Lowering cholesterol without statins (kidneys, cancer, symptom, breast)
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I have high cholesterol and diet does absolutely nothing. I can't take statins, I tried Zetia but it didn't make much difference. What did work was red yeast rice taken with co-enzyme Q-10. It's a statin and I don't remember what the Q-10 did but maybe that's what took the pain away or protects the muscles. The only trouble is that it gets expensive so I had to stop. Now my dr is telling me to eat low carb because sugar raises cholesterol. I don't think this is going to help but I'll try. Maybe it'll be back to the red yeast next.
Your body uses glucose to synthesize cholesterol and how much you make is always the largest contributor to serum cholesterol levels. There's some support for low-carb diets being good for lowering cholesterol and triglycerides, but it isn't exactly mainstream.
If you can, adopting a workout routine and losing a significant amount of weight will result in a large reduction of your total cholesterol and triglycerides.
I've been trying some alternative methods to lower cholesterol without using drugs (statins). Has anyone else had success with these?
DIET: I eat no eggs. Red meat hardly ever (maybe once or twice a year). Chicken yes, but without the skin. Don't like/trust fish anymore, but maybe once a year I'll treat myself to something with real crabmeat. Use 1% milk (organic) on cereals or to drink a glass a couple of times a week. Lowfat yogurt occasionally. Never eat ice cream (I do miss it). Chocolate is my weakness but I've got it down to no more than a couple of ounces a week. Fruit daily. Salad daily (cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil and vinegar dressing). Vegetables almost daily. Use 'Promise Heart Healthy' spread instead of butter. Won't eat anything that has trans fat in it. Won't eat anything that has more than 300 mg of sodium (I look for either No Sodium or less than 100 mg). Breakfast cereal is always organic + high fiber + low sugar. No caffeine, ever, and I don't drink or smoke.
OATMEAL: I eat a bowl of Quaker Steel Cut Oatmeal every day (no milk, just 1/2 tsp of brown sugar on top)
FISH OIL: I take 1 capsule of Carlsons Fish Oil every day, for the Omega 3s.
CHOLEST-OFF: Just started taking these but I see that it only blocks absorption of cholesterol from food. It doesn't do anything about the natural cholesterol that your body makes. So I take it before any meal that contains something with cholesterol (like breakfast where I have milk on my cereal). I don't take it if, say, I'm having a salad for lunch.
NUTS: Just read that almonds, walnuts and pecans can help lower cholesterol but can't find anything that says how they do this. Does anybody know? Does it come from the fiber or from chemicals found in these nuts?
Also does anyone know whether oatmeal's cholesterol-reducing effect occurs in the digestive tract (against food-source cholesterol), or in the blood (against blood cholesterol)? Same question for the nuts.
Anyone have success stories from non-drug cholesterol lowering? Mine is high (300 total; 200 bad, 100 good; age 57) but I just plain refuse to do the statins thing. Too scared of them, and I don't believe any of the pharm company/doctors hype about them being 'safe' for most people.
Low fat diets will increase cholesterol. You need to cut down on sugar and carbs which cause inflammation. Once you have inflammation, the cholesterol builds up to protect your arteries from the inflammation and it backfires. Get rid of sugar -- pasta, breads, rice, potatoes, sweet veggies, sugary drinks and even fake sugar if you can. This will help your body heal from the inflammation and cholesterol will stop running to the "rescue".
Low fat diets will increase cholesterol. You need to cut down on sugar and carbs which cause inflammation. Once you have inflammation, the cholesterol builds up to protect your arteries from the inflammation and it backfires. Get rid of sugar -- pasta, breads, rice, potatoes, sweet veggies, sugary drinks and even fake sugar if you can. This will help your body heal from the inflammation and cholesterol will stop running to the "rescue".
So agree with this approach, it's what I have done and my total cholesterol and LDL and HDL are in good range. I've cut out bread in my life for about 10 yrs. Don't need it, don't miss it. And not starving, far from it.
When I was eating a lot of meat and eggs and dairy, including a try with the keto diet (where I lowered by total carb intake to less than 20 grams per day and none from simple carbs), my cholesterol levels including LDL were very high and my doctor was considering putting me on medication. I felt terrible also with periodic chest tightness.
I adopted a plant based diet overnight and a few months later my total and LDL cholesterols lowered by so much the nurse taking my blood measurement couldn't believe I did it by diet alone.
I suspect for some people that claim their diet didn't affect their cholesterol levels, these people didn't adopt the measures needed to eliminate dietary sources of saturated fats and cholesterol. I should know, because I was one of those. My idea of improving my diet a year ago was cutting back on fast food, but still eating a LOT of lean and fatty meats, low fat milk, lots of eggs, and when my cholesterol didn't improve, I blamed it on genetics (my parents both had high blood pressure, cholesterol, heart disease, etc.).
