I have high cholesterol :(

[SHRED]

Cholesterol 244
Triglycerides 206
HDL 54
LDL 149
VLDL 41


It's got to be genetics. I am almost 61 yrs old, 6'3" and 195 lbs.
I eat organic fruits and veggies, whole grains, limit my intake of animal products, and take long walks on a regular basis. I am physically active in other ways also.


Changes I am making...

Per day:

Carlson Fish Oil which includes:
6,400 mg - Omega 3
3,200 mg - EPA
2,000 mg - DHA

200 mg CoQ-10

Niacin

Garlic

Organic Rolled Oatmeal with ground flaxseed and blueberries for breakfast.

Increase cardio workout.
Even though I don't eat a lot I still will cut way back on dairy and meat in general (except fish).
Avoid fried foods.

Carry 3 unbuffered aspirin with me for emergency.

Any other suggestions are appreciated.

[MLAA]

1. I too believe I have non-diet related high cholesterol

I am a pretty healthy eating vegan. Going vegan 4 years ago after being vegetarian for 7 years dropped my cholesterol by about 30 points but that wasn't enough. Now I take 4 Red Yeast Rice tablets (600 mg per) daily and that keeps me in the right range. I have no idea if these supplements bought at Costco instead of a prescription drug are better for me. I just didn't want to deal with taking a prescription drug when over the counter works so well.

[SHRED]

4. I have been reading about RYR

It looks like caution is needed when taking it.

[Warpy]

17. It should be regarded as any other statin drug

and it carries some of the same side effects, the worst one being rhabdomyolysis.

This is quite rare, so if your doctor suggests a statin, be open to a trial.

[still_one]

2. Why don't you consult your physician. I would be careful with the Niacin, and definitely want to

see what my doctor thinks

[SHRED]

3. I am

Oct 11th.

[still_one]

9. +++++++++++++++

[SHRED]

5. Niacin (B3) is water soluble

My understanding is that it's not a problem.

What my friend (who now lives on a Tongan Island) texted me about niacin and high cholesterol in general:

First understand the consequences of High cholesterol . It can cause heart attack or stroke- basically it is a small piece of cholesterol (fat) that gets stuck in your heart or brain. Always carry aspirin with you and know the symptoms of both. Heart pain and left shoulder pain (if your heart is pointed in normal direction) for heart attack. And headache, dizziness, and talking nonsense as symptom of stroke. Immediately put 3 aspirin pills under your tongue. It takes 5 minutes to dissolve the blood clot. If you swallow 3 aspirin pills it can take 30 minutes to get to your blood clot. Not the buffered aspirin. Then go to hospital. If you wait to go to hospital without taking aspirin you should call your best friends and say goodbye on the way as it could “die de die” time. I’m sure you understand that the medical and drug businesses make a lot of money by keeping you sick. You can take half an aspirin per day one children’s aspirin) with food if you don’t have ulcers. And or a bit of red wine every day, they both clean up your blood. Europeans with a high fat diet who drink RED wine have a very low rate of heart attacks or cancer. It is the resveratrol in the skin of red grapes that is the medicin.
If the doctor gives you medicine to lower cholesterol read everything you can on the negative side effect. Avoid all food that raises bad cholesterol and eat food that lower bad cholesterol. Eat fish oil. Cod liver oil and Omega Fatty Acid pills ((a friend once gave me canned cod livers- it sure tasted good). Don’t eat drippings (Tongans eat it by the spoonful), food with a lot of fat, cream, cheese.
Have your cholesterol checked regularly.
“Niacin—known as B3—that in very large doses can improve cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart attacks. In fact, when niacin’s beneficial effect was discovered in 1955, it became the first treatment for high cholesterol.” You can get the “no-flush” niacin. High dose of regular niacin will feel uncomfortable.
Google any aspect of the subject and find great info.

[No Vested Interest]

12. RE stroke: be aware that there are two types of stroke: the blockage kind and the hemorrhagic

type. Blockage strokes are more common, but hemorrhagic (blood leaking from vessel or artery in the brain) is harder to deal with as it is happening, and you would not want to be taking aspirin (a blood thinner) when experiencing a hemorrhagic stroke.

