Hi, I've recently been diagnosed with having high cholesterol at 5.7, I'm 36. My sister who is 34 has cholesterol at 5.9

[emmajayne]

Both my parents have high cholesterol although not over 7 and my dad has angina. Could this be FH ?

[2squirrels]

Your levels are not normal for your age. What type od diet do you eat? You should try a low fat or zero fat diet with lots of fruit and veg. Oily fish grilled or steamed is great no saltnp. Do you smoke?

[emmajayne in reply to 2squirrels]

Hi, thanks for replying, looking back over the years and what I was brought up on wasnt the best diet to be honest. When I got to 30 I was diagnosed with ibs so diary and anything wheat was a problem so I ate rice and pork most days since then. Since being diagnosed I have stopped smoking (15 days now.) and have completely changed my diet to oily fish and lots of fruit and veg. I'm also doing half hour on the cross trainer 5 days a week. I hope this is going to help, just concerned that my whole family have it and was worried about my children, although they eat very healthy x

[frankcooper1 in reply to 2squirrels]

What is the normal cholesterol range for a 36 year old female?

[emmajayne in reply to frankcooper1]

I don't know what the normal should be, I will find out. Some people say its ok and others not. So I'm getting conflicting info.

[2squirrels]

Pork is not recommended regularly as it is a very fatty meat, Better chicken or turnkey or oily fish.

[emmajayne in reply to 2squirrels]

Yeah, will be avoiding pork from now on.

[suki65 in reply to emmajayne]

hi i wouldnt worry too much how are you health wise ? do you have any other health problems my levels where 12.1 but i was really healthy i was told i had to go on statins for the rest of my life im only 48 years i went on 3 different statins on and off for 2 years and now i have other health problems from statins . I will never take another statin ever i am managin my cholesterol with intermittent fasting i eat between 11am and 7pm my levels are now down to 6.2 which is great for me

articles.mercola.com/sites/...

[suki65 in reply to emmajayne]

youtube.com/watch?v=MN7BoE8...(Not working as expected?)

[Jaytee]

As Suki65 says, follow the money. This paranoia about low cholesterol is profit driven. there was a recent survey on here I believe that showed a better longevity with people between 5 and 6 than those below. Mine was 6.2 and the quack said must take statins. I refused and said I would sort myself. So stopped eating so many biscuits and generally tried to eat less fat but without any special effort and three months later 5.7. Different quack said that was absolutely fine. I am 65 and pretty healthy.

[DOLLYJASPER]

Hi I am a male 74 years of age and have just had my bloods done at my yearly check up. My cholesterol was 6.4 but as the nurse said every thing was fine and no treatment was needed.

[emmajayne in reply to DOLLYJASPER]

Hi, I don't understand why then I would be put on statins. It seems that depending who you see depends on your treatment

[suki65 in reply to emmajayne]

I also wonder why docs give you different advice i have been told it should be below 4 but off reading lots on line i feel everyone is different mine was 12.1 and now its 6.2 so if i can keep it at this i am not worried i am only 48 but i am in great health other than what damage statins have done .If you take statins stop as soon as you get any side effects

[emmajayne in reply to suki65]

Hi, I don't know a lot about the levels but yours at over 12 and that you managed to get it to 6 sounds great. If you don't mind me asking what diet are you doing? The only side effects I'm getting from statins is restless legs.

[suki65 in reply to emmajayne]

my diet is water first thing at 7am ,a sugar free coffee at 9am ,then porridge with semi skimmed milk at 11am ,another sugar free coffee ,dinner at 12 salad sandwiches on wholemeal bread ,fruit ,tea at 5pm anything then my last food between 6pm and 7pm yoghurt ,toast or biscuit and crisps .then the rest of the night i have water or sugar free drinks ,i treat myself once a week to a snack later ,i got into this quite quickly .I only have opti omega 3 capsules to keep my triglycerides down as they where at 5 .

if you are only experiencing restless legs it may be ok to put up with that ut if anything gets worse from my experience stop right away and please if you can try the 8 hour eating if you cannot try 10 hour eating then every day try and cut down an hour each day till you are at 7-8 hour eating it is really worth it ,good luck

[Aliwally]

Hi Emmajayne,

Your levels would be very much higher with FH.

It could be that your family has a genetic tendency to higher levels of cholesterol (like mine) and your levels might rise as you get older. So far I have not discovered a name for this (maybe there isn't one!) or at what point you should be worried about it or decide to do anything about it. Sorry to be so vague, but opinions vary so much on all sides of the fence and I just think sooner or later you will come to your own decision.

[emmajayne in reply to Aliwally]

I do think it could be a family link coz it just seems odd that we all have it, although I have read that for it to be FH then the levels need to be very high

[patch14]

Who told you your levels were high? Your GP? You are not "too high" - I am 6.8, am healthy, BMI 24 , eat healthily, without faddy foods, organic if possible, exercise daily and have LDL 3.8, HDL 2.3 and Triclycirides 0.7 and have no reason or wish to take any medication. Concentrate on your self. Eat healthily, if you smoke STOP, exercise, even if it is only walking, you don't need to go to the gym! There are probably lots of reasons why your parents have health problems but your sister and yourself are in a good position to work on your healths and do all you can to change your lifestyle. When you look into your day you will probably see where you can improve your wellbeing and I wish you well.