeseed/canola oil
I have zero weight problems
I changed my diet and still tested over 300
MD knows it runs in my family
Previously: Was on stating drugs which caused normal chol but joints hurt so bad I had to quit them and cholesterol >3000 -
Losing weight - doesn't matter which foods get you there - and getting a lot more active did it for me. Cleaned up ALL negative blood markers (including BP) in about six months.
Cutting grains, taking this oil or that oil - NONE of it will matter unless you drop the weight.
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What does your doctor say about not taking meds? If your numbers are "outrageously high", you might ant to think about meds. You can try backing of the meds later, after you get your numbers down and your weight under control.0
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Everybody I know on statins say they never come off and all have also developed diabetes after starting, which is listed on the sheet that came with them. I soooo don't want to go there!0
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Wow strosman! So despite having the genetic factor, that worked and brought numbers into normal levels? What is cab?0
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Thank you Mr. Knight. I know regular exercise and losing weight will help. The only other time I had my cholesterol tested was in my 20s through a work program. They were high then, but I was pregnant without a weight issue. They told me then it could just be due to the pregnancy, but now I wonder. And it's 18 years later.0
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FreakinFlabuless wrote: »Everybody I know on statins say they never come off and all have also developed diabetes after starting, which is listed on the sheet that came with them. I soooo don't want to go there!
I have cut mine in half. I decided not to come off completely based on doctors advice about family history. You must be very unlucky of everyone you know develops diabetes. There are obvious cross correlation issues, á weight is a major risk factor for both. See this for a rue appreciation of the riskhttp://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/news/20140924/statins-diabetes-risk0 -
Losing 40 pounds took me from high cholesterol to normal levels. I also increased my meat intake, and reduced my grain intake.
^^^^ This is good advice (plus add in some exercise - doesn't have to be over the top, just some decent walks several times a week would help).
The main thing to focus on with cholesterol though isn't so much the total numbers, but the ratio between you HDL's and triglycerides.
You need to get the lowest ratio you can by increasing your HDL and reducing your triglycerides.
Losing weight will definitely help this. Also a diet high in saturated fat and low in carbs has been shown to have the same effect. It has also been shown to increase LDL particle size. I'm not saying you should go down this dietary route, only that it has been proven to help!
Dietary cholesterol is however a red herring as the numbers your Doctor will be looking at will be the cholesterol your body naturally produces (as it is a vital hormone). It is also self regulating - eat less cholesterol and your body produces more (and vice versa).
The main thing is don't stress if your numbers are high (with weight loss and exercise they should come down). Cholesterol (LDL particles) are only ever dangerous if they are small particles and then only if they are oxidized.
Eating a diet low in inflammatory foods and high in antioxidants should keep things in check.
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I started eating a low fat, plant based, vegan diet back in October 2014. I mean I cut out all animal based products and I also stopped using oils to cook my food. I eat complex carbs, beans, veggies, and fruits and things like that. All of it very tasty and I eat until I'm full. All of my numbers including cholesterol and triglycerides went way down. I also went from 203 pounds down to 170 and feel great with only mild exercise. I got on to this eating lifestyle through Dr. John McDougall and Neal Barnard. On youtube you can watch their videos. I also watched the documentary Forks Over Knives. It presents a lot of good information.0
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Everyone is different. I got my body fat down under to good levels for me (<22% male) and that did the trick. No more statins for me.0
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Well my LDL is worse after losing 80 pounds here, but my HDL and trygs are way better. I eat 65g of fat a day in average.
So I don't really know what to tell you... My doctor has told me to eat low fat, which made me laugh because 1) it's been proven that it doesn't help, 2) I still only eat 65g of fat a day.
The word is that oatmeal and nuts help.
But it's mostly genetic. Everyone in my family has the issue. I just refuse to take statin just because my HDL is higher than it should.0 -
My father died aged 51 of a heart attack, cholesterol related slightly before the days they knew enough about it, losing weight aged 52 was one of my prime drivers, high cholesterol is mainly hereditary.
overweight people don't know that fat doesn't just appear on your skin, it gathers around your liver, gets into your bloodstream, so losing weight is a great way to combat it.
even though my BF is now minimal my GP keeps me on the statins, her reasons are my age and my family history; I have mixed feelings about that but I do take them.0 -
I can't speak to your situation. My cholesterol was not incredibly high, but I was on meds for it. I lost weight, ate a bit more healthy and did a fair amount of cardio each week. Blood pressure now normal, heart rate lowered dramatically, cholesterol normal and A1C now lower. I was never at diabetic A1C level, but my doc was telling me to do something soon. It was creeping up there.
