high cholesterol

My doctor (cardiologist) first had me try a dieatary approach but the results fell short so now am member of the so-called "steak and statin crowd" with lipitor. Total down, good cholesterol up. Dr is very happy with the results.

I would urge to first try the dieatary approach as advocated above (i.e., with lots of research too -- if just to understand the issue better), but I wouldn't fear the drug approach if the diet doesn't work. If diet had worked for me I would have used it. I was already eating fairly healthy though, and there wasn't a lot of room for improvement through diet though

Originally Posted by tiecollector

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Look into it, but cholesterol levels don't necessarily mean all that much. Cholesterol is actually a powerful antioxidant. The most important thing according to the latest non mainstream research, iirc, is to keep the cholesterol from oxidizing into plaque in your arteries by taking in Vit C, E, B6, K.

I agree. The whole lipitor craze is driven by drug company profits, imo. My wife was told she needed lipitor (when she was 24!) and she did the dietary route, cut out a great deal of cholesterol in her diet, lost a bunch of weight, and her cholesterol was still high. Doctor highly recommended lipitor at this point.

Imagine the surprise of the doctor when she declined, added eggs, cheese, and beef back into her diet, continued running and working out, and her cholesterol actually went down!

Patient 1, Doctor 0

I suffer from high cholesterol and now only consume certain foods such as breakfast meats (scrapple/Taylor ham/bacon) twice a week.

How old is the OP? My doc says that most men tend to go through metabolic transformation around 40 when cholesterol levels increase; for women it happens closer to 50. There is also a group of people who have a tendency for a higher cholesterol level regardless of age, so check your family history. I've also been told that ethnicity and associated diet can be a factor. So, all these factors can explain a context for you.

The medical profession is militant in the prevention of heart disease and Lipitor and other statins are a tool in that campaign; I had a running feud with my doc before I agreed after a year to take Lipitor. Before Lipitor, I was at 195, and exercised often and vigorously, and was judicious in my diet. After a couple years on Lipoitor, I am now at a consistent 130. I'm 56 years old.

I totally agree with comments on moderation.......except of course when it comes to sartorial matters.

Originally Posted by Opermann

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I agree. The whole lipitor craze is driven by drug company profits, imo. My wife was told she needed lipitor (when she was 24!) and she did the dietary route, cut out a great deal of cholesterol in her diet, lost a bunch of weight, and her cholesterol was still high. Doctor highly recommended lipitor at this point.

Imagine the surprise of the doctor when she declined, added eggs, cheese, and beef back into her diet, continued running and working out, and her cholesterol actually went down!

Patient 1, Doctor 0

The lipitor crazy is kind of scary. The doctors are quick to make a throwaway "high cholesterol" diagnosis and prescribe a statin to reduce it. Total cholesterol went down with lipitor? He did his job! That to me is lazy medical practice. I just find it hard to believe that you can eat beef and butter for the rest of your life while on lipitor, maintain a low cholesterol number and be given a clean bill of health. Does't add up for me.

There have been studies to show that there are other indicators (outside of cholesterol) of heart disease. The studies have shown different cases where middle aged men had good ratios of cholesterol yet had heart attacks due to artery blockage. I will try and dig some of these articles up.

so what i'm taking from this discussion so far is to eat chocolate covered almonds, fresh mex, eggs, butter, and cheese, and to start exercising again.

i'm 32 and do not want any medications.

My total cholesterol was 298... After experiencing all sorts of terrible side effects from Advicor, Zetia, and one other one I can't remember, my doctor prescribed Lipitor... I decided NOT to take it and try to change my lifestyle...

I ate steel cut Irish oatmeal every morning, took a supplement called Cholest-Off, drank Metamucil two or three times a day, ate a lot of green veggies and fish, and exercised like crazy... Swam 0.5 miles a day, hit the gym everyday, and was the sole male in one of those 24 Hour Fitness cardio kickbox aerobics sessions twice a week...

After 3 months, I brought my cholesterol down to 183... My triglycerides were at 80...

Eventually, craving Cajun food, eating at finer dining establishments, and my love for foie gras, alfredo sauces, etc. got the best of me...

I still continued with the Metamucil and Cholest-Off but started enjoying food again and cut back on the exercise due to an increased work load...

My cholesterol went up to 206 which is bad but not that bad... My triglycerides however went up to 598...

I'm now taking a drug called Lovaza which is a prescription level dose of DHA to deal with the triglycerides... I decided to give Lipitor a try as well...

My tri level is now 121 and my cholesterol is 140...

Lowering those levels can be done through exercise and diet but it does take a great amount of time and discipline...

Good luck...

General guidelines for cholesterol:

Total Cholesterol: < 200
HDL (Good Cholesterol): > 45
LDL (Bad Cholesterol): < 130
Triglycerides: < 150

Diet Recommendations:
- Limit saturated fats such as ***** meats, eggs, full-fat dairy products, butter, and products with coconut oils, palm oils and hydrogenated oils.
- ~ 20% of total calories should come from healthy monounsaturated fats such as olive and canola oil, avocados, and nuts and seeds (preferably unsalted and dry roasted or raw).
- Increase your consumption of soluble fiber found in such foods as oats (steel cut), whole grains, sweet potatoes, beans, vegetables and fruits.

Other recommendations:
- Exercise most days of the week (cardio and strength training)
- Maintain ideal bodyweight.

If you'd like more information, I give free cholesterol management classes in the Los Angeles area. PM me if you are interested.

¡Suerte!

Originally Posted by jyook

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My cholesterol went up to 206 which is bad but not that bad... My triglycerides however went up to 598...

Holy **** dude... my triglycerides were 30 last I checked... 598 is insane

Originally Posted by Eason

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Holy **** dude... my triglycerides were 30 last I checked... 598 is insane

You're telling me...

The doctor was so stunned, they retested me again...

You could've used my blood as a spread...

Alcohol makes your triglyercides much higher, so cutting back on booze will help your overall cholesterol profile.

Also, be sure to fast for 12 hours (water only) prior to bloodwork. My scores were way off a few times because the doctor &amp; nurses weren't very clear with me on fasting to get an accurate result. Overeating also spikes your tryclycerides.

Originally Posted by Eason

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Holy **** dude... my triglycerides were 30 last I checked... 598 is insane

Damn...I thought I was doing good at 68! 30 is crazy.

I eat some dark chocolate and at least one egg pretty much every day and came in at 128 overall, 77 HDL, and 37 LDL when I was tested a few weeks ago. I'm not really convinced that eggs deserve the bad rap.

^ Of course they don't.

Individual exceptions aside, a good rule of thumb is to not trust doctors to give sound nutritional advice. Most of them are either horribly misinformed or operating with knowledge that is very much out of date.

Originally Posted by Philosoph

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^ Of course they don't. Individual exceptions aside, a good rule of thumb is to not trust doctors to give sound nutritional advice. Most of them are either horribly misinformed or operating with knowledge that is very much out of date.
Depends on the doctor. Don't go to a GP expecting detailed dietary information for your hyperlipidemic condition. Go see a specialist like a nutritionist.

Very true.

There's so much information out there that not everyone can be a specialist in everything. I think a lot of people expect their GP to know everything, and/or the GP thinks his medical training enables him to give out advice on everything. But if he isn't up on the research (in the last 20 years)...