Reducing bad cholesterol by diet

How do you know if it’s familial? I don’t know what my parents cholesterol level was and have no other family that I can ask.

I think taking statins will be a lot cheaper than all the things I’m adding to my diet!

I was prescribed them earlier this year. First month no issues, second month I started having cramps in my legs and feet. After a few days the cramps got worse, I'd wake up in the night in agony. GP told me to stop taking them and I needed a blood test urgently. Follow up blood test a month later and things are getting back to normal but still having cramps but less severe.

I started using Benecol, skimmed milk and eating some nuts every day and my cholesterol has come down

Statins are one the most researched classes of drugs in use across the World. A bottle of Benecol might give you a 0 to 10% reduction in LDL after 2 weeks compared to a c.50% reduction in LDL and 7 to 10% increase in HDL if a person takes 5mg/day of Rosuvastatin.

Recent research has looked at studies across the World involving 115k statin takers. The results indicated that 90% of patients who blamed statins for their muscle aches were wrong. Muscle aches are common and of the 10% where statins were involved these were normally patients put on a high statin dose and, in most cases, the symptoms eased after 12 months.

The only complaint that I have about Rosuvastatin is that minuscule pills often come in extraordinarily difficult to open packaging.

RinseAndRepeat

Statins are one the most researched classes of drugs in use across the World. A bottle of Benecol might give you a 0 to 10% reduction in LDL after 2 weeks compared to a c.50% reduction in LDL and 7 to 10% increase in HDL if a person takes 5mg/day of Rosuvastatin.

Recent research has looked at studies across the World involving 115k statin takers. The results indicated that 90% of patients who blamed statins for their muscle aches were wrong. Muscle aches are common and of the 10% where statins were involved these were normally patients put on a high statin dose and, in most cases, the symptoms eased after 12 months.

The only complaint that I have about Rosuvastatin is that minuscule pills often come in extraordinarily difficult to open packaging.

I couldn't have lived with the muscle cramps for twelve months. My cals muscles went like rocks for half an hour or more at a time, I couldn't stand. 90% might be wrong but don't dismiss the 10%. The muscle damage can be very serious.

I really want to find out if changing my diet will help. On top of that, if it is hereditary, I want my children to adapt their diet now, especially my daughter whose cholesterol level will become a problem when she’s gone through the menopause. The banana bread I made with Benecol is really nice so I’m hoping that, if I also add flax seed to it along with sultanas and walnuts it will remain as my daily indulgence.

2 years ago I was shocked to find I had very high cholesterol. For years I've had the almost perfect diet for keeping cholesterol low plus being healthy and walking a lot. After dithering I started taking a daily 20mg Atorvastatin. I've had no side effects and my cholesterol halved within 3 months. Familial hypercholesterolaemia is suspected when there are sudden deaths of close relatives in their 50s and a genetic test will show if you have inherited the gene (the most common genetic defect affecting about 1 in 250/300 people). I bought Benecol products for a while but decided they were expensive and highly processed.

I'm working in that direction myself gradually. The word (set of initials) you want is WFPB. That stands for Whole Food Plant Based. The others are WFPBNO (Whole Food Plant Based No Oil).

There's a lot of channels up there on YouTube of this way of eating and various cookbooks. Try checking it out.

I'm having to plough through a list of ailments gradually personally - as it feels like too much to deal with them all at once. Hence I've dealt with the worst of the skin blemishes, dealt with foot problems (exacerbated by a couple of other peoples language difficulties - when I'd initially thought they spoke perfect English = they don't - they just think they do). The foot problems alone must have taken 18-20 months to sort out.

So I'm now working my way in that WFPB direction - because of heart stuff and also because I'm still 3 sizes too big currently. But it is a way of eating that has lots of people saying how much their health and their figure improved and especially to do with heart-related problems.

My cholesterol was at 6.8. GP wasn’t worried. But dentist was! Signs in my gums. Tried diet, budged to 6.2. Persuaded GP to try me on a statin every other day. Now down to 4.8. Have various aches and pains, but that may be just wear and tear.

You don't need to know your parents cholesterol results. Ask for a printout of your results and take them to a pharmacist. I did and my raised cholesterol was in the familial element which you can't change.
So much for the doctor sending me to a nurse who told me to change my diet but had no suggestions as my diet is reasonable and I'm not overweight. I was in the normal range for diet. I went back to the doctor with the pharmacists information and I was prescribed stains straightaway. I've had no problems since (with cholesterol!).

It might be worth checking if any medication you are already possibly taking could be affecting your cholesterol.
I'm on 10 year long term medication following cancer treatment - it affected my cholesterol levels. I did try the statins but could not cope with the brain fogginest, forgetful memory and spaced out feelings. The clinical pharmacist said to stop taking them immediately. I'm now just following a more careful diet along with store's own version of Benecol and a Vitamin B complex supplement.

