According to the clinic doctor, my cholesterol went up 30 points — in a year. And now she wants to put me on statins. I said I wasn’t really happy with that idea; she shrugged her shoulders and dropped it.
Now I’m mulling over my options. Hmm.
Clinic day
How bad is your cholesterol? Changes in diet can make a huge difference, as can fish oil capsules. When my levels got a bit troublesome I started taking 2 capsules (1,000 mlg.) each day. Oatmeal became my almost daily breakfast, and red meat appeared less than once a week on my plate.
I added beans and lots of leafy greens. Now my cholesterol is great.
If you do take a statin, take the very lowest dose possible (like maybe 5 mlg. a day) and see how that does.
There are some things you can do that don’t involve medication.
Your software usually rejects any links from my health website, Many Years Young, but here goes.
http://www.manyyearsyoung.com/search?q=lower+cholesterol
Did your doc differentiate as to which type of cholesterol shows as “high” on your test? I once had my angel-primary care physician tell me that my cholesterol was really high, but not to worry about, since it was “the good kind” that you get from eating lots of fish, etc…(just sayin’)
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is one of the five major groups of lipoproteins, which in order of size, largest to smallest, are chylomicrons, VLDL, IDL, LDL and HDL, that enable lipids like cholesterol and triglycerides to be transported within the water-based bloodstream. Blood tests typically report LDL-C, the amount of cholesterol contained in LDL. In clinical context, mathematically calculated estimates of LDL-C are commonly used to estimate how much low density lipoproteins are driving progression of atherosclerosis. Direct LDL measurements are also available and better reveal individual issues but are less often promoted or done due to slightly higher costs and being available from only a couple of laboratories in the United States. In 28 March 2008, as part of a joint consensus statement by the ADA and ACC, direct LDL particle measurement by NMR was recognized as superior for assessing individual risk of cardiovascular events.[1] Since higher levels of LDL particles promote health problems and cardiovascular disease, they are often called the bad cholesterol particles, (as opposed to HDL particles, which are frequently referred to as good cholesterol or healthy cholesterol particles).[2]
No statins!!! Bad, bad! Bad side effects.
muscle pain, polymyalgia reumatica, maybe dementia
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/465883_3
She said it was the “bad” kind, but that all the other levels were fine. Unfortunately, since it’s a clinic, they don’t give you copies the way private doctors do.
Heart attacks in your family? If not, then move on.
Statins knocked me flat, and I had a hard time convincing the doctor that I couldn’t take them. Now I avoid cholesterol checks.
Dr. Esselstyn has the only real cure, if you’re motivated enough:
http://www.heartattackproof.com/
His son joins in:
http://engine2diet.com/
and there’s always Dean Ornish:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Ornish
Bottom line is most people can’t eat an American diet and avoid heart disease or stroke.
My doctor wanted to put me on one cholesterol med after another. I said I would work it out myself. Exercise(simple walking), sardines, fish oil caps, Red Rice Yeast, (cheapest at Wally world) all did the trick. My stats are fine now. Doctors are simply part of the whole health care establishment and are glad to push big pharma’s useless drugs. Do your own homework and take charge of the problem.
Nope, no heart attacks.
The benefits of statins are dubious for women who do not yet have heart disease. There is little evidence that they prevent heart attacks in women, but clearer evidence for men who have heart disease. There are lots of side effects, and they seem to be worse for women, with memory loss as well as muscle weakness. I had a similar diagnosis and decided against them, as people in my family that died of heart disease ranged in age from 78 to 102. Statins increase the development of cataracts and a recent study showed that they cause a 9% increase the risk of diabetes for women.
I have good health insurance, so the money was not an issue.
Do not take pills for this. Stamina-type exercise reduces bad cholesterol and increases good cholesterol. Shitake mushrooms are also supposed to be good at reducing bad cholesterol. Oatmeal is also given credit for reducing bad cholesterol, though I am less inclined to credit it because of the way the food industry has been pushing it. A good level of fiber reduces cholesterol.
In fact, there are so many ways to reduce cholesterol without meds that I don’t trust any doctor that suggests meds to reduce cholesterol.
I found out a long time ago that you can vastly improve your blood pressure and cholesterol test results just by taking a walk. If you already take walks, take a few more, or make them a little longer.
And yes, oily fish.
All the above. Ask your (or a) doctor about, and check out Slo-Niacin, a B-vitamin, used to lower cholesterol. Costco has it for a good price.
Choleast, a product made of red yeast rice, is what I use.
It contains a naturally-occurring statin.
The “red” is corn silage mold, with which plain rice is cultivated.