Cholesterol

[slonezp]

Had bloodwork done and my cholesterol has broken the 100 mark which I guess is the threshold. It was 99 last year and 93 the year before. The nurse said not to worry and it could be caused by age. She told me to eat more fiber.

Any advice as to what causes high cholesterol and how to reverse it?

[Dwight Hottle]

Red meat.

[Tennessee Boy]

Don’t eat anything that taste good. ?

[Mike L]

What controlled mine more that just taking a pill every day and being smart with my diet, is 1200 mg of fish oil every morning. 
At least that’s what my doctor said and the numbers confirmed it. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

[N Florida Mike]

I need to get mine tested again .It’s been high for 20+ years. I think mine is at least partially hereditary. My mom had it for years. Of course, the crisco she always fried everything with might have had something to do with it too…

[Bird]

High cholesterol can definitely be hereditary.

Mine has been high for many years but can't tell, feel good.

[Bluebasser86]

Mine was high a few years ago, to the point I had to take medication. When I lost a bunch of weight I was good enough to get off the medication. Eating a lot more fruits and vegetables and just making smarter choices along with exercising helped mine. 

[slonezp]

I could stand to lose a few more pounds but I lost 50 pounds a couple years ago and my count was 93. I've maintained the lost weight, not the cholesterol... 

[Jigfishn10]

Cut back on saturated fat and hydrogenated oils.

 

What's a saturated fat? A fat that solidifies when cold. Butter for example. It's also found in most meats, epecially red meat.

Hydrogenated oils: Think french fries and snack foods (chips). Although Hydrogenated oils is becoming less and less of a "thing".

 

[Jig Man]

So who told you that 100 is high?  Mine was 260 before I blew a gasket.  Now 100 is the target for me with meds.

[slonezp]

The nurse practioner. She said it wasn't anything to worry about. I guess I'm more concerned as to why it has been going up the last 3 years.

[FryDog62]

Have been told its mostly hereditary/age. 2 things could help before going on a statin: weight loss, and Psyllium Fiber. I went the fiber route years ago and my bad cholesterol went down about 10%... enough to get me back in the "normal" zone again (for about 10 years). Then age and genetics kicked back in and now I'm on Crestor (after Zocor ruined my legs). 

[Kev-mo]

41 minutes ago, FryDog62 said:

Have been told its mostly hereditary/age. 2 things could help before going on a statin: weight loss, and Psyllium Fiber. I went the fiber route years ago and my bad cholesterol went down about 10%... enough to get me back in the "normal" zone again (for about 10 years). Then age and genetics kicked back in and now I'm on Crestor (after Zocor ruined my legs). 

How did Zocor ruin your legs?! 

[The Bassman]

On 5/28/2022 at 8:36 AM, Dwight Hottle said:

Red meat.

Don't know if you're joking, Dwight but what you said speaks volumes. The whole cholesterol and fiber thing is actually 180 to the truth. I'm not a keto freak but I've learned a lot recently. I won't start expanding the details but a little research is really eye opening. FWIW I enjoy eggs and red meat without fear now.

[MN Fisher]

A lot of it is genetics.

Me for example:

I'm a bit overweight, I smoke, I don't exercise near enough, I eat lots of red meat and saturated fats, don't get near the recommended amount of fiber.

 

And my LDL rating is 62 with my HDL being 75 for a total of 137 - my Doc just sighs every time I get a blood test.

 

Also, my last EKG was normal - for a moderately active 40 year old...and I'm 62

[FryDog62]

1 hour ago, Kev-mo said:

How did Zocor ruin your legs?! 

There was a class action suit back 10-12 years or so ago where thousands of us experienced severe leg soreness and other muscle and joint problems from Zocor.  For many of us, it never went away even when we stopped taking it. I know Mayo stopped prescribing it just ahead of the announcement of the lawsuit. 
 

https://www.classaction.org/zocor

[Woody B]

I'm 58 kinda fat, and have good cholesterol numbers.  Also good blood pressure and blood glucose/A1C numbers.  Decades ago an old retired Doctor told me to take a shot of unfiltered apple cider vinegar every day due to my family history of diabetes.   It's terrible, kinda like taking a drink of fire, but I've been doing it every day for ~40 years.  Both of my parents, 3 of my grandparents, and my sister have/had diabetes, as well as high blood pressure.   I don't know if the ACV helps, but I'm not going to stop to find out.  

[Bankbeater]

I've been taking a pill daily for about a year now.  Doctor said my cholesterol wasn't terribly high, but she wanted to see if the pills would bring it down.  

[Darren.]

I began taking a low dose pill about 5 years ago.

My mother died of a stroke, then my Dad had open

heart surgery - a quad bypass. He avoided drugs

for years. He's now 91.

 

His mother, my grandma, died at 93 and to her death

had cholesterol 288 to 300. When it is high, there's a

reason be it diet, genetics, etc. For one thing, we are

still learning about it. The science is young in the broad

scheme of things. I'm sure things will be different 30

years from now when we are (hopefully) smarter, and

science has learned more of how our bodies work and

the synergies therein.

 

Some have already changed their minds about the 

relation of meat and fatty foods. Things change, we

learn over time...we evolve and adapt. No one solution

fixes everything.

 

My .02. Take it FWIW.

[slonezp]

I did a halfassed Keto. Gave up carbs. Dropped 50 lbs. My cholesterol was lower when I was heavier. This brings up diet. I still avoid carbs for the most part. I eat fruit, dairy fat, and meat. 

[A-Jay]

Live & eat a healthy lifestyle.

And let the chips fall where they may.

Healthy is heathy.

'Numbers' are just that - Numbers.

They are meaningless by themselves. 

A-Jay

 

[slonezp]

7 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Live & eat a healthy lifestyle.

And let the chips fall where they may.

Healthy is heathy.

'Numbers' are just that - Numbers.

They are meaningless by themselves. 

A-Jay

 

And I feel healthier now than I did when I was pushing 300# Unfortunately now, my jacked up shoulder and bum hip only allow me to walk as far as exercise. Currently 245# on diet alone. I'd still love to drop another 20 or 30. That would put me at a weight I was 20 years ago. I was skinny at 6' 170# when I was in my 20's. 210-220 is where I want to be ideally. 

[A-Jay]

A body lives a total life.

Breaking it down in pieces serves someone - 

just not sure who.

A-Jay

[BASS302]

@slonezp

Cholesterol info at the following link:

https://medlineplus.gov/cholesterollevelswhatyouneedtoknow.html

 

There is a chart: