How do I lower my cholesterol?

Aard

Had a test done recently, and my cholesterol is a little high - just over 5 iirc. I had thought that I ate a relatively low-saturated-fat diet, but it seems I was wrong. I don't eat red meat that often, I regularly eat fish, and I drink low-fat milk. My only vice is cheese, but having said that I don't eat it that often - 100g a week at most.

I'm tempted to try those cholesterol-reducing supplements - Benecol and the likes. Do these actually work? Or can I add certain foods to my diet that would be just as beneficial?

It's imperative that I reduce my cholesterol by Christmas, otherwise my psychiatrist will change the medication I'm on - something I really don't want to do. (For the record, I'm on Zyprexa/Olanzapine, which is notorious for weight-gain.)

Stella89

Eat healthy and excercise is the answer . Fish is great , More vegetables and fruit and porridge ( the food of champions ) , nuts which are high in omega 3 . Sprinkle flaxseeds ,sunflower seeds, almonds etc on porridge .



Grill or steam food rather than frying , stay away from sugar ,white bread etc and limit high cholesteral foods like butter and red meat .

corkcomp

same advice as previous post - also be careful of cheese!

EileenG

Cut down on the refined carbs. It seems logical that eating foods high in cholesterol like eggs will increase your cholesterol but in fact, most of the cholesterol in your body is made by your liver, and eating a very low fat diet causes your liver to make more cholesterol.

Refined carbs is far more closely associated with triglycerides and a bad HDL to LDL ratio than the fat in your diet.

What was the breakdown of HDL to LDL? That is much more important than the total number.

Aard

Thanks for the info EileenG about eating high-cholesterol foods. I don't know the ratio of HDL to LDL - I'll have to ask next time I see the doctor. What would be a normal ratio?

corkcomp

refined carbs + lack of exercise can defo increase trygliceride levels .. however, saturated fat does raise cholesterol for a lot of people so to advise ignoring this would be irresponsible IMO ... OP, what did the doctor advise you to do in order to lower levels?

El_Dangeroso

Saturated fat only raises HDL, the 'good' cholesterol and increases the proportion of big fluffy LDL or the good kind of LDL. Sugar raises sdLDL, the small dense LDL and vegetable oil increases the proportion of oxLDL or oxidised LDL, both of which have the most association with heart attacks.

Ask your doctor what your triglyceride levels are. If your trigs are low and your HDL is high, it means that the LDL you do have is the big fluffy protective kind.

Some strategies to increase your HDL and reduce trigs include:

Eliminate wheat and cornstarch and sugar
Lose weight
Add or increase omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil
Niacin supplementation
Increase exercise and physical activity.
Vitamin D supplementation.

EileenG

Aard wrote: »

Thanks for the info EileenG about eating high-cholesterol foods. I don't know the ratio of HDL to LDL - I'll have to ask next time I see the doctor. What would be a normal ratio?

Normal ratio is 0.3 and the ideal is 0.4 or higher. So if your LDL should not be more than three times your HDL and should be lower than that. The last time my cholesterol was checked, the docs first said it was a little high. Then they looked again and blinked: my HDL was the same level as my LDL, which is rare, and makes my risk of heart disease vanishingly small.

corkcomp

im not so sure that saturated fat doesnt raise LDL, my HDL is off the scale but ive been told as long as its above LDL that it is a good thing! however i eat very little saturated fat and any fat i do eat comes from nuts, seeds, fish and some fish oil caps so there are plenty other ways to raise HDL ..

IMO, LDL can be kep low by controlling unnecessary sat fat intake and having a diet high in soluble fibre - i.e. plenty porridge and oat based products ...

El_Dangeroso

Saturated fat does indeed raise the proportion of fluffy protective LDL. You don't *need* to eat a lot of sat fat to have high HDL, but it won't do you any harm to eat it if you like it and it'll raise your good cholesterol to boot.

But to avoid saturated fat with the intention of reducing your risk of a heart attack is pointless, at least that's what every study on the subject has shown.

ApeXaviour

Indeed, agree with the others. Cutting out sugar and cut down on starchy things, stop your liver pumping out those triglycerides.

iora_rua

I think most of what has been already suggested will help. My total cholesterol level has been as high as 8.0, but is now at 5.0 for the past year and I'm working to get it lower!