[SHRED]

15. Thank you

[demigoddess]

6. Relax

[SHRED]

7. Well I am retired

So that helps.

[Cicada]

8. Repatha sharply reduces cholesterol

We have clinical trials showing it lowers cholesterol a ton.

Do we have proof about fish oil etc?

Repatha is so expensive some think it's benefits are not enough to justify it.

[Cicada]

29. Results on whether repatha actually saves lives expected next year

Repatha absolutely crushes the cholesterol numbers on the tests. But it’s really expensive. And we don’t yet have clear proof that lowering cholesterol on the tests actually saves lives. But the results are in the pipeline, next year probably.

[dhill926]

10. blueberries....

plus they taste great....

[OregonBlue]

11. Black tea. It's easy and it is really good for reducing cholesterol.

https://universityhealthnews.com/daily/heart-health/3-reasons-to-drink-more-tea-black-tea-benefits-triglycerides-cholesterol-and-blood-pressure/

[Warpy]

13. The main thing you'll need to avoid is trans fats

They're shelf stable fats that are in most processed foods. "Hydrogenated" is a giveaway word. Originally touted as healthier than animal fats like lard or butter, they've been found to be much worse than dietary cholesterol. Clear fats like olive and safflower oils are the best but they're not great on toast. Best idea is to use butter sparingly.

[SHRED]

16. Thanks

[oppressedproletarian]

14. When I was vegan and ate a lot of steel-cut oats

and other whole grains and whole foods, my cholesterol was under 150. Cholesterol had started out at about the same as OP's current total cholesterol. No processed foods whatsoever. YMMV.

[dixiegrrrrl]

18. Mr. dixie had high cholesterol

oatmeal for breakfast 3 x week brought it to a good level
so I did same 4 months before my lab work and same thing.

We do not eat processed foods very much, we buy the ingredients.
Keeping it simple works just fine for the lab levels to fall into place.

yay for you on the CoQ10....remember it needs to be taken with some fat in a meal.

[SHRED]

19. Here's a big hug for y'all

For all your helpfulness.

[SHRED]

20. I have settled on this regime as a starting point

I also found out that if high cholesterol can't be attributed to diet and lifestyle then it most likely genetic and that points to the liver.

Here's my "baby steps" start.


Per day:

2 tsps Carlson Fish Oil:
3,200 mg - Omega 3
1,600 mg - EPA
1,000 mg – DHA
https://www.carlsonlabs.com/very-finest-fish-oil-orange.html

Jarrow Formulas - Ubiquinol QH Absorb (CoQ10)
100 mg
http://www.jarrow.com/product/448/QH-absorb

MRM Liver X
1 capsule
https://mrm-usa.com/shop/antioxidants/liver-x-with-nac-ala-biosorb-more-advanced-liver-support/

Bernard Jensen's Chlorophyll
1 tablet

Optimox - Iodoral (for my thyroid issues)
12.5 mg Iodine/Iodide
http://www.optimox.com/iodoral

Douglas Laboratories® - Vitamin D (I am low)
5,000 IU
http://www.douglaslabs.com/vitamin-d-5-000-i-u.html


Organic Rolled Oatmeal with ground flaxseed, almonds, cinnamon, raisins, and blueberries for breakfast.

Increase cardio workout.
Even though I don't eat a lot I still will cut way back on dairy, cheese, and meat in general (except fish).
Avoid fried foods. Plenty of fresh juice especially beet juice.

7 ounces of Pinot Noir in the evening.

[canetoad]

21. Bag of oat bran

Add it to everything you can ie; meatloaf/burgers. Also a bit in your oatmeal.

[womanofthehills]

22. time released Niacin brought my cholesterol down big time

I hate the niacin flush and the timed release pretty much eliminates most of the flush. I take it before bed so if I get a flush, I don't know it.

[SHRED]

23. Thanks

[triron]

24. How about using the ubiquinol form of coq10?

How about high gamma E as well? Olive oil also.

[SHRED]

25. Thanks

I take these...

http://www.jarrow.com/product/448/QH-absorb

[California_Republic]

26. Dr Esselstyn can help

http://www.dresselstyn.com/site/

[MLAA]

28. He is the expert. I recommend his book Reversing and Preventing Heart disease to

Everyone I know who has heart issues or any family history of heart disease. I also like to check out Nutritionfacts.org (they send out a daily very short mini video on important health topics daily) and pcrm.org (Physicians committee for responsible medicine)

[California_Republic]

30. The book is an excellent

The book is an excellent source of information.

