Help - Cholesterol Levels

MidWestMissy

I just recently went to Doctors and they said I needed to lower my Bad Cholesterol - raise my Good. Any sugestions would be awesome. As when I asked the Doctor Office she really didn't suggest anything. Well she mentioned Exercise, lose weight, cut out red meat and increase fish, etc.

Well I already only eat fish or chicken. I walk 2-3 miles a day. I have lost 40 pounds since February. I am not really sure what else I can do.

Looking for ideas, suggestions, anything to help.


TIA

hailzp

Maybe it is just something that will happen with time? If you are already doing all the things you are meant to do then perhaps just wait until the next check up to see if it has changed? No real advice sorry. Maybe you could go on some websites especially for cholesterol and take note of all the little extras they say to do. I heard that increasing soluble fibre can help.

LPCoder

Invest in a good omega 3 fish oil.
Eliminate corn oil and canola oil.
Don't buy processed foods. If it comes in a box, put it back on the shelf. It probably has hydrogenated oils.
Your shopping cart should be full of fresh fruits and veggies.
Buy lean meat, eliminate milk and switch to unsweetened almond milk.
Add nuts (not peanuts) and seeds to your diet. Walnuts are great.
reduce how much grains are in your diet.


I had high cholesterol (my doctor wanted toput me on meds and I didn't want to) and I eliminated grains and sugar from my diet, used olive oil and coconut oil, and did all of the above. One year later my cholesterol levels are back to normal, I have lost 68 pounds and I feel great!

BroiledNotFried

I have high cholesterol. 269, but my good-bad-ratio is just at the acceptable range.

I went to a dietician and changed my whole eating for 3 months. I ate too much bread, and didn't lose weight :-(. My overall did not change, my good went up a point and my bad went down a point. All that pain, and no gain (or loss). But, my triglcerides went from 150 to 50 somthing. Doctor was happy about that.

The doctor then said it was my liver. He said my liver produces alot of chloresterol, much more then what shows up from eating. I have to "burn" it off. Exercise.

Now, I am keeping a strict diet, taking supplements (red yeast rice and guggul and fish oil), metamucil, oatmeal, and hitting the gym for 1 hour a day almost every day of the week. If it has scales or clucks, I eat it.

Please become my friend to motivate me. I have 3 months - or Lipitor will become my new friend.

jennahowden

I'm 5"9, weigh around 55kgs (121 pounds). I exercise and eat healthy. I can't eat junk food because I have Fructose Malabsorption. Sometimes there just isn't anything that can be done other than taking medication.

pickledginger

More "good fats" might help: nuts, flax
seed oil or meal, algae or fish oil capsules
high in DHA, avocado.

If your blood sugar is at all high, even if
you aren't pre-diabetic, that supposedly
can boost the evil triglycerides and affect
other cholesterol levels.

Sleep, good sleep, helps.

Vitamin D deficiency (remarkably
common) I think is one of several
deficiency problems that can raise the
bad cholesterol and drop the good ... not
100% sure on that one, but it is a
common problem and worth testing for.

My results surprised the heck out of me.
Manganese deficiency can wreck
cholesterol levels, according to at least
one research article (at Jn.nutrition.org).
Copper deficiency, too, another article
says. Vitamin B3 -- oh, right, that's a
biggie! Vitamin C.

So, you could do zillions of expensive
tests, or try to get a nutritional consult, or
just look up some self-help articles on
lowering cholesterol and look into
possible supplements. (I Vitacost.com,
and they have a discount on first order if
you get a Referral Code first. Also, their Super EFA fish oil is the only one I have trief that doesn't give me fishy indigestion! Lots of
companies out there, though. Wellness
Resources does good stuff, if pricey when
not on special ... etc.)

(The Life Extension Foundation has some
decent and usually pretty up-to-date
nutritional and other info -- with doctor-
friendly footnotes -- in their "protocols"
pages ( HTTP://www.lef.org/protocols ). I
am sure they must ... (ah! here: http://
www.lef.org/protocols/heart_circulatory/
cholesterol_management_01.htm ) ...
Um. Never mind. Not one of their better
attempts.)

More ideas:
http://www.google.com/search?q=lower
+cholesterol+naturally+2012&btnG

Good luck with it!

MidWestMissy

Invest in a good omega 3 fish oil.
Eliminate corn oil and canola oil.
Don't buy processed foods. If it comes in a box, put it back on the shelf. It probably has hydrogenated oils.
Your shopping cart should be full of fresh fruits and veggies.
Buy lean meat, eliminate milk and switch to unsweetened almond milk.
Add nuts (not peanuts) and seeds to your diet. Walnuts are great.
reduce how much grains are in your diet.


I had high cholesterol (my doctor wanted toput me on meds and I didn't want to) and I eliminated grains and sugar from my diet, used olive oil and coconut oil, and did all of the above. One year later my cholesterol levels are back to normal, I have lost 68 pounds and I feel great!

Thanks for the tips. I will try changing items up.

MidWestMissy

More "good fats" might help: nuts, flax seed oil or meal, algae or fish oil capsules high in DHA, avocado.

If your blood sugar is at all high, even if you aren't pre-diabetic, that supposedly can boost the evil triglycerides and affect other cholesterol levels.

Sleep, good sleep, helps.

Vitamin D deficiency (remarkably common) I think is one of several deficiency problems that can raise the bad cholesterol and drop the good.

The Life Extension Foundation has some decent and usually pretty up-to-date nutritional and other info -- with doctor-friendly footnotes -- in their "protocols" pages ( HTTP://www.lef.org/protocols ). I am sure they must ...

... ah! here: http://www.lef.org/protocols/heart_circulatory/cholesterol_management_01.htm

Good luck with it!

