Supplements to lower cholesterol

SLRibar

I've had really good results with chia seeds. I add them to my yogurt in the morning. My triglycerides dropped 150 points in 6 months. My MD is really pleased with the results I'm getting. She has started recommending them to her other patients who want to start with diet modifications. So far, I can still avoid the statins. Good luck.

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I've had good results, aside from exercise and weight loss, from taking plant sterols. Look it up!

I will and thanks!

SCV34

I've had really good results with chia seeds. I add them to my yogurt in the morning. My triglycerides dropped 150 points in 6 months. My MD is really pleased with the results I'm getting. She has started recommending them to her other patients who want to start with diet modifications. So far, I can still avoid the statins. Good luck.

That's great to hear and I will be reading up on the chia seeds. I want to avoid the statins. Also, I would like to prove to my dr. that I could get the number down without going on statins. She said any supplement that I would take would not work. I hope to report back on here in a few months that my number has come down with the help of dietary supplements.

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Look up "atherogenic diet" for specific macro goals...lifestyle modifications are always first before pharmacologic therapy
ATPIV guideline regarding cholesterol just changed recently to and is based on %LDL lowering rather than specific goals
Old goals were usually targeting LDL of 100mg/dL
Of course I'm sure your physician is bent on using atorvastatin simply based on prescribing habits and not understanding that HMG reductase coenzyme A inhibitors can all be dose equivalated. I am curious as to what your LDL and HDL numbers actually are as total cholesterol alone is usually not the primary target. Normal TC is 200mg/dL or less. What is your ratio? And specify if that is TC:LDL.

If you are on multiple meds pravastatin would be least likely to have interactions and would be the cheapest agent (on 4$/10$ list at most chains).
BTW fish oil increases LDL by 40% or so. VASCEPA (icosapent ethyl/EPA) recently came out and is essentially fish oil without the DHA (LDL raising component) more for treating hypertriglyceridemia.

Ratio LDL/HDL is 2.68 Normal
Triglycerides 118 Normal
HDL 59 NORMAL

Cholesterol 241 High
LDL 158 HIGH

Yes, the two numbers are high, but this was the first time to have elevated numbers

midnight_mariposa

I know you said you had your reasons for not wanting to take statins, and I can understand wanting to do it with diet and exercise if you can. But I don't understand why you want to avoid taking a prescription medication developed specifically to treat a particular problem and instead take unregulated supplements like red yeast rice (which would only work because it contains a statin, but may or may not actually contain it depending on the formulation, and it's still unregulated), even though the doctor that tells you you have high cholesterol also tells you supplements won't work.

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I know you said you had your reasons for not wanting to take statins, and I can understand wanting to do it with diet and exercise if you can. But I don't understand why you want to avoid taking a prescription medication developed specifically to treat a particular problem and instead take unregulated supplements like red yeast rice (which would only work because it contains a statin, but may or may not actually contain it depending on the formulation, and it's still unregulated), even though the doctor that tells you you have high cholesterol also tells you supplements won't work.

Given the fact that I was told less than two years ago that my heart was healthy and the cardiologist expected to see me running a marathon some day, I don't think statins are necessary right now. If a supplement, diet mods and exercise won't get the number down then I may consider it. It was a decision that I didn't take lightly. I did a lot of reading on my own and talked to family members. My youngest brother was able to reduce his without a statin, he did it with a supplement.

Statin drugs are long term and I am not ready to commit to that. Any advice I get on MFP is not taken lightly either, I do alot of research on my own.

midnight_mariposa

Thanks for the explanation. I, too, think it's a bit premature for the doctor to want to put you on a statin the very first time you have blood work show high cholesterol, so I can most certainly understand not wanting to rush into that. What I didn't understand was the position of not taking statins, but instead taking something else that had the same purpose but was much less controlled and can have other less desirable effects.

Anyway, I understand your position now. Best of luck to you!

karlajotj

I have a friend that has had great results with the red yeast rice. I have been put on the statins and have had horrible side effects to the point that I could not exercise from the fatigue and joint pain. No matter what my Dr switched it to (a different statin) I still had bad side effects. My Dr got upset when I suggested I go off the statin and try the red yeast rice. I don't see the harm in trying it.
Good luck with what you decide!

cwolfman13

I will most likely need to be on medications at some point due to my genetics and family history but I'm kicking that can down the road a ways with diet and exercise. So far I've been able to get all of my numbers into the "normal" range with diet and exercise.

- I supplement with plant sterols (I use Cholestoff Plus)

- I supplement with fish oil...pretty high dosage

- I eat salmon about twice per week and fish in general on a regular basis

- I keep my saturated animal fats to a minimum...I try to keep them at 20g or less daily on a 2500 calorie diet

- My fiber intake is generally 35 - 40 grams daily

- I eat food high in soluble fiber regularly...i.e. oatmeal and fruits that are high in pectin (apples, nectarines in the summer, etc)

- I eat 4-6 servings of vegetables daily (I drink some of these as well...I regularly consume low sodium V8 which is a great source of heart healthy lycopene...I eat a lot of tomato products as well for that express purpose. Basically I make sure I have a serving or two of vegetables or fruit with every single meal and snacks as well. I am most certainly not a vegetarian but my diet is highly veg and fruit centric.

- I eat a lot of heart healthy fats. I generally have a serving of almonds on most days and usually eat 1/2 an avocado on most days. I cook primarily with olive oil and avocado oil.