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I agree that it's mostly genetic after loosing 40 pounds and now running 6-7 miles a week my cholesterol went from 238 to 251 but my LDL decreased by 1 and my HDL increased by 11. I have an aunt by marriage who weights around 250 does not exercise or eat right her total cholesterol is under 130. Both my parents have high cholesterol my mom walks 2 miles every day weights 130 pounds & is 5'8" they eat low fat and healthy. I don't take statins because they have caused liver damage in my dad.0
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Mine used to be slightly high, but I was also only 25. Both of my parents had extremely high cholesterol levels. The doctor assumed it would be hereditary and I would eventually end up on medication. I tried going vegetarian and vegan, but that didn't do anything. I had it tested after losing weight with mfp (eating meat and cheese and fast food) and it had dropped to 120 total. The pharmacist said it was probably due to exercise and losing weight. I do work out a lot, and I think that is a major factor. Get moving and try to eat right, but it doesn't have to be perfect. Just stay within your calorie goals.0
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I think that mostly you need to work on this with your doctors. However one diet related suggestion I can make is ground flaxseed. I did not have high cholesterol but after eating two tablespoons of flaxseed every day (most days) my cholesterol level went down. And down ever more two years later. I think it has to do with the Omega 3s and the fiber.0
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High total cholesterol doesn't mean much, nothing really. Total number of LDL particles, their type and size and the ratio to HDL and your triglyceride count is what a Dr. in Lipidology would need to make any type of informed diagnosis. See a specialist if your worried.0
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Not true. If you research you'll find compelling evidence when certain foods are consumed in tandem with weight loss, (higher protein and fat with a reduction in carbs, especially the refined type )health markers improve more so, especially trig, but also the phenol type of LDL, which may or may not move the total blood weight, as well as further increases in HDL.Losing weight - doesn't matter which foods get you there - and getting a lot more active did it for me. Cleaned up ALL negative blood markers (including BP) in about six months.
Cutting grains, taking this oil or that oil - NONE of it will matter unless you drop the weight.
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Cut out processed foods and refined sugar. Eat mostly fruits, veggies and lean meats. If you want carbs, eat whole grains. Also, exercise, specifically high intensity and heavy weights, will improve your numbers.0
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You can reverse or prevent heart disease by following a plant-based diet with little to no oil or saturated fats. Research the Esselstyn Heart Healthy Diet. Former president Bill Clinton now is on this diet following his heart attack to reverse his heart disease. I too had cholesterol around 300 (with family history of heart disease) that is now at 215. Esselstyn's son Rip now has a recipe book called The Engine 2 Diet based on his father's findings. His products, like no oil humus, can now be found in Whole Foods.0
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I think this is more complicated than can be simply "fixed". Losing 60 pounds did it for me. But what did it take to lose 60 pounds? Obviously I cut down on things, I had to to create a deficit. My diet got better because it had to to keep a deficit. So, what did I it? I don't know. If I woke up in your shoes, I would, in coordination with my doctor, lose weight eating what I wanted in moderation with an eye towards balance and see where it goes.0
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My health markers improved without doing one minute of heavy lifting or HIIT.0
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Scott_2025 wrote: »My health markers improved without doing one minute of heavy lifting or HIIT.
That's because you lost weight (just think, they could have been even better with HIIT or lifting).
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He took an obese long haul truck driver, I believe that ate on the road, got no exercise and totally revamped his lifestyle........ you could insert any decent lifestyle changer and get dramatic results like he did, but he knew that going in, and I give him credit for that line of thinking, but eating like that has no real advantage over another except it's extremely restrictive and pretty much impossible to follow for the vast majority of the population. Removing all fat from the diet is not very healthy btw.You can reverse or prevent heart disease by following a plant-based diet with little to no oil or saturated fats. Research the Esselstyn Heart Healthy Diet. Former president Bill Clinton now is on this diet following his heart attack to reverse his heart disease. I too had cholesterol around 300 (with family history of heart disease) that is now at 215. Esselstyn's son Rip now has a recipe book called The Engine 2 Diet based on his father's findings. His products, like no oil humus, can now be found in Whole Foods.0 -
Thank you so much for all of your input everybody. I really appreciate it. I've been leaning more toward the low carb, more protein route simply because I don't necessarily eat badly as it is, but I do have some bad habits I need to kick, like pop. I've learned how sugar abrades the arteries causing fatty deposits to repair that damage. I have been reading about what diabetics do as far as watching the glycemic load too. I suspect this contributes for me personally based on examining what I may be doing wrong. Not sure that I understand it completely, but I think this is the avoidance of grains, no? When I saw the dietician, and she directed me to monitoring the saturated fats and cholesterol content of foods, I realized I was already usually meeting those goals.
There is this whole deal about hormones contributing as well, and I fit in there in my eyes. All of the medical appointments I've had in the last few years were female-issue related.
