Cholesterol

I've had high cholesterol since I first had it tested when I was 20 (I'm 33 now). My dr recommended 1000 mg of fish oil, twice a day. I'm also changing the way I eat (yogurt, oatmeal and fiber one for breakfast, rather than scrambled eggs and cheese on toast). I'm working out 6 days a week. Don't know if it's helped yet. I go back in march for a recheck. Mine is hereditary as well. At one point, following what I'm doing now, I did get my cholesterol down to 180...but I didn't stick with it. Hope some of this helps you. Best of luck.

I have had mine checked once since being told I had high cholesterol and it was a lot better. I am eating better, excercising 3 times a week about 45 minutes, taking 4,000MG of Fish Oil a day and I also eat a small handful of Almonds-so it is definately helping! I too did not want to be put on medication! Good luck and I hope you can get yours lowered too!

Hello everyone. Is there anyone 'else' on here who has high cholesterol besides me. My Dr. says it hereditary and I believe most of that as my Grandpa and Mother also have it.

I'd like to know if there is some really effective supplement (fish oil, flax seed, etc.) that you've found to lower your cholesterol without medication.

Thanks all,

Elevated Cholesterol levels can be hereditary. You need to also look at your LDL (bad cholesterol), HDL (good cholesterol), the ratio between the 2 and also your Triglcerides. Thru exercise the HDL should go up as you want that higher than the LDL. You can lower cholesterol levels using some dietary modifications (eat meat [beef, pork, chicken,& turkey] once a week, eat fish high in omega-3 at least 3 times weekly [salmon, mackeral, herring, anchovies, lake trout, albacore tuna] & have one meatless meat per week, avoid all diary products to include eggs) but if it is hereditary, diet will not drop it to the levels you may want. You ask about supplements (fish oil, flax seed, etc). THEY ARE MEDICATIONS, but fall into the group of over the counter (OTC) supplements. If you want to take them, check with your physician first to make sure they will not interact with any other medications you are on. Ex: if you are on blood thiners, they may increase the effect & that could put you in jeopardy. Both of those MEDICATIONS are Omega-3s, so they will help to elevate your HDL, and maybe bring your total cholesterol down a bit, but not as much as you may want. My recommendations:
1. Get a nutritionist consult so your current diet can be assessed and then adjustments may have to be made to provide you with food that is lower in cholesterol.
2. Talk with your Physician about using cholesterol lowering MEDICTIONS such as statins.

The very best thing you can do for it is vigorous exercise. Also, the type of fats and carbohydrates in your diet can play a big part.

Below is to a very good article from the Harvard School of Public Health on how diet affects your blood cholesterol levels.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-full-story/index.html#cholesterol

The types of fat in the diet determine to a large extent the amount of total, HDL, and LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream. The types and amount of carbohydrate in the diet also play a role. Cholesterol in food matters, too, but not nearly as much.

I also have high cholesterol even though I'm not overweight, exercise regularly, eat pretty healthy, etc. (I'm adopted and don't know my genetic history.) I went to a nutritionist in early January and she recommended that I start tracking my saturated fat more closely. That's why I started using this application. BUT, she also recommended adding plant sterols to my diet. You get some in vegetables naturally, but not really enough to make a difference. So, she recommended Nature Made CholestOff (supplement) and Corazonas oatmeal bars. I've only been doing this for about a month and don't go back for a re-check until April, so I can't vouch for effectiveness yet. But, I'll keep you posted.

Oh, this reminds of a study that was published last year about what they called "the portfolio diet", which is not a weight loss diet but a diet designed specifically to lower cholesterol by eating 4 foods everyday, one of them being plant sterols. It showed very good results, much better than just lowering saturated fats.

http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/news/20110823/portfolio-diet-beats-low-fat-diet-at-lowering-cholesterol

The portfolio diet includes four types of foods recognized by the FDA for their ability to lower cholesterol:

Soy protein. The portfolio diet calls for substituting soy-based meat products for meat, such as soy burgers, soy hot dogs, and soy cold cuts. Soy milk and soybeans (also known as edamame) are also good sources of soy protein.
Sticky fiber. The diet incorporates fiber from oats, barley, and psyllium.
Plant sterol esters. The diet replaces butter and margarine with plant sterol ester-enriched margarine.
Nuts. A handful a day of tree nuts, such as almonds or walnuts, and peanuts are included in the diet.

I had high cholesterol about 9-12 months ago. I was told by the dr. that I had to start tracking my food, saturated fats in particular. Only 8 per day...which doesn't sound like it'd be hard but it's HARD. So I track my sat. fats(<8/day), cholesterol (<200/day) and calories (~1200/day). I cut out eggs completely (which was hard since that was my go-to breakfast) and cut out peanut butter all together (my true love!). I have cheerios for breakfast with a banana and skim milk every day (if I want something diff. I have honey nut cheerios, haha!). I have one treat day per week. My numbers have gone down ~70 points. I'm still overweight but my chol. is now ok and I feel like I'm getting a handle on this whole thing, and the weight loss will follow naturally. Good luck!!

I love peanut butter...I didnt know it had a negative effect on cholesterol unless you are eating too much of it....

I WAS eating too much peanut butter, or at least according to my nutritionist. Booo!!!! :P

Veganism and Vegetarianism will drastically lower your cholesterol.

That still depends on your diet. If you eat a diet high in processed sugar and other processed carbs you likely won't lower your cholesterol much.