Help - Cholesterol Levels

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.

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

bump..I need suggestions as well

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

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 was told to take 1000mg of EPA so you will have to read the bottles and figure it out. I have a fish oil right now that provides 500mg per capsule so I take two. High EPA oils can be a bit tricky to find. By the way, my naturopath told me to increase my vitamin C to stop the bruising that I was getting from taking high doses of the fish oils.

As to the Chia seeds, I put about 4 tablespoons of the gel in my smoothies (1/3 cup of seeds to 2 cups of water). The soluble fiber in the seeds as well as the omega 3s are what works for cholesterol.

I hope this helps.

Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot you can do to raise your good cholesterol very much. Just eat a balanced diet with a modest deficit to lose weight and exercise consistently over a good length of time. That's the best thing you can do.

Unfortunately, cholesterol levels can be closely tied to genetics. You can increase your good cholesterol levels by eating things like nuts, olive oil, avocados. Cholesterol is found in animal fats so reducing your consumption of these is essential to preventing cholesterol levels from getting any worse. Its best to try and control this with diet but medications are available if this doesn't work.

I tried green smoothies I used spinish fresh, bananas and apples vanilla extract and stevia you can also add strawberries and old fashioned oatmeal which is optional. I found youtube to be helpful in the recipes just type in your search on youtube recipes for green smoothies, I hope this helps.
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