The medical profession is getting a bit scary for me these days. I feel like I am witnessing the deterioration of patients first. I can count on both of my hands how many times I've seen a doctor over the last 20 years, with the majority having been in the last 5 years, so having just established with this physician, I'm disturbed by how much she doesn't know about me. I know how establishing visits and histories and physicals should go, and she missed some pretty important systems to cover. I feel like she may have missed connecting some dots in my situation. However, when I call, I get the "see the nutritionist," "see a dermatologist", etc. referral instead of getting to know me. It isn't just her. I've noticed it with all of the physicians I've seen the last few years. I even asked the nutritionist about testing the particle sizes, and I got poo'd poo'd on that.
I don't believe in one size fits all and believe completely in our individuality and treatment plans. I'm just not having any luck finding a doctor willing to put in that time or with that attitude, so, again, I appreciate you all taking the time to share your experiences and to talk with me about it.
As to being unlucky knowing the people who were thrown into diabetes after starting their statins....those are family members, save a few outsiders and family through marriage, so it doesn't seem strange to me at all. In fact, it makes me that much more alert to the fact that I could be next and makes me want to avoid that even more.0 -
Losing weight - doesn't matter which foods get you there - and getting a lot more active did it for me. Cleaned up ALL negative blood markers (including BP) in about six months.
Cutting grains, taking this oil or that oil - NONE of it will matter unless you drop the weight.
Food absolutely matters when trying to lower cholesterol.
Not everyone has high cholesterol because they are overweight. For some, it is genetic in which case losing weight won't solve the problem.
OP:- Exercise will be your best friend.
- No saturated fat.
- Eat more fish.
- Increase fiber intake.
- Take a fish oil supplement daily.
- Healthy fats like nuts/seeds and avocado.
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FatFreeFrolicking wrote: »Losing weight - doesn't matter which foods get you there - and getting a lot more active did it for me. Cleaned up ALL negative blood markers (including BP) in about six months.
Cutting grains, taking this oil or that oil - NONE of it will matter unless you drop the weight.
Food absolutely matters when trying to lower cholesterol.
Not everyone has high cholesterol because they are overweight. For some, it is genetic in which case losing weight won't solve the problem.
OP:- Exercise will be your best friend.
- No saturated fat.
- Eat more fish.
- Increase fiber intake.
- Take a fish oil supplement daily.
- Healthy fats like nuts/seeds and avocado.
Fish oil, nuts and avocados all have saturated fat in.
and this is a good thing.
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FreakinFlabuless wrote: »Thank you so much for all of your input everybody. I really appreciate it. I've been leaning more toward the low carb, more protein route simply because I don't necessarily eat badly as it is, but I do have some bad habits I need to kick, like pop. I've learned how sugar abrades the arteries causing fatty deposits to repair that damage. I have been reading about what diabetics do as far as watching the glycemic load too. I suspect this contributes for me personally based on examining what I may be doing wrong. Not sure that I understand it completely, but I think this is the avoidance of grains, no? When I saw the dietician, and she directed me to monitoring the saturated fats and cholesterol content of foods, I realized I was already usually meeting those goals.
There is this whole deal about hormones contributing as well, and I fit in there in my eyes. All of the medical appointments I've had in the last few years were female-issue related.
The medical profession is getting a bit scary for me these days. I feel like I am witnessing the deterioration of patients first. I can count on both of my hands how many times I've seen a doctor over the last 20 years, with the majority having been in the last 5 years, so having just established with this physician, I'm disturbed by how much she doesn't know about me. I know how establishing visits and histories and physicals should go, and she missed some pretty important systems to cover. I feel like she may have missed connecting some dots in my situation. However, when I call, I get the "see the nutritionist," "see a dermatologist", etc. referral instead of getting to know me. It isn't just her. I've noticed it with all of the physicians I've seen the last few years. I even asked the nutritionist about testing the particle sizes, and I got poo'd poo'd on that.
I don't believe in one size fits all and believe completely in our individuality and treatment plans. I'm just not having any luck finding a doctor willing to put in that time or with that attitude, so, again, I appreciate you all taking the time to share your experiences and to talk with me about it.
As to being unlucky knowing the people who were thrown into diabetes after starting their statins....those are family members, save a few outsiders and family through marriage, so it doesn't seem strange to me at all. In fact, it makes me that much more alert to the fact that I could be next and makes me want to avoid that even more.
If there are female issues, depending on the issues, there are specific lifestyle changes that can help. If its something like Insulin Resistant PCOS, then carbs really can be a detriment to your health, hormone balance and insulin issues. Its different than diabetes or pre-diabetes so the way of eating and lifestyle need to be different.
If you want more info, try the Keto, Low Carber Daily Forum or the PCOSis groups here on MFP. There are a lot of us out there that have cholesterol issues due to hormone imbalances.0
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