Thanks for the information. I will go read this. THANKS!!

kat5556

I'll second the fish oil. It helped bring mine from 248 to 205. That was before I lost weight and started exercising. My last reading was 167! It sounds like you are already eating properly. Oh, and I buy the extra strength enteric coated (so you don't taste it afterwards) from Sam's.

pickledginger

You're very welcome! :-)

Niacin, that's what B3 is called. And here's some info: http://www.rxlist.com/niacin_and_niacinamide_vitamin_b3/supplements.htm

sespi

Fish oil, lower levels of meats, and higher fiber are all good suggestions. Another thing that may help is plant stanols. You can buy them as a supplement called CholestOFF by Nature Made.

It may also just be a genetic thing, which can't be affected much by diet and exercise unfortunately. In my case, my doctor noted that I had elevated cholesterol and lectured me about eating and exercise. I informed her that I was eating a mostly vegetarian diet (at the time) and working out for at least an hour every day and had actually lost 20 pounds since the last time I saw her. She wasn't convinced, so we went through the fish oil and plant stanols routine and I kept up with my exercise routine - went back to retest after dropping another 5 pounds and religiously watching saturated fats in my diet and was told my cholesterol had actually increased. Bleh.

Called my dad to find out that pretty much everyone in my family has high cholesterol and is on some kind of medication. I'm still trying to avoid going on medication, but so far, it's not budging no matter what I do.

Danni3ll3

Invest in a good omega 3 fish oil.
Eliminate corn oil and canola oil.
Don't buy processed foods. If it comes in a box, put it back on the shelf. It probably has hydrogenated oils.
Your shopping cart should be full of fresh fruits and veggies.
Buy lean meat, eliminate milk and switch to unsweetened almond milk.
Add nuts (not peanuts) and seeds to your diet. Walnuts are great.
reduce how much grains are in your diet.


I had high cholesterol (my doctor wanted toput me on meds and I didn't want to) and I eliminated grains and sugar from my diet, used olive oil and coconut oil, and did all of the above. One year later my cholesterol levels are back to normal, I have lost 68 pounds and I feel great!

The above looks like a good regiment. This is what my Naturopath recommended for me today.

Diet
- Go back to my high fiber fruit smoothies (21 g of fiber in one)
-Increase my intake of vegetables by having soup or steamed veggies at lunch
-Drink 2 to 3 cups of green tea
-Eat 2 fruits per day

Supplements
-2000 iu of Vitamin D
-800 to 1000mg of Fish Oil EPA
-500mg of Inosital Hexaniacianate 3 x a day
-Add Vitamin C (I am using Medi C Plus which is a supplement with Vitamin C, collagen and Lysine)

I am going to see if this lowers my LDL. My HDL and Triglycerides are in the excellent range.

BroiledNotFried

Niacin can make you red and flushing, and has some side effects if you take too much. Be careful with it. Don't want to damage your liver.

Yes, I also am now taking a multivitiamin. I read about those deficiences in a "Reader's Digest" book on cholesterol.

Danni3ll3

Niacin can make you red and flushing, and has some side effects if you take too much. Be careful with it. Don't want to damage your liver.

This particular niacin is flush free niacin because it has the inusital molecule attached and it non-harmful to the liver according to my naturopath. I hope it works because the internet isn't too optimistic about Inosital Hexaniacianate being effective in lowering LDL cholesterol. I went to her because the research I did showed too many varied opinions on what works to lower LDL so I figured, she has the degree, she should know what she is doing. Better than me stumbling around and trying stuff that may not be effective and potentially be even harmful.

Brengild

I take fish oil and flax oil capsules. I eat chia seed, flax seed(has to be ground) and hemp seed. Lowered mine enought to get off medication!

castlerobber

This is what my Naturopath recommended for me today.

Diet
- Go back to my high fiber fruit smoothies (21 g of fiber in one)
-Increase my intake of vegetables by having soup or steamed veggies at lunch
-Drink 2 to 3 cups of green tea
-Eat 2 fruits per day

Supplements
-2000 iu of Vitamin D
-800 to 1000mg of Fish Oil EPA
-500mg of Inosital Hexaniacianate 3 x a day
-Add Vitamin C (I am using Medi C Plus which is a supplement with Vitamin C, collagen and Lysine)

I am going to see if this lowers my LDL. My HDL and Triglycerides are in the excellent range.

If your HDL and triglycerides are excellent, it might not be worth trying to lower your LDL. Total cholesterol and LDL are very weak predictors of heart disease risk, especially in women. HDL and triglycerides are much better indicators.

Danni3ll3

If your HDL and triglycerides are excellent, it might not be worth trying to lower your LDL. Total cholesterol and LDL are very weak predictors of heart disease risk, especially in women. HDL and triglycerides are much better indicators.

Personally, I am okay with my numbers but the doctor I saw a few days ago freaked me out with saying that if I didn't get my LDL down, I was going to get a serious talk from my regular doctor (who is on maternity leave) about having to go on statins. So I thought I would try to go the natural route rather than go on prescription meds. Anyway, I don't want to high jack the thread. I hope that what my naturopath suggested helps the OP.

beaches222

bump..I need suggestions as well

mockchoc

For those who took fish oil/ chia/flax or hemp seeds can you say how much approximately? I am trying to get mine down too.

Keiko385

For those who took fish oil/ chia/flax or hemp seeds can you say how much approximately? I am trying to get mine down too.

I put 2 tbls of flax seed meal in my oatmeal every morning, I tried the chia seeds but didnt like the after effects

ajostraat

Add Cinnamon and Green Tea to your diet. These lower your LDL's, raises your HDL's, as well as aid in metabolizing your sugars. I lowered by cholesterol from 273 to 203 in a period of 6 months by adding these two items, eating whole grain oatmeal for breakfast, and exercise.