High cholesterol

[Andrew21]

My cholesterol level is 7.5,what is quickest way to reduce and when should I take another test.

[sandybrown]

You need to offer more information, full blood test results and other medical conditions. Life style change and regular exercise is a starting point. Did you have a consultation with your GP after you found out your cholesterol is 7.5? Normally you can wait for six months before your next test!

[Andrew21 in reply to sandybrown]

I am arranging appointment with GP.

[Rueben]

See my post under thread titled "You will not reduce cholesterol" and fire away with any questions if you want. Good luck.....it can be done!

[anjalund]

You should have another one a year from the last one due to my Gp

[Clericus]

Follow low fat, low dairy diet and if prescribed statins take them! 3-6 month timescale before next test. Good luck!

[sparky333 in reply to Clericus]

A low fat diet will rocket your cholesterol through the roof

[Andyman]

You want the "quickest way" then that is to take Statins. Whether you want to do that is another story.

Next you need to exercise at minimum 30 mins each day and more if you can. Change your diet to low carb, lots of fibre and loads of fruit and veg. Clericus and Traci have already said this though.

[DakCB-UK in reply to Andyman]

Are you sure? I thought I'd been told that statins take between a few weeks and two months to get to full potential, whereas exercise can have an effect after just two weeks in some cases.

[Andyman in reply to DakCB-UK]

Well in my case it worked but then we are all different. As you say ..in some cases....

[sparky333]

I've been successfully controlling my cholesterol and diabetes with just diet and exercise for over 10 yrs now. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to notice that the NHS is presiding over an epidemic. Low fat diet will increase your cholesterol and make you feel really ill. Cholesterol is about how much sugar/carb consumption not fat. Your liver produces cholesterol.. what works for me is eating a low carb diet which means eating a 3 egg omelet for breakfast NOT porridge or cereals - they spike your sugar = high cholesterol. then for lunch I sometimes have some tinned fish and snack on stewed rhubarb (sweetened with splenda but not aspartame) with full fat greek yoghurt in the afternoon and then my main meal in the evening where i have a small portion of potato/rice and some good quality protein. 2 days a week I go veggie and pulses like lentils and kidney beans are excellent cholesterol reducers. I do not eat bread/sugar.... I increased my good fat intake like olive oil, coconut oil, goose fat and butter rather than spreads which contain seed oils which I avoid. I take a supplement of hemp seed oil capsules which actively reduce cholesterol. I can eat cheddar without affecting my levels...

Using this model I reduced my cholesterol from 6.7 to 4.6 in less than 4 weeks.. my blood sugar control is in the exceptional bracket... and i have not needed any medication for that for over 10 yrs.

Using this model I lost 20lbs in 4 weeks also - obviously beneficial...

It will only take 4 weeks to try and there's no controversial risky advice here... once you have achieved your goal you can afford to relax a bit...

You need to understand that your doctor gets a financial incentive for prescribing statins for you. Also, the new target of 4 is part of scientific research paid for by the drug companies and increases their revenue by billions...

Statins will increase your blood sugar levels and could cause you to need medication for that too.. the treatment of diabetes world wide is worth $250 billion annually to the drug companies -

[rocheen in reply to sparky333]

Hi how hemp seed oil do you use. Thanks

[sparky333 in reply to rocheen]

you can buy capsules from holland and barrat or online

[rocheen in reply to sparky333]

Thanks. Do you take the recommened amount or more.

[sparky333 in reply to rocheen]

i just take one a day - but you know... having ultra low cholesterol may not be such a good thing - current research says that there may be a link between statins (and therefore low cholesterol) and altsheimers - so I would recommend using a bit of common sense and moderation.. you might want to aim for something like a 5. something rather than a 4 like the drug companies and therefore... the NHS are recommending..

[rocheen in reply to sparky333]

Mine is

Cholesterol 7.4 mmol/L

HDL cholesterol 2.7 mmol/L

Triglycerides 0.7 mmol/L

Chol:HDL ratio 2.7

LDL cholesterol 4.4 mmol/L

Would like to lower it to a 5 but its proving hard and dont want to take statins.

[sparky333 in reply to rocheen]

That is easy - eat a fat rich diet with good fats like olive oil, coconut oil, butter, goose fat - and eat nuts - any kind salted or raw.. eat oilly fish like mackerel and salmon (wild only - fresh or tinned) reduce your carb and sugar intake - DO NOT eat porridge for breakfast and when you do eat carbs always mix them with foods that reduce their glyceamic index - like protien - especially beans and pulses - kidney beans are excellent for this - leave the bread out completely (bread is made from GM flour which causes inflammation of the gut) brown bread is no better than white on this... when I'm on my strict regime I only eat starch once a day in the evening - and mix it with my protiens. I eat a 3 egg omlet for breakfast, snack on nuts in moderation, eat fruit with full fat greek yogurt in the afternoon, sometimes I'll eat a tin of wild salmon and then dinner with a small portion of carbs mixed with some kind of protien. You'll lose any excess weight fast and your sugar and cholesterol will balance within 2 - 3 weeks. DO NOT take statins - they will increase your sugar levels, increase your insulin resistance and can give you seriously irreversible conditions and side afffects.