It's not just about cholesterol. Statins reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack even if your cholesterol is high.
Your risk is measured on a scale called the qrisk. Mine was 15 despite having low cholesterol. I agreed to the lowest possible dose of statin which, unlike pretty much every other drug I've taken, has given me zero side effects.
It's nearly impossible to make the changes by diet alone. I know so many people who have tried and made but a tiny difference.
There are lots of different statins. If one doesn't agree with you then another might.

RedRidingHood

It's not just about cholesterol. Statins reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack even if your cholesterol is high.
Your risk is measured on a scale called the qrisk. Mine was 15 despite having low cholesterol. I agreed to the lowest possible dose of statin which, unlike pretty much every other drug I've taken, has given me zero side effects.
It's nearly impossible to make the changes by diet alone. I know so many people who have tried and made but a tiny difference.
There are lots of different statins. If one doesn't agree with you then another might.

GP won't prescribe me another one. I need another blood test to check if the indicator for muscle damage has all gone. I won't risk it again.

My cholesterol was normal but GP suggested I take statins because my qrisk was 11 point something.

Maybe it's worth the risk if cholesterol is high but for me it wasn't.

I only asked for a blood test as I’ve had several friends who had to cancel a knee replacement at the last minute because of other health problems. Don’t want to risk muscle pain on top of the pain from the arthritis. Then again can’t risk an operation if my cholesterol is Sky high.

What is sky high?

Well the doctor said anything above 10 was bad and I was 14. But I didn’t really understand what he meant. And nine years ago I’d been told that my bad cholesterol was high but it was ok because I went to the gym a lot.

Under what circumstances have people actually been tested for cholesterol levels. I've never had a test.

I’ve had high cholesterol for years, as have my family. I resisted statins for a long time.
The only time my cholesterol dropped significantly was when I was on a high protein diet - lots of meat, cheese, cream and butter! The weight dropped dramatically as well!
I really missed my breakfast toast, roast potatoes etc. and soon succumbed to the lure of starch…so here I am, finally taking statins

4all...

Routine annual blood test.
I imagine you can ask for one if you're concerned?

4allweknow

Under what circumstances have people actually been tested for cholesterol levels. I've never had a test.

I get called for health check, every two or three tears. It is fine by a HCA at local surgery. They ask questions, do height and wait plus a blood test. GP looks at the results and contacts if any concerns.

Cholesterol crops up time and time again on Gransnet and reading these posts indicates how advice varies from doctor to doctor. Very recently there was a thread here on 'How long will you live?'. This had a link to some research (Sweden I think) about the very elderly and centenarians, many of whom had high cholesterol so it seems it's not necessarily a precursor of early death.

Advice I had to really make an impact was to eat a vegetarian diet for 3 months to see if that brought it down sufficiently. I haven't, but have significantly reduced saturated fat and moved to a generally much healthier diet. I have lost weight doing this without that being a goal at all. The British Heart Foundation has some useful information.

My husband is older than me and was told that he needed statins and diet wouldn't bring his levels down sufficiently. This was a shame as I would rather he had been told to do both as it would have been better for him. The statins have worked for him.

My cholesterol has always been on the high side, last year it was 6.9. Always had a fairly healthy diet but didn’t eat enough fibre. I now have a fruit smoothie every morning including whey powder and psyllium husks and have more lentils/pulses etc. rather than carbs.

Last test was 5.9 so it’s on its way down. Doctor not concerned as QRisk is very low. I’m 61.

Taking statins whilst eating an unhealthy diet can't possibly be the answer.

Most people will have to take statins as they get older, because they are effective but for me it is a matter of when...

I was only recommended to take statins as a result of a BP test and I knew this wasn't right. My cholestoral levels were over a year old when I went to see my GP and were borderline.
I refused the statins and have since worked on eating more healthily as the first line of attack, so to speak, and getting more exercise.

Maybe my next cholesteral test will show a change, but I have not been asked to take another one and so will carry on as I am.

My late husband was diagnosed with familial hypercholesterolaemia in his 40s with a level of 18 😱. The consultant said he should be dead, but obviously his body had adapted over the preceding years. Gradually his levels dropped but only thanks to years of statins. (He was a guinea pig for statin research with Prof Shepherd in Glasgow.). His levels eventually hovered around 5. They gave him a longer life than expected. He died aged 70. (Of a heart attack 13 years after bipass surgery). We as a family followed a ‘good’ diet as our 3 daughters inherited the condition, but diet doesn’t lower cholesterol alone. They too have been on statins since childhood, not without some early problems - aching joints etc.
I naively thought I was off the hook. Not so. My levels were average but 2 years ago I was advised, yet again having refused them, that statins might be a good idea. Less than a week later I had a ‘silent’ heart attack. After 3x bipass I am now on statins reduced from 80 to 40 mg. If I’d taken them earlier, I wonder if my story would have been different 🤔.
If you are advised that statins are the way to go, then go that way. Believe me!