Tips to Lower Cholesterol?

Got any? Mine came in at 223, I’m pretty bummed about it. I am 46 and it’s never been high before but has been a few years since it was checked. If it helps I will get the hdl ldl breakdown on Mon. and post those numbers too. Thanx.

Go to your local health food store, and see if they have a product called Michael’s Cholesterol Metabolism Factors. Best product (as a retailer) that I have found in overall effectiveness to naturally lower it. Of course it also goes without saying, but diet and exercise play a big part in it too. Maybe its time for you to start a “cutting phase” hehe! If you got any questions just PM me.

You said it’s never been that high before. What have you done differently since the last time you’ve had it checked?

Walk at least 2 miles a day at a brisk pace.

Follow a low fat diet, and get 35 grams of fiber a day from whole foods like fruits, veggies, and whole grains. Otherwise take a statin, which probably works the best!

[quote]Angelbutt wrote:
You said it’s never been that high before. What have you done differently since the last time you’ve had it checked?[/quote]

Well my stress level is through the roof, marital issues, not living at home, two kids etc. My diet and exercise are pretty good I think. I have been able to get away with being a heavy drinker for 25 years or so and offset the health effects with my work out and diet regimes.

Several years ago when I got life insurance I was given a rating of preferred plus-(lowest rate going) so I am sure my ekg and blood stuff was all good then. I’m thinking the 5-10 beers a night is finally catching up to me. Fuck it I was only keeping it up cause I thought I was superman and nothing really affected me. Time for some changes I guess.

Bingo

Ok was going to give a ton of suggestions but hell Cy did a heck of a job of covering it ALL pretty much a few years back. While a Little dated now 90%+ of this still rigns true.

Bad Blood
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459841

Also the low fat diet recomendation, NAH dont go that route. Its that fad that out of date has The civilized world largely in the crappy health shape it is. All those damn low fat products etc… Dietary fat in ALL forms including sats are good. its about healthy fats, avoiding those damn trans fats, also good carbs and protein.

Best of luck hope this helps
Phill

Yeah adjust fat balance/sources if anything and trying to cut cholesterol by cutting fat isn’t such a great idea.

In fact, there was an article JB wrote about fats which cited the BEST blood lipid profiles were seen on a diet of 25-35% fat, with a ratio of 30/40/30 of sat/mono/poly fats…NOT an unbalanced low-fat diet…which took triglycerides into account as well. Plus, the lower your cholesterol over a certain age, the higher incidence of cancer…how do ya like that zinger? :stuck_out_tongue:

[quote]Phill wrote:
Ok was going to give a ton of suggestions but hell Cy did a heck of a job of covering it ALL pretty much a few years back. While a Little dated now 90%+ of this still rigns true.

Bad Blood
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459841

Also the low fat diet recomendation, NAH dont go that route. Its that fad that out of date has The civilized world largely in the crappy health shape it is. All those damn low fat products etc… Dietary fat in ALL forms including sats are good. its about healthy fats, avoiding those damn trans fats, also good carbs and protein.

Best of luck hope this helps
Phill[/quote]

[quote]tinman915 wrote:
Angelbutt wrote:
You said it’s never been that high before. What have you done differently since the last time you’ve had it checked?

Well my stress level is through the roof, marital issues, not living at home, two kids etc. My diet and exercise are pretty good I think. I have been able to get away with being a heavy drinker for 25 years or so and offset the health effects with my work out and diet regimes.

Several years ago when I got life insurance I was given a rating of preferred plus-(lowest rate going) so I am sure my ekg and blood stuff was all good then. I’m thinking the 5-10 beers a night is finally catching up to me. Fuck it I was only keeping it up cause I thought I was superman and nothing really affected me. Time for some changes I guess.[/quote]

Yep - Angelbutt and you are on the right track. Stress is a HUGE factor in cardiovascular health. Pretty much anyone who’s worked in cardiac rehab will tell you that those who get their stress levels under control (on top of a decent diet with exercise) will get back to normal the fastest.

Booze is also a bad idea, but that kind of goes without saying. Also, though, what kind of test did they run? Some kinds can be severely skewed if you have alcohol in your system (assuming you had a few the night before).

-Dan

I’m not necessarily recommending this, but a few years ago my dad cut his cholesterol in half after a month on the Atkins diet. This is a guy who previously had subsided on the worst combination of bad carbs and bad fats imaginable, though, so this might not be applicable to you if you are already eating well.

I say just cut the booze for a few weeks and check again.

“I’m having health problems. I drink 5-10 beers per night. What can I do to prevent myself from destroying my liver and simultaneously jacking my cholesterol through the roof?”

Generally I don’t like to be rude, but why ask the bloody question if you already know the answer? Even if the test were off (as was suggested) you’re still not doing yourself any favours by drinking every night. If it hasn’t caught up with you yet, it will. This is like a smoker bitching about lung cancer.

Stop fucking drinking, eat your fiber, and take your fish oils.

[quote]tinman915 wrote:
Got any? Mine came in at 223, I’m pretty bummed about it. I am 46 and it’s never been high before but has been a few years since it was checked. If it helps I will get the hdl ldl breakdown on Mon. and post those numbers too. Thanx.[/quote]

Hey tinman,
If you’d like any help in trying to lower your cholesterol,pm me.
Your diet is the most important factor.

[quote]JMAX wrote:
Yeah adjust fat balance/sources if anything and trying to cut cholesterol by cutting fat isn’t such a great idea.

In fact, there was an article JB wrote about fats which cited the BEST blood lipid profiles were seen on a diet of 25-35% fat, with a ratio of 30/40/30 of sat/mono/poly fats…NOT an unbalanced low-fat diet…which took triglycerides into account as well. Plus, the lower your cholesterol over a certain age, the higher incidence of cancer…how do ya like that zinger? :stuck_out_tongue:

Phill wrote:
Ok was going to give a ton of suggestions but hell Cy did a heck of a job of covering it ALL pretty much a few years back. While a Little dated now 90%+ of this still rigns true.

Bad Blood
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459841

Also the low fat diet recomendation, NAH dont go that route. Its that fad that out of date has The civilized world largely in the crappy health shape it is. All those damn low fat products etc… Dietary fat in ALL forms including sats are good. its about healthy fats, avoiding those damn trans fats, also good carbs and protein.

Best of luck hope this helps
Phill

[/quote]

You’re right. Those “low fat” diets can actually drive your cholesterol up.
Most people eat a lot of trans fat in their diets(pizza,frozen breakfast foods,hot pocketsfast food,junk food)then wonder why their cholesterol is up.

Then they’re told to go on a low fat diet and cut out cholesterol.
Eating plenty of omega 3’s is crucial.
It’s hard to eat enough “good fats” when you’re on these low fat starvation diets.
Cholesterol in food isn’t even the problem.

Adding Fish Oil and Policosanol AND cutting out BEER dropped mine from 270 to 182.

My diet did not change much…save the beer.

Alcohol messes with lipid metabolism tremendously and through many different pathways. A lot of them I am still trying to grasp. Booze is bad business though for blood lipid profiles. That’s an often overlooked fact.

Called the Doc. today & they can’t give me the hdl ldl breakdown cause I wasn’t in a fasted state. Total count is all they would tell me. So my “treatment plan” is to go one quart of beer a night. Figure I will do that for a month or so and see where I am then. My diet and exercise are good, I’m sure.

Any suggestions on how long to wait for the retest? Is a month long enough to register changes?