- I avoid commercial baked goods; many will say "no trans-fats" but they use partially hydrogenated oils at a level low enough to say "no trans-fats" legally...but they still have trans-fats and if you eat those goodies the way most people do then your'e going to get a good whollop of trans-fat in your multiple servings.

- I try to eat as whole as possible and keep my highly processed intake to a minimum. It is not always practical to eat 100% whole foods, but I try to choose minimally processed options when I have to go that route...except hot dogs...I love hot dogs and have to have at least one good dog monthly.

- I generally don't eat out often...maybe once or twice per month and I don't do fast food save for here and there when on a road trip or something...I'd say I eat fast food maybe 3 times per year or so.

- I exercise regularly. I lift 3x weekly and cycle a lot. Even on my rest day I make sure I go for at least a 30-60 minute walk. I would estimate that I get around 6-8 hours of exercise weekly.

midnight_mariposa

I have a friend that has had great results with the red yeast rice. I have been put on the statins and have had horrible side effects to the point that I could not exercise from the fatigue and joint pain. No matter what my Dr switched it to (a different statin) I still had bad side effects. My Dr got upset when I suggested I go off the statin and try the red yeast rice. I don't see the harm in trying it.
Good luck with what you decide!

Red yeast rice only works to lower cholesterol when it contains lovostatin/monacolin (two names for the same thing). The yeast that gives the rice its color is what makes the statins and similar strains of the yeast are used to produce prescription lovostatin. In the US this makes red yeast rice containing lovostatin a prescription drug, so all the supplements on the shelf are not supposed to contain any of the statin, though some sometimes do in varying amounts. If the supplements don't contain the statin, it won't lower your cholesterol. If it does contain the statin, there's no telling how much of it it actually contains because it's unregulated and isn't supposed to be present in the first place.

Long story short, red yeast rice that works only works because it contains a statin. So taking red yeast rice to avoid taking statins doesn't avoid anything unless the red yeast rice doesn't contain any of the statin, thus making it ineffective for lowering cholesterol.

SCV34

I will most likely need to be on medications at some point due to my genetics and family history but I'm kicking that can down the road a ways with diet and exercise. So far I've been able to get all of my numbers into the "normal" range with diet and exercise.

- I supplement with plant sterols (I use Cholestoff Plus)

- I supplement with fish oil...pretty high dosage

- I eat salmon about twice per week and fish in general on a regular basis

- I keep my saturated animal fats to a minimum...I try to keep them at 20g or less daily on a 2500 calorie diet

- My fiber intake is generally 35 - 40 grams daily

- I eat food high in soluble fiber regularly...i.e. oatmeal and fruits that are high in pectin (apples, nectarines in the summer, etc)

- I eat 4-6 servings of vegetables daily (I drink some of these as well...I regularly consume low sodium V8 which is a great source of heart healthy lycopene...I eat a lot of tomato products as well for that express purpose. Basically I make sure I have a serving or two of vegetables or fruit with every single meal and snacks as well. I am most certainly not a vegetarian but my diet is highly veg and fruit centric.

- I eat a lot of heart healthy fats. I generally have a serving of almonds on most days and usually eat 1/2 an avocado on most days. I cook primarily with olive oil and avocado oil.

- I avoid commercial baked goods; many will say "no trans-fats" but they use partially hydrogenated oils at a level low enough to say "no trans-fats" legally...but they still have trans-fats and if you eat those goodies the way most people do then your'e going to get a good whollop of trans-fat in your multiple servings.

- I try to eat as whole as possible and keep my highly processed intake to a minimum. It is not always practical to eat 100% whole foods, but I try to choose minimally processed options when I have to go that route...except hot dogs...I love hot dogs and have to have at least one good dog monthly.

- I generally don't eat out often...maybe once or twice per month and I don't do fast food save for here and there when on a road trip or something...I'd say I eat fast food maybe 3 times per year or so.

- I exercise regularly. I lift 3x weekly and cycle a lot. Even on my rest day I make sure I go for at least a 30-60 minute walk. I would estimate that I get around 6-8 hours of exercise weekly.

Great advice for anyone and everyone, not just for someone trying to lower their cholesterol! Thanks for the input! Happy New Year!!

SCV34

Thanks for the explanation. I, too, think it's a bit premature for the doctor to want to put you on a statin the very first time you have blood work show high cholesterol, so I can most certainly understand not wanting to rush into that. What I didn't understand was the position of not taking statins, but instead taking something else that had the same purpose but was much less controlled and can have other less desirable effects.

Anyway, I understand your position now. Best of luck to you!

Premature, that's the word I was looking for! I am pretty determined and stubborn, so I hope between the two I can get some results.

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Update on cholesterol numbers:

Six months ago dr. was insisting that I go on a statin to help lower my cholesterol. I asked if I could try and lower it myself. Per the dr., I went on a low fat diet 40grams a day, in the process lost 13 pounds. I also started taking a supplement called Cholestoff. I had my cholesterol checked and the two numbers that were elevated are lower. They are still out of normal range, but I am confident that if I stay the course, they will eventually be with in normal range again. Will see again in six months.

Given the fact that I changed two things, lowered my fat intake and started a supplement it is hard to say what actually did the job. My thought is maybe a combination of both. As far as the weight loss goal, I was aiming for 5 pounds by June 3 of this year. I met that and then some, now just wanting to maintain.

A friend on here suggested oatmeal to help lower the numbers, so I am going to add that to my diet.