Cholesterol..I need help!

Yup, need some friendly advice here. I have to change my lifestyle or else I am in big trouble!
Anyone care to point me in the right direction? Healthy meals/planning thereof.

Thanks Bob.

[Robin Garr]

Yup, need some friendly advice here. I have to change my lifestyle or else I am in big trouble!
Anyone care to point me in the right direction? Healthy meals/planning thereof.

Thanks Bob.

Work with a good MD. Don't be shy about accepting a prescription for Lipitor or other statins; they are potential life-savers.

And if you're smart, even after the statins bring your numbers down nicely, think about at least gentle improvements in your overall diet and exercise. Let your doc give you the details, but in general, I find that moderation, watch calories and don't overdose on fats. If your weight is coming down, you're doing the right things, and your blood chemistry will thank you.

Oh, and a little red wine can't hurt.

One of the best rules of thumb is that food containing cholesterol will not raise yours as quickly as saturated fat will. Agree with Robin on Lipitor. It has kept me in check for many years.

[Jenise]

Bob, get more exercise, eat more raw food and less fat. Cut out dairy and red meat except on special occasions. Eat a handful of raw walnuts every day. If that gets boring have almonds too, but those two do by far the most good. All by themselves, raw nuts actually help lower your cholesterol. Accept that you have to do these things for the rest of your life. My husband went on a statin last October. Within a week he started on the raw nuts, also taking fish oil for more Omega 3. We made the other changes in our diet mentioned with a view toward increasing antioxidants heavily. Eight weeks later his cholesterol had dropped from 209, which was higher than desirable but not dangerous since his LDL etc were all in line, to 138. So they took him off the statin--your cholesterol can't be too low for most things, but in his case cancer's a bigger risk than heart disease and for his immune system a cholesterol level around 150-160 is best. He's hanging in right about there.

How bad are your numbers?

Jenise put it well. Also, eat less, mostly plants. Eating your veggies is always a good thing. Drink in moderation. Ride your bike. Listen to your doctor..mostly.
-Shaji

[David M. Bueker]

Do all those things mentioned above & don't get frustrated. I just went on a statin a few months ago, and have been increasing veggie/fruit intake dramatically. It hasn't done much of anything...YET. I'm trying to stay focused on doing the right things.

My natural cholesterol level is just under 400. I was just born that way. I have been treated with various meds for over 30 years. My cholesterol today is about 160 and I am in great shape. Lessons learned:

Don't panic. This is treatable.

If your level is really high don't go to an MD, go to the best cardiologist you can find. He or she will be able to figure out if you just have high numbers or if there is something serious going on like plaque forming in your arteries. A cardiologist can also find the right combination of meds, which might include statins, niacin, fish oils, and any number of other things, that will control your cholesterol, blood pressure, or anything else that needs controlling. It took a while but we have found a combination that works well for me.

I exercise a lot (tennis, bike riding) and if you can do it that will probably do more for you than extreme diet changes that you will find hard to live with. I eat most anything but in moderation. I have found more of a connection between my numbers and my weight than I see between my numbers and what I eat. Get to the right weight and stay there, and just be sensible about what you eat. I eat a lot of fish and I love it.

In all seriousness, there is a ton of evidence that moderate wine drinking (one or two glasses a day) is helpful, particularly red wine. Don't give up your wine, just moderate it.

I wasn't tested for cholesterol until my father died from a heart attack (his first). My cholesterol was something like 365, and going on a diet of lettuce and celery did not help at all. It's familial hypercholesterolemia (FHC), and Ken must have that too. Fortunately we must be heterozygotic. If you are homozygotic you have your heart attack when you are 30.

Diet and exercise and weight control are fine and good, and very useful for normal health, but if you have FHC nothing will really touch it except statins or similar drugs. My doctor has tinkered with the dose and right now I'm on double doses, 40 mg every evening, and my cholesterol levels are good. Of course red meat is for special occasions, I eat plenty of fish and vegetables, and I am fighting the weight battle and exercising as well.

When Dad died he was a year or two younger than I am now, and he had had angina for some time. He didn't really trust doctors and of course the help available was way less in 1987 than what we have now. The medications I have available make my quality of life a lot higher than would have been possible back then.

Plenty of good advice here, Bob, from folks who have had high cholesterol as I did. All I can suggest is that whatever you do, realize that you'll be doing it forever so don't start something you don't think you'll like.

Well, this is all great advice and thanks to you all. I am not sure what my number is but can check. I am going to change my diet slowly, first thing is to eat earlier in the evening! I am on medication and planning to talk to a nutritionist.

Well, this is all great advice and thanks to you all. I am not sure what my number is but can check. I am going to change my diet slowly, first thing is to eat earlier in the evening! I am on medication and planning to talk to a nutritionist.

Oddly, or maybe not, one thing that can keep you from eating after dinner, especially sweets, is to brush your teeth within 30 minutes of finishing dinner. This will go hand in glove with your decision to eat earlier. (As an aside, I did not intend my first post in this thread to suggest that all who posted had high cholesterol, just experience with it to some extent.) Good luck, Bob!

I will have to work on low fat salad dressings for sure, time to glance over the shelves I guess?

