High Cholesterol

shannond113
shannond113 Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My Dr just told me I have high cholesterol and wanted to put me on meds right away...I convinced him to let me try with food and supplements....Now I just need some good recipes or food on the go to help get the cholesterol down. Any advice would be appreciated!!!

Replies

  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,321 Member
    Don't forget lots of exercise. It will help raise your HDL. As for food, no suggestions, but from what little reading I have done, you want to reduce inflammation since cholesterol is one of your body's ways to deal with the damage from inflammation in your arteries.
  • StinkyWinkies
    StinkyWinkies Posts: 603 Member
    Oatmeal and exercise...I lowered my cholesterol from 318 to 185 eating a bowl (1.5 servings) of oatmeal everyday and riding my bike between 3-6 miles everyday in 3 months.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    Do you need to lose weight? If so, that alone plus exercise would probably help drop your cholesterol. I say "probably" because I'm perfectly young and healthy, but still have high LDL cholesterol.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    More recent studies have shown that the cholesterol in foods has little to no impact on your blood cholesterol numbers.

    What are your different numbers? It's not so much about just having high cholesterol any more. What is your HDL, LDL, and Tri numbers? What is your ratio?

    The biggest thing to do? Be a healthy weight and exercise.
  • Meatsies
    Meatsies Posts: 351 Member
    I had ridiculously high cholesterol. Don't remember the exact numbers, but my bad cholesterol was around low 300s. In 4 months, I had knocked it down to about 140...my doctor freaked. And I did that only using diet/exercise...no medication. I don't know much about the magic of how cholesterol works, BUT I did start taking fish oil pills, and eating oatmeal at least 2x per week. Good luck to you...it CAN be done!
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    High fiber foods will help.

    Explained:

    Bile, created in the pancreas, emulsifies fats. When the job is done, the bile is stored in the gall bladder for use later on. Fibrous foods tend to carry away a good portion of the bile. This causes the body to create more bile. A key ingredient in bile is cholesterol. And wouldn't you know it, there's cholesterol in the blood! So, the pancreas takes cholesterol from the blood and creates more bile.

    A good idea would be to eat a fiber with some fats. The fats will help ensure the body excretes the bile into the duodenum where the emulsification occurs.

    Example food:

    Broccoli (fiber) + dressing (fats)

    Spinach (fiber) + dressing (fats)

    Whole wheat bread (fiber) + butter (fats)
  • sparkie51
    sparkie51 Posts: 98 Member
    Mine was elevated and I lost weight,I exercise and take fish oil and non-flush niacin daily.It went down dramatically with no meds. But how high is yours for the immediate time while you do these things?
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
    More recent studies have shown that the cholesterol in foods has little to no impact on your blood cholesterol numbers.

    What are your different numbers? It's not so much about just having high cholesterol any more. What is your HDL, LDL, and Tri numbers? What is your ratio?

    The biggest thing to do? Be a healthy weight and exercise.

    This exactly. I went 10 years with high LDL and out of balance numbers. After several months of eating at a calorie deficit and exercising every day my stuff was awesome.
  • lewcompton
    lewcompton Posts: 881 Member
    Apparently you are happy with the weight and just focused on the cholesterol... Do you need to raise the good and lower the bad? Or just lower... If the Dr. hasn't told you then find a new Dr... One focused on you and not numbers on a lab report.
    For lower focus on whole grain oats and whole grains in general... Eat healthier foods in general... more bare naked food and less processed stuff... Increase the fiber content and exercise more... How are other vitals such as triglycerides, bp, pulse rate, and sodium?
  • karenwill2
    karenwill2 Posts: 604 Member
    or, you can eliminate dairy and limit meat for the most part. Let everyone attack me! Go ahead. But it is just science. Geez. You can have meat on occasion but not 3 times a day. My husband had severely elevated numbers and for 24 days he eliminated dairy (he drinks almond milk with his cereal), and ate only 4 oz of meat a day. His severely elevated numbers are normal and only 24 days passed, He now eats meat only once per day and is still not missing dairy. He lost 40 lbs over the last 2 months and he is feeling better than ever. He had BBQ ribs last night and is looking forward to going back to the doc in December.

    Veggies are good for you. Save your heart and eat your colors. Eat unsalted nuts instead. It really isn't that hard.
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
    I still eat lots of meat and eggs and sh1tloads of dairy. My numbers are awesome.


    It's science, yo.
  • survivor1952
    survivor1952 Posts: 250 Member
    ask your dr. about Red Yeast Rice (capsules available at drug store) and Cholestoff (also at drug store)
    Both of these are natural & worked for me for years. Unfortunately due to a thyroid condition, I started having difficulty swallowing & had to end up switching to Crestor (which is working great). Unfortunately, a lot of high cholestrol problems are genetic. Diet & exercise helps but the problem lies in your genetic make up.
  • shannond113
    shannond113 Posts: 7 Member
    My # is 240 which is in the very high category. I asked for a copy of my blood panel so I can see where everything is at. I have been exercising, but was a little bad about eating out ~ 2x/week. I already know to increase the fiber and decrease meat/cheese, but that is my usual work lunch! (turkey and cheese sandwich, greek yogurt, piece of fruit)

    He did bring up the red yeast rice and omega-3 fatty acids. I also saw online about CoQ10.