I don't know if I'm allowed to mention brand names, but I'm sure someone will delete them if necessary - but instead of butter, you could try benecol olive flavour (expensive, but I find it's the best tasting of all those yucky non dairy spreads). As a change from porridge in the summer, I've been eating oatibix as they're lower in sugar than some of those other rubbish processed breakfast cereals - try them with hazlenut and almond milk made by dream rice, it's got a lovely vanilla flavour (I get mine in the health food stores) and maybe stir in a dessert spoon of low fat creme fraiche . As a treat, you can eat a little of that dark chocolate that is actually supposed to be good for your cholesterol called choxxi (I know it's in Tescos)

Other than that, definitely more exercise - just brisk walking if nothing else, stick to low fat milk, chicken and fish, less alcohol (a drop of red wine now and then will cheer you up!) and a good dollop of olive oil in your salads and over pasta - and of course as many vegetables as you can eat!

Your doctor's surgery should have a leaflet on cholesterol lowering foods, or even ask your friendly local pharmacist - and there's certainly lots of advice on the internet ...

Best of luck and I hope, like me, you'll enjoy trying out new recipes and ideas!

corkcomp

iora_rua wrote: »

I think most of what has been already suggested will help. My total cholesterol level has been as high as 8.0, but is now at 5.0 for the past year and I'm working to get it lower!

I don't know if I'm allowed to mention brand names, but I'm sure someone will delete them if necessary - but instead of butter, you could try benecol olive flavour (expensive, but I find it's the best tasting of all those yucky non dairy spreads). As a change from porridge in the summer, I've been eating oatibix as they're lower in sugar than some of those other rubbish processed breakfast cereals - try them with hazlenut and almond milk made by dream rice, it's got a lovely vanilla flavour (I get mine in the health food stores) and maybe stir in a dessert spoon of low fat creme fraiche . As a treat, you can eat a little of that dark chocolate that is actually supposed to be good for your cholesterol called choxxi (I know it's in Tescos)

Other than that, definitely more exercise - just brisk walking if nothing else, stick to low fat milk, chicken and fish, less alcohol (a drop of red wine now and then will cheer you up!) and a good dollop of olive oil in your salads and over pasta - and of course as many vegetables as you can eat!

Your doctor's surgery should have a leaflet on cholesterol lowering foods, or even ask your friendly local pharmacist - and there's certainly lots of advice on the internet ...

Best of luck and I hope, like me, you'll enjoy trying out new recipes and ideas!

good advice there ... 5 is okay for total cholesterol though, if your hdl is as high as it should be then it might be difficult to get total much below 5

Aard

Thanks for all the advice guys - much appreciated.


@corkcomp: It was my psychiatrist that told me that I have high cholesterol - I had a routine blood-test because of the medication I take. She told me to reduce my saturated fat intake, and to exercise more. She said that if my cholesterol level is still high by Christmas, that she'd change the medication I'm on to one that doesn't cause as much weight-gain, which I really don't want to do because the Zyprexa has been working really well for me.

corkcomp

Aard wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice guys - much appreciated.


@corkcomp: It was my psychiatrist that told me that I have high cholesterol - I had a routine blood-test because of the medication I take. She told me to reduce my saturated fat intake, and to exercise more. She said that if my cholesterol level is still high by Christmas, that she'd change the medication I'm on to one that doesn't cause as much weight-gain, which I really don't want to do because the Zyprexa has been working really well for me.

high cholesterol and weight gain are not always connected TBH .. i would advise you go to to a GP! for fasting lipid tests to establish ldl vs hdl ...

Aard

I should have been more specific - the weigt-gain isn't caused by the drug per se, rather it makes me hungry all the time (even after a full meal!) and I end up eating a lot of sweet foods. Before going on the drug I could literally eat as much as I wanted to (including sweet foods), but now the drug affects my metabolism, and I gain a lot of weight as a result of keeping my old eating-habits.

El_Dangeroso

I know that it has become dogma that saturated fat causes heart disease but there's simply no science out there to back it up. All the latest science points to sugar and industrially refined vegetable oils.

But the dogma persists, even amongst health professionals.

I really don't want to drag this thread off into debate so if anyone wants more information they can pm me or search for the myriad previous debates on this topic here.

El_Dangeroso

Aard wrote: »

I should have been more specific - the weigt-gain isn't caused by the drug per se, rather it makes me hungry all the time (even after a full meal!) and I end up eating a lot of sweet foods. Before going on the drug I could literally eat as much as I wanted to (including sweet foods), but now the drug affects my metabolism, and I gain a lot of weight as a result of keeping my old eating-habits.