When mine finally went up I started on Lipitor. It brought mine down. I also try to limit my consumption of eggs and "bad' fats. I try to drop the butter consumption. I do eat some beef but try to more venison. I also eat more fish. For cooking I use olive and canola oils. I have always eaten lots of veggies. Mine has been under control for a number of years. Of course I do have a glass of red wine or two on an almost daily basis.

I really like eggs but I have learned the Egg Beaters can taste really good especially combined with other stuff.

I have a tortilla with a bit of pepper jack melted on it, a scrambled fake egg on top, and some salsa.

I rarely do that when I allow myself a "real" egg because I want to taste it, but the "Mexi Breakfast" is very satisfying anyway.

I breakdown myself every so often. I have a 1egg cheddar omelet and carbonara of course. Otherwise I don't use many eggs in cooking.

[Jenise]

I will have to work on low fat salad dressings for sure, time to glance over the shelves I guess?

Bob, dear, learn to make your own! The commercial dressings are full of all kinds of things you don't need. It takes less than a minute to put a tablespoon of olive oil, a half tsp of dijon mustard and wine vinegar to taste in the bottom of a salad bowl. That's actually all you need, it's so good and so basic. And then on occasion add fresh garlic or use lemon or lime juice in place of the vinegar, and other times season with black pepper, dried herbs, soy sauce or worcestershire sauce. Put lettuce on top, toss, eat. No preservatives, less salt, more control.

Naturally, you are right Jenise. Tell me, is balsamic dressing, as opposed to straight balsamic vinegar, OK?

There is a growing body of evidence that indicates egg consumption does not increase cholesterol formation in healthy humans, and that free-range eggs (higher in Omega-3 fatty acids) actually may help lower cholesterol levels. That's a big reason why I wanted my own flock of laying hens. While egg yolks do contain cholesterol, it doesn't translate into blood cholesterol, and egg fats being unsaturated fats, it isn't bad like saturated fats. I think one would have to eat some 5 jumbo eggs a day to have any material negative impact.

We will see - I'm due for a physical exam soon, and my doc has been threatening for a while about meds if I can't control my cholesterol through diet.

[Robin Garr]

There is a growing body of evidence that indicates egg consumption does not increase cholesterol formation in healthy humans, and that free-range eggs (higher in Omega-3 fatty acids) actually may help lower cholesterol levels. That's a big reason why I wanted my own flock of laying hens. While egg yolks do contain cholesterol, it doesn't translate into blood cholesterol, and egg fats being unsaturated fats, it isn't bad like saturated fats. I think one would have to eat some 5 jumbo eggs a day to have any material negative impact.

We will see - I'm due for a physical exam soon, and my doc has been threatening for a while about meds if I can't control my cholesterol through diet.

I can testify, and I'm a strong believer in moderation rather than denial. Quality local produce and eating and exercise in genteel moderation should be able to help most people who don't have genetic high-cholesterol issues keep their numbers within limits.

There is a growing body of evidence that indicates egg consumption does not increase cholesterol formation in healthy humans, and that free-range eggs (higher in Omega-3 fatty acids) actually may help lower cholesterol levels. That's a big reason why I wanted my own flock of laying hens. While egg yolks do contain cholesterol, it doesn't translate into blood cholesterol, and egg fats being unsaturated fats, it isn't bad like saturated fats. I think one would have to eat some 5 jumbo eggs a day to have any material negative impact.

We will see - I'm due for a physical exam soon, and my doc has been threatening for a while about meds if I can't control my cholesterol through diet.

RR, the situation is a fairly complex one. There is a subset of people who metabolize dietary cholesterol differently than the rest of us and consequently need to restrict their cholesterol intake. For the rest of us, saturated fats have far more impact on blood cholesterol levels than dietary cholesterol does. This is why personalized medicine makes so much sense: without knowing your own genetic makeup it's hard to make an informed recommendation. I'll also note in passing that cholesterol is needed for proper functioning of our bodies as it keeps our cellular membranes fluid. We can make our own, though, so no one needs to eat cholesterol.

Mark Lipton

[Jenise]

Naturally, you are right Jenise. Tell me, is balsamic dressing, as opposed to straight balsamic vinegar, OK?

Balsamic used in place of a wine vinegar in the prep I described is very good, if that's your preference. But personally, I find that balsamic vinegar dressings only work on the stronger, dark green lettuces like arugula and romaine, or drizzled over sliced tomatoes. It's overpowering on iceberg, bibb and baby lettuces.

I'm not a fan of drugs. Try increasing your antioxidant intake by eating more greens, colored vegetables and cruciferous vegetables and berries.

Also, try Sytrinol. It's a potent antioxidant derived from citrus and palm fruit extracts.

Another supplement to consider is Beta-Sitosterol which is a phytosterol or plant alcohol derived from vegetable sources. It's also good for your prostate.

You can find either supplement in any healthfood store or online retailer such as iherb.com, allstarhealth.com or vitacost.com.

Jenise, I am/have been using romaine, so thanks.

Marc, some excellent suggestions. Cheers for helping me in my new diet quest.

I do love my cheese so any suggestions on which ones I am clear to sample?

I did find this just now....>

https://springbankcheese.ca/catalog/adv ... 8efc4ba236