    Keep the advice coming!

    Thanks :)
  • SunnyAndrsn
    SunnyAndrsn Posts: 369 Member
    ask your dr. about Red Yeast Rice (capsules available at drug store) and Cholestoff (also at drug store)
    Both of these are natural & worked for me for years. Unfortunately due to a thyroid condition, I started having difficulty swallowing & had to end up switching to Crestor (which is working great). Unfortunately, a lot of high cholestrol problems are genetic. Diet & exercise helps but the problem lies in your genetic make up.

    My MIL has very high cholesterol d/t genetic factors. All of her siblings do as well. She tried for years to reduce with diet and exercise, and as a result is a tiny little thing, eats very healthy (no red meat, no butter, high fiber, high omega foods, etc, etc) All the diet things you are "supposed" to do, she did. She had minimal results with this and has off and on cholesterol meds for years, which helped a bit more, but she's never been under 200. She's been using red yeast rice for about a year now and has had great results. Her MD is very happy with her numbers, which hover around 200 now.

    Everyone is different with this, and you'll have to find what works for you. Others may have limited success with red yeast rice, and better success with diet and exercise.
  • shannond113
    shannond113 Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks for all the advice!! I was at the Dr office a few weeks ago and I got the call that my cholesterol is down by 30 points!! he is giving me 6 months now to continue, but also wanted me to add Vit D as I am slightly deficient.

    Thanks again!
  • stunningalmond
    stunningalmond Posts: 275 Member
    I have high cholesterol as well. I was diagnosed with it as a child, so when I turned 18 I had to go on medication.

    I highly recommend taking a krill oil supplement. It's really effective at reducing your triglyceride level. Good luck! I hope you're able to manage your levels.
  • kbanzhaf
    kbanzhaf Posts: 601 Member
    Hi,
    I was on cholesterol medicine (Lipitor) for several years before I lost weight. I finally just quit it cold turkey, as it was making my leg muscles ache so much. My doctor didn't think the Lipitor was the cause, but once I quit taking it, I felt better within a week. It was then, when combined with elevated blood sugar, that my doctor sent me to a dietician, and I finally made the move and lost weight.
    For a couple of years, my cholesterol was absolutely fine. Now, it is a little elevated, but I ABSOLUTELY refuse to be put on medication. I continue to eat oatmeal almost daily, do a lot of walking, and am keeping my weight down. It isn't worth it to me to feel like I did. That being said, my doctor suggested taking 4 fish oil pills a day to help keep it in check. He isn't too concerned with where it is.......and he knows I won't take cholesterol medication at any point in the future. Yes, I am a stubborn ol' bird. :laugh:
    Kaye
  • Athena53
    Athena53 Posts: 717 Member
    Hi,
    I was on cholesterol medicine (Lipitor) for several years before I lost weight. I finally just quit it cold turkey, as it was making my leg muscles ache so much. My doctor didn't think the Lipitor was the cause, but once I quit taking it, I felt better within a week.

    Yeah, I had the same thing with Prevastatin. I threw it out and the tendonitis attacks stopped.

    My cholesterol is still around 235; good cholesterol is high but bad cholesterol is, too. My diet is heavy on fiber including oatmeal (which I make from oat bran flakes), wheat bran, All-Bran cereal and just about every green vegetable I can find in the grocery store. I'm happy with my weight and exercise for an hour every day. The heck with the cholesterol numbers. My Dad has been on statins for decades and is normal weight and as active as an 83-year old can be, eats healthy, and just needed 3 cardiac stents. One article I read pointed out that statins are among the 3 most-prescribed drugs in the US, but heart disease hasn't decreased over the years that large numbers of people have been taking them. Makes you wonder.
  • ModoVincere
    ModoVincere Posts: 530 Member
    Increase your fiber intake...both soluble and insoluble fiber will help you reduce cholesterol, although they work in different ways.
    Reduce your saturated fat and trans fat intake. Both of these fats will increase your ldl. Instead, try to consume mono-unsaturated fats such as olive oil. Also, increase your intake of long chain omega 3 fatty acids, especially EPA and DHA. These will help to reduce your triglycerides. 1/5 of your triglycerides are counted in your Cholesterol number.

    Increasing cardio vascular exercise will also help reduce your LDL cholesterol while increasing your HDL (the good cholesterol).

    If you insist on taking a supplement, red rice yeast extract can help reduce your cholesterol numers.

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