[rocheen in reply to sparky333]

Thanks.

[sandybrown in reply to sparky333]

One question.. 2min porridge, 27 g package has 16g of cab. How much of beans do I need to take? Can I take chick peas? By going total cab free, can this introduce any other medical problem?

Which food do you get the starch from?

Thanks.

[sparky333 in reply to sandybrown]

The point is, cholesterol is driven by sugar not fat (and diabetes = excess blood sugar) - so in that sense carbs = sugar in the blood. Fat doesn't because the body takes much longer to digest and use it for energy. So, If you have hi blood sugar and/or cholesterol - you can redress the balance by leaving out starchy foods and foods with sugar/fructose/honey etc.

There is nothing bad that can happen to you by not eating carbs and replacing them with a slightly higher fat intake. And your pulses have some form of carbs/sugar in them anyway, as does your meat and other stuff like fruit - but these things metabolise differently to bread and rice - because the pectin in apples for example, actually helps the body to process sugar into usable energy.. thereby resulting in lower blood sugar = lower cholesterol.. if the body cannot process sugar and carbs easily because of a condition like diabetes or because there's too much... it stores it as fat in your body and increases your cholesterol - but if the sugar from carbs and sweet foods is not being consummed, it won't result in excess blood sugar - the body cannot store the sugar as fat because it's not there to store. You will lose weight, your metabolism will get a rest and balance itself out and the result is better sugar and cholesterol levels..

If you only eat rice, bread, potatoes once a day at your evening meal - and just a little - your body will use the energy in your other foods more efficiently..

Any kind of pulses are good but kidney beans are extra good. And when you do eat your small carb portion ( small - no bigger than a handful - and you combine it with good protien like chicken or fish - the energy will release slowly..

And.. carbs/sugars are all addictive.. so by only eating them once a day, you break the addiction - and the protien will stop you craving to eat something.. you will feel full and strong for hours longer and not hungry..

Excess weight will FALL off you - like about 12lbs in the first week - whereas before you could not get below a certain weight even when starving yourself.. you will smash that barrier with ease.

Once you have reached your goals - you can then have the odd day when you can eat carbs or even the odd bit of chocolate or something... but it won't taste as nice as it once did. There is no risk to your health at all by following this diet.. it's healthy to eat like this all the time...

And in fact, the higher fat levels help your brain because your brain particularly uses fat... to function, especially fish oils which are long and well documented as being very beneficial to kids at school for learning. So you reduce your chances of getting dementia as well..

[sandybrown in reply to sparky333]

Thank you for your response. did loose weight when I started the life style change but now I am maintaining my weight. According to NHS calculator I am obese! In the gym I can do 30 minutes on a tread mill without any problem. Try to keep my exercise to 30 minutes in the gym and walking to the gym and back another 30 minutes.

[Sonyajba]

Couldn't agree more Sparky

[Floozie]

I'm sure regular contributors will throw up their hands in horror at what I'm about to reveal. I have familial hypercholesterolaemia, diagnosed 40 years ago, since which time I have taken prescribed therapy & I have relied on this to reduce my cholesterol, which it has done very effectively. I have never followed any specific diet, eating just what I fancied, which is not what is recommended. The reason I have done this is because I hate so-called "healthy foods" & made the decision a long time ago to enjoy what I eat as long as my medication controlled my cholesterol. I detest anything spicy, nuts, pulses, brown bread, rice (except in rice pudding) skimmed milk & love lots of butter, white bread, potatoes, cheese, cream, chocolate, sugar, puddings, etc. I have a sweet tooth & indulge it, although I do like fruit & veg. & include these in my diet, simply because I like their taste. I do not have a weight problem. Food is such an important part of each day & eating what is "good for me" would be unthinkable if I did not enjoy it. Fortunately statins have always worked for me, without side effects. I currently take 40mg. rosuvastatin & 10mg Ezetrol daily + a strawberry Benecol drink & my cholesterol level is around 4.5 mmol/litre (sometimes lower). When I was diagnosed at the age of 28 it was between 10-12 mmol/litre. I have never worried about my condition, choosing, I suppose, to ignore it, apart from taking therapy & very importantly, being reviewed by a lipid consultant regularly.

[DakCB-UK in reply to Floozie]

That "eating just what I fancied, which is not what is recommended" aspect interests me. I crave certain foods like oats, nuts, soy, avocado and so on, which haven't always been recommended, but as I get older, more and more of them seem to be recommended. I have a bit