high cholesterol

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/08/10/making-sense-of-your-cholesterol-numbers.aspx

Different doctors have different views over what the numbers mean or do not mean. Best of luck in getting it all figured out and getting healthy again.

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Same thing happened to me! Hubby can eat whatever he wants *grrrr*
Eat whole grains as much as possible. Switch to extra virgin olive oil if you haven't already. Say no to processed or sugary foods. Drink lots of water.
The hardest thing for me has been getting rid of butter. Everything is better with butter
I wish you the best luck!

exercise helps to raises HDl and lowers LDL

As far as fixing meals for you and hubby with different needs, make the foods you can or want to eat and serve yourself a portion. You may need to add something just for hubby but he doesn't have to be limited to the same size portion as what you are eating. If what is being fixed is not enough, add a salad or clear soup to your meal.

Yes, there is a lot of debate over the effectiveness of statins. At the risk of an epidemiology lesson haha, there is something we use called NNT or "number needed to treat" - it's a statistic based on how many people we use a treatment on for one person to see results. For example, for every 7 people who get chemotherapy, 1 person will beat cancer. Or a more common measure - for every 10 people who attend a "quit smoking" seminar, 1 will actually quit smoking for life. (Just making up numbers as examples, mind you)

The "ideal" NNT is 1, meaning everyone who does the treatment improves. Obviously this is rare for almost everything haha but it is the ideal. An NNT of 1 basically means the treatment is perfect.

Drugs with very high NNTs are considered ineffective, especially if they result in bad side effects along with not helping a lot of people. On the other hand, if the "end result" of the disease is death, drugs with high NNTs are still frequently prescribed because of the benefits over the risks.

So how do statins stack up? Not very well. The last article I read estimated an NNT of 98-100...meaning about 100 people need to be on statins to prevent 1 emergency event (heart attack/stroke/etc). This leads people to believe statins aren't worth if it you're the type to experience side effects.

My opinion is to decide why you have high cholesterol. My dad's family has a genetic issue with cholesterol called familial hypercholesterolemia, a fancy way of saying they all have high cholesterol levels regardless of diet or exercise routines. My aunts, who are some of the most in shape 70 year olds I know, need to take statins because of it. It doesn't matter what lifestyle changes they make, they're going to have high cholesterol. So for them, taking statins seems to make more sense because they aren't left with other options.

But what if you have high cholesterol because of diet/lifestyle issues? I would work on changing lifestyle in hopes of reducing or cutting statins altogether. Obviously you should never change your medications without talking to your doctor, don't take this as medical advice, just that you may be able to get off the meds provided you make the right changes.

The good news is the 80s are long gone and we know now that "high cholesterol foods" do not raise your cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol does not affect blood cholesterol levels. So don't shy away from eggs! And don't fall into marketing ploys advertising cholesterol free products because they aren't worth it - and in my opinion, taste gross haha.

I suggest reading this article from Harvard for an idea on diet myths and misunderstanding: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fats-full-story/ don't shy away from certain food groups because you read about it in a magazine.

I'm not sure your current weight, but getting to the proper weight will help. Losing just 5% of your body weight can make a difference in LDL levels. Regular cardio exercise will help. I like to compare heart disease to dental health - you can't remove the tartar on your teeth without your doctor scraping it away, but you can prevent tartar from forming by regular brushing, right? Think of good diet and exercise as the teeth brushing of heart disease. Whatever plaque has built up in your heart is there, unfortunately, and science hasn't found a good way to get rid of it beyond manual removal which is of course a dangerous surgery. But you're only 32, so I doubt your heart is in bad shape. You have PLENTY of time to make changes and improve your health.

I'd give you the same diet advice I would anyone, not just someone with bad cholesterol: Fill your plate up with veggies, eat a variety of foods, opt for good oils and fats, meat is fine but not the only source of protein haha! Experiment with vegetarian dishes a few nights a week for variety. If you don't eat much fish, try having a bit more. Go easy on nuts and seeds (heavy calories) but enjoy them for snacks. Make "common sense" choices with your diet and you'll be fine. Your biggest goals are going to be getting 150 minutes/week minimum of cardio exercise and getting to a proper weight. 150 min/week is not that hard, set aside 20-30 minutes per day of light exercise, or do long sessions a few times a week. It can be as easy (go for a walk!) or as hard as you like. If you are doing very intense cardio sessions the recommendation drops to 75 minutes/week.

Undergrad I did animal science with an emphasis on cattle nutrition, graduate school for epidemiology and biostatistics (public health)...yeah, a bit of a jump between the two haha