For the poster read this book. You still have a lot of oil in your diet. It’s in all your food

[Binkie The Clown]

31. Absolutely second the motion on this book.

If you seriously want to do something about it, this book is the place to start. He has cured all his patients of their high cholesterol.

[sandensea]

27. Consider including Apple Cider Vinegar in your diet, Shred.

Please consult your physician, of course, for any possible interactions.

Happy Thanksgiving, and All the Best!

[MarvinGardens]

32. My brother lowered his TC and LDL-C

by following the diet in the book "Eat To Live" by Joel Fuhrman. Blood pressure too. I followed the diet for about 4years and was able to lower my blood pressure and blood sugar (cholesterol not a problem).

[MFM008]

33. I know how difficult

It is.
I had to lose 100 pounds +
To get my cholesterol back to normal and reverse
Pre- diabetes .
Good luck to you.

[sweetroxie]

34. Your triglycerides are scarier than your cholesterol

Cut way down on sugar.

[Gore1FL]

35. Are you on a statin?

I take 40mg of Crestor.

[Grasswire2]

36. the forward thinking about cholesterol is a whole different thing

Metabolic and integrative cardiologists (the future of heart health) teach us that cholesterol is not the bugaboo that causes coronary artery disease.

The cause is inflammation.

And so the focus on prevention and treatment is very different. Statins recommended only for a very limited population of patients, for one thing.

Read the groundbreaking book written by top cardiologist in this field Dr. Stephen Sinatra: "The Great Cholesterol Myth".

Here's a link to a video presentation of his work:

His most basic recommendation for heart health is what he calls the "awesome foursome" of supplements that he (and now others) say they could not practice cardiology without: CoQ10, Magnesium, D-Ribose (delivers energy to heart muscle) and Acetyl L Carnitine.

[wishstar]

37. Sugars and sweets including fruit juices raise triglycerides

Fresh fruits are okay though, especially apples but candy, desserts and added sugars raise cholesterol levels

[ProgressiveKnight]

38. Watch Out For EMBEDDED Fats turning to Cholesterol

If you go to a health food store and get one of those nice so called healthy bran muffins or carrot cake BEWARE. The reason why they are nice and FLUFFY is they are loaded with oils and fats. Very few foods actually have cholesterol in them.

Fats and Oils TURN INTO Cholesterol by the liver. Thus foods can LEGIT say ZERO CHOLESTEROL but your body will take those fats and convert them. Thus muffins that are soft and fluffy. LOADED with fats. Best the old Penn Dutch muffins that are hard. High fiber low fat.

You have a high Triglycerides. that is associated with low fiber carbs. CAREFUL FOR OILS and CARBS. Tahinni sauce. Presto, "health" muffins, some trail mixes, cheese, fried foods. ZERO cholesterol means nothing it is the FAT content that your liver converts to cholesterol.

Your high triglycerides make me suspect some baked processed carbs, tahinni or Presto with fats in them. Prepared tomato sauce is fine just watch out for how much FAT is ADDED to it.

Remember most cholesterol is NOT from eating it. It is from your liver turning FATS and OILS into cholesterol. Watch out for VIRGIN OLIVE oil unless from CALIFORNIA which has strict standards on what is called "virgin" olive oil.

Generally for a man you should eat no more than 60 grams of fat per day with less than 30 of those from saturated fats.Try to eat less before bed as that is when your liver changes fat to cholesterol. Woman is 50 grams total fat and half from saturated.

Finally if a product package says X amount of fat make sure you read Y amount of servings per package.

I HOPE THIS HELPS.

[womanofthehills]

39. Time release niacin dropped my cholesterol big time

Personality, I prefer to have my cholesterol a little high. As you get older those with a higher cholesterol have less dementia and there is a correlation between low cholesterol and cancer. I eat organically too - I changed nothing In my diet - just added the time release niacin before I go to bed - dropped 80 points. I take it before bed so I get the niacin rush while I am sleeping.