Raised Cholestorol

You could try taking a supplement, such as plant sterols.

I've just been told this too. I Live in Italy and my doctor has told me to: prefer White meat, limit eggs to three per week, and to take one tablespoon of extra vergin olive oil with my lunch and dinner. Am sure she would have told me to cut down the alcohol too but she doesn't know I enjoy a GT with my husband before lunch and dinner. SSSSHH!

PS: Have started taking 1000mg cod liver oil per day in capsules for other reasons but see that this is good also for reducing cholesterol levels.

my husband was prescribed statins after his heart attack ,he had so many side effects that we researched for an alternative and found Ubiquinol which is coq10 in a more absorbent form.He's been taking it daily for a couple of years and at his check up last month his cholesterol was lower than its been in years .We did speak to his GP before coming off statins ,the GP is delighted with the results

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Thanks for helpful replies so far. I have a pretty healthy diet already, I don't eat meat, do eat fish and vegetarian, loads of vegetables and fruit, limited homemade cakes. But I have been surprised by the amounts of saturated fat in certain things I eat when I started looking ...butter, cheese etc. Have been looking at lower fat varieties of those. I'm going to look into the Ubiquinol .. Sounds interesting! Thanks. If anyone else has experiences or suggestions, would be gratefully received

paddyann does your husband take 100, 200 or 300 gms Ubiquinol per day?

Article in Daily Mail this week (I know not everyone's cup of tea!) Apparently porridge daily is good. I've taken oat bran daily with yogurt/cereal for several years and my level was fine when tested a year ago. DH is on statins but he's sceptical about what he terms 'fads' so won't do the oat thing.

he takes the 200Madgran77

Due to an under active thyroid I had raised cholesterol. I couldn't reduce it with diet alone. I take 40mg of Simvastatin from the Doctor with no side effects and now I have a much reduced cholesterol.

Exercise helps promote good cholesterol, even walking just a little helps.

A friend of mine has done this very satisfactorily. She refused statins and researched what to eat, I think the result was lots of fish (especially oily) and vegetables, oats for breakfast, Benecol products, Oatley milk substitute, nuts and fruit especially apples and pears. She stopped eating bread, biscuits, cakes, pizza, butter, milk and any processed foods.
She said initially it was hard work but she lost weight and her cholesterol levels returned to normal. I think it took about three months. She's very pleased.

Mine's higher than it should be too - 5.8, HDL 1.9, LDL 3.5, triglicerides 0.9 - and I've started taking, on advice from the nurse and the GP, Benecol plant stenols daily. I always include plenty of brightly coloured veg in my diet - 5 a day isn't really enough though.
Oats are meant to be good too and avoiding processed foods and carbs like cakes, biscuits and the like. Common sense really but for some people it can take longer than with others. As midgey says, exercise helps loads - I hate exercise but I go to the gym twice weekly now and do a 30/40 min very brisk walk on the treadmill. It's a start!

My "bad" cholesterol was slightly higher than it should be. The GP did a heart disease risk assessment with all the other factors with me, worked out that I have a 6% chance of heart disease in my 80s. Between us we decided I'd take my chances and he sent me on my way with advice to "go easy on the pastries and up your exercise". I've done both and at last check up nothing was said about my cholesterol so it must now be fine.

Mr C has controlled his via slightly adjusting diet and adding plant sterols plus omegas via supplements as he hates fish. Again the initial risk level was very low, 2-3% increased risk. The GP said with those results he wouldn't push statins (although the nurse had advised differently) and of course statins do not guarantee a risk free future. Mr C decided to try a year of change and wait and see. We've both increased our overall exercise level and the last blood test showed a reduction and no cause for concern. I think for anyone with a raised level it's worth a proper chat with a doctor before making an individual decision.

kefir in milk or water form has been proved to reduce cholesterol and is so beneficial in many ways. Look it up and also ask your doctor. It can't do you any harm.

giulia, I have some kefir grains (bought online for about £5) which I use to make probiotic because I am on very strong anti biotics for at least 18 months. I had not heard of it reducing cholesterol. That's interesting because I had a dreadful reaction to statins which IMO are evil.