That sucks. I think the best thing you can do is eat the most filling food possible and stay away from the sweets when you can..

corkcomp

Aard wrote: »

I should have been more specific - the weigt-gain isn't caused by the drug per se, rather it makes me hungry all the time (even after a full meal!) and I end up eating a lot of sweet foods. Before going on the drug I could literally eat as much as I wanted to (including sweet foods), but now the drug affects my metabolism, and I gain a lot of weight as a result of keeping my old eating-habits.

hi, (slightly OT to the cholesterol issue) I kinda guessed that to be honest (but I didnt want to say so!), any weight gain caused by drugs is usually insignificant, its eating too many calories that is the ultimate cause ... if you really find that the drug is altering your apetite like that then maybe your doc may be right to try an alternative ... im surprised that the doc is focusing in on the cholesterol more so than weight though??

sparkydub2009

Green Tea reduces it naturally and excess body weight... but don't use it with tap water.
I'm still carrying Xyprexa weight from 2005. This drug was in a top law suit in Canada. Investing in a decent juice extractor (E100) is great for your health! Try carrot, apple and celery together or pineapple and orange.

All the best

sparkydub2009

corkcomp wrote: »

hi, (slightly OT to the cholesterol issue) I kinda guessed that to be honest (but I didnt want to say so!), any weight gain caused by drugs is usually insignificant, its eating too many calories that is the ultimate cause ... if you really find that the drug is altering your apetite like that then maybe your doc may be right to try an alternative ... im surprised that the doc is focusing in on the cholesterol more so than weight though??

What about the major issue of fluid retention and the effects on the body's equilibrium...???

corkcomp

sparkydub2009 wrote: »

What about the major issue of fluid retention and the effects on the body's equilibrium...???

lets stick to helping the OP, yes? Based on what was posted about increased appetite and consumption of junk food and sweet stuff I think this is where the problem lies ...

Stella89

iora_rua wrote: »

. As a treat, you can eat a little of that dark chocolate that is actually supposed to be good for your cholesterol called choxxi (I know it's in Tescos)

Dunnes stores have Lindt 85% and 70% cocoa bars on offer at the moment , 2 for 3 euro , if anyone is interested . This one

boardswalker

Hi, there are a lot of scientists out there who are not convinced about the whole "cholesterol is bad for the heart" theory. Have a look at this website - www.thincs.org.

The conventional treatment to reduce cholesterol is to take statins. However, there is a lot of information coming out now that suggests that statins are not as good for you as the manufacturers would like you to believe.

If you want a flavour of this argument have a look here http://www.mercola.com/article/statins.htm.
Also, look at http://www.naturalnews.com/025566_drugs_statins_health.html

Having said all that, if you do want to reduce your cholesterol and do it naturally then the advice you have been given is sound - diet and exercise.

Also look at these two supplements which can be bought in health food stores. Firstly, a plant sterol Lestrin. Plant sterols are the active ingredient in benecol etc and you can take them in tablet/capsule form. Secondly, taking vitamin B3 or niacin will help. There are two forms of vitamin B3 - one causes you to get red flushes about 30 mins after taking it, the other doesn't - the no-flush variety. The Flush one is much more effective however.
Have a look here. http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=9489 for more about niacin.
and another article here http://www.healthy-heart-guide.com/niacin-and-cholesterol.html.

I have used diet and exercise together with niacin and lestrin and found them very effective. My doctor was pushing statins on me but I was reluctant to take the statins. I did my own research, decided on those and it worked for me.

It's your health. Make your own informed decisions.

Wishing you well

EileenG

Oh yeah, avoid statins like the plague. Every second day, they find new side-effects and new groups of people who should not take them.

journey

Recent studies have shown that taking a regular folic acid supplement can help to lower cholesterol levels.

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/274/13/1049

Talk to your doctor to see what amounts you would need to take. My mother did and it worked for her.

Diarmuid

Jut got the results of my first blood test (apart from from when I was young and in hospital). I'm 33, 64kgs , 170cm. Do quite a bit of exercise and I eat relatively well(IMHO). However my cholesterol is outside the recommended range.

Type|g/l|mmol/l
total|2.19|5.65
HDL|0.59|1.52
LDL|1.48|3.83
triclycerides|0.76|0.86

I take it that these are not crazy but actionable? A lot of what I eat is cooked in a pan with olive oil, chicken curry, some fishes, any steaks etc. I guess this is out from now on?

furiousox

5.65?

Pah!

My record high is 8.1!! :eek:

Seriously, eat lo-fat everything you can get, avoid red meat, exercise is important and benecol does work.

Diarmuid

furiousox wrote: »

Seriously, eat lo-fat everything you can get, avoid red meat, exercise is important and benecol does work.

Thanks. I think it's all diet for me. I currently do tons of cycling (competitively) so I can only improve on the diet side. However I do eat a Mediterranean(ish) diet so cheese and red meat gets eaten quite a bit. That has to go

El_Dangeroso

furiousox wrote: »

Seriously, eat lo-fat everything you can get, avoid red meat

Why?

Diarmuid

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

Why?

Red meat has lots of saturated fat.
As for low-fat, well I guess if it's low in fat then the implication is that it's low in saturated fat too.