High choleseterol diagnosis. What works(ed) for improving your numbers?

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FreakinFlabuless
FreakinFlabuless Posts: 29 Member
in Food and Nutrition
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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  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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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.
  • FreakinFlabuless
    FreakinFlabuless Posts: 29 Member
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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>
  • strozman
    strozman Posts: 2,622 Member
    edited February 2015
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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 >300
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited February 2015
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    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.
  • sheldonklein
    sheldonklein Posts: 854 Member
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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.
  • FreakinFlabuless
    FreakinFlabuless Posts: 29 Member
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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!
  • FreakinFlabuless
    FreakinFlabuless Posts: 29 Member
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    Wow strosman! So despite having the genetic factor, that worked and brought numbers into normal levels? What is cab?
  • FreakinFlabuless
    FreakinFlabuless Posts: 29 Member
    edited February 2015
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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.
  • sheldonklein
    sheldonklein Posts: 854 Member
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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-risk
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    edited February 2015
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    dbmata wrote: »
    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.
  • md1093
    md1093 Posts: 3 Member
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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.
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,643 Member
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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.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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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.
  • sunman00
    sunman00 Posts: 872 Member
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    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.
  • Scott_2025
    Scott_2025 Posts: 201 Member
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    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.

  • rsb1023
    rsb1023 Posts: 32 Member
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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.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
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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.
  • Tblackdogs
    Tblackdogs Posts: 324 Member
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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.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,017 Member
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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.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,017 Member
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    Mr_Knight 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.
    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.

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