Thanks for all the advice. My worry is that I have no idea how else I could change my very healthy pescatarian (vege and fish!) diet; occasionally eat home made cakes; exercise through cycling and fast walking. And yet my cholestorol is up! I'm going to try the Ubiquinil I think.

My total cholesterol is high as well as my LDL ( the bad one) but my ratio of HDL to total is fine and apparently that's the one to worry about. You need to have all of these measured in order to decide whether it's a problem. ie Total, HDL, LDL and ratio ( also tri-glycerides I think). There is absolutely nothing I can do to reduce mine as my diet is very healthy, I'm pretty slim, keep fit, don't smoke and keep to alcohol rec limits. Also as Grannyknot - low chance of stroke or whatever they measure. My doc just said some people's liver functions differently and not to worry - but come back and have it re-measured in two years. I'm 64. I guess it might have been different if I'd been a fat couch potato on 20 fags a day No medication was even hinted at....

The Dr was very clear that the LDL was too high and the ratio of HDL to total was not right.
I have been told to analyse my diet, look at saturated fat proportions and avoid saturated fat as much as possible and come back for another test in 3 months!

It has been interesting analysing saturated fat - some surprises!

There is enormous controversy over the use of statins and the perceived dangers of high cholesterol.
Cholesterol is in fact, the repair mechanism produced by the liver to repair damage in blood vessels, so is an essential to our health. I'm not sure how the NICE level of 5 came about - I do remember reading that it was a rather arbitrary figure.
There is evidence that for older women, a higher level is actually beneficial:
www.virginiahopkinstestkits.com/statinswomen.html

and: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3303886/

Really, unless you have already had a cardiovascular event, statins are a waste of time.

Additionally, statins have side effects which you may not wish to risk: Diabetes, cataracts, muscle pain and worse. These side effects have been played down, but affect more people than has been reported. I was put on Simvastatin at the age of 60 (10 years ago) as my Chol. was 6.4. Within a day or two I hade excruciating muscle pain, and a stomach that felt like lead, so came off them pretty quick, and told my GP I wouldn't take them. He suggested a different brand, but I refused, and was then told to control by diet. In fact, dietary cholesterol makes very little difference to your body's output, so cutting back on good fats will have minimal effect.
articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/02/10/5-reasons-why-you-should-not-take-statins.aspx
And statins are big business - most studies done on cholesterol are funded by the major Pharmaceutical companies and are therefore very biased. I believe GPs are paid to prescribe them, adding to the controversy.
Although not diabetic, I frequently read the Diabetes forum, whose members are very well informed and knowledgeable: www.diabetes.co.uk/
and it's interesting to note that for those who choose to control their blood glucose by eating Low Carb and HIGH fat, often find their Chol. levels improve. And it's well-known that Inuits who eat a diet almost exclusively of high fat blubber have low cholesterol.
So do your research, and make your own mind up whether you want to be taking a medication for life, that may do more harm than good.

A disclaimer: I am not medically trained and have no axe to grind, but I do feel quite strongly about mass medication which in my opinion is unnecessary.

...And I still have "high" cholesterol!

Madgran I just wouldn’t worry so much My Mums cholesterol was always raised throughout her life although she had a fantastic low fat, no salt, no sugar diet (her life choice for years) she lived to the age of 90 and apart from Alzheimer’s and arthritis she was so healthy
Both myself and my daughter have been told we have borderline cholesterol and asked if we would go on statins We have both refused and when our life style, of exercise diet, weight, and low alcohol, non smoking was taken into consideration it was a 2% chance of a cardiac problem

Whilst I think statins can be most helpful for someone who smokes, drinks, is overweight has a poor diet no exercise or a family history of cardiac problems I do not agree that everyone should be on them as a first port of call

I should have added I totally agree with Nanthewiser s post and do too think pharmaceuticals have a great reasons for saying we all need them !

Thanks all. I told my Dr I would prefer not to take statins and would look at any necessary dietary changes! Go back in 3 months to see if has had any effect. I agree re too quick to medicate!