I no longer eat any animal products these days (meat, eggs, dairy, etc.), and eat a lot of carbs especially things like brown rice, oatmeal, fruits, vegetables, etc. I never felt better in my life.
When I was eating a lot of meat and eggs and dairy, including a try with the keto diet (where I lowered by total carb intake to less than 20 grams per day and none from simple carbs), my cholesterol levels including LDL were very high and my doctor was considering putting me on medication. I felt terrible also with periodic chest tightness.
I adopted a plant based diet overnight and a few months later my total and LDL cholesterols lowered by so much the nurse taking my blood measurement couldn't believe I did it by diet alone.
I suspect for some people that claim their diet didn't affect their cholesterol levels, these people didn't adopt the measures needed to eliminate dietary sources of saturated fats and cholesterol. I should know, because I was one of those. My idea of improving my diet a year ago was cutting back on fast food, but still eating a LOT of lean and fatty meats, low fat milk, lots of eggs, and when my cholesterol didn't improve, I blamed it on genetics (my parents both had high blood pressure, cholesterol, heart disease, etc.).
I no longer eat any animal products these days (meat, eggs, dairy, etc.), and eat a lot of carbs especially things like brown rice, oatmeal, fruits, vegetables, etc. I never felt better in my life.
Maybe for some. I don't eat dairy at all (well, I might cheat every few weeks with a tiny bit of ice cream). I am highly allergic to all dairy products and won't feel very well the next day if I cheat. I do eat eggs once or twice a week.
I tried a vegetarian diet several years ago and the levels were exactly the same before and after the diet.
If I lose any more weight I will be underweight. I never eat fast food and have no family history of high cholesterol. Maybe cutting out carbs would do it. What does that leave for me to eat though? I have cut down on carbs but with no dairy, not much meat, a few eggs, I would be eating mostly vegetables like I did before when I went on the vegetarian diet that didn't help. I do eat nuts and I like strawberries and bananas. I guess I could eat more salads but it's not something I eat in the cold of winter.
It's hard when you get something like this for no good reason, unfortunately diet and exercise don't always work (I'm a textbook case for that but with other medical problems).
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I've been a vegetarian all my life, and have had high cholesterol since I was in my 30s. Diet made no difference in it for me.
After trying various internet "cures" for high cholesterol for years with no effect, I finally went on a statin, and I'm glad I did just because my doctor doesn't harp on it anymore...totally worth it for that reason alone.
I've been trying some alternative methods to lower cholesterol without using drugs (statins). Has anyone else had success with these?
DIET: I eat no eggs. Red meat hardly ever (maybe once or twice a year). Chicken yes, but without the skin. Don't like/trust fish anymore, but maybe once a year I'll treat myself to something with real crabmeat. Use 1% milk (organic) on cereals or to drink a glass a couple of times a week. Lowfat yogurt occasionally. Never eat ice cream (I do miss it). Chocolate is my weakness but I've got it down to no more than a couple of ounces a week. Fruit daily. Salad daily (cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil and vinegar dressing). Vegetables almost daily. Use 'Promise Heart Healthy' spread instead of butter. Won't eat anything that has trans fat in it. Won't eat anything that has more than 300 mg of sodium (I look for either No Sodium or less than 100 mg). Breakfast cereal is always organic + high fiber + low sugar. No caffeine, ever, and I don't drink or smoke.
OATMEAL: I eat a bowl of Quaker Steel Cut Oatmeal every day (no milk, just 1/2 tsp of brown sugar on top)
FISH OIL: I take 1 capsule of Carlsons Fish Oil every day, for the Omega 3s.
CHOLEST-OFF: Just started taking these but I see that it only blocks absorption of cholesterol from food. It doesn't do anything about the natural cholesterol that your body makes. So I take it before any meal that contains something with cholesterol (like breakfast where I have milk on my cereal). I don't take it if, say, I'm having a salad for lunch.
NUTS: Just read that almonds, walnuts and pecans can help lower cholesterol but can't find anything that says how they do this. Does anybody know? Does it come from the fiber or from chemicals found in these nuts?
Also does anyone know whether oatmeal's cholesterol-reducing effect occurs in the digestive tract (against food-source cholesterol), or in the blood (against blood cholesterol)? Same question for the nuts.
Anyone have success stories from non-drug cholesterol lowering? Mine is high (300 total; 200 bad, 100 good; age 57) but I just plain refuse to do the statins thing. Too scared of them, and I don't believe any of the pharm company/doctors hype about them being 'safe' for most people.
Your body is using the cholesterol to buffer acids. Taking statins to force the liver to stop producing cholesterol is dangerous long term. You need to get the acids (metabolic waste) out. Make an appointment with a good naturopathic doctor that understands the lymphatic systems and how to get yours moving again. Medical doctors will only treat symptoms and not go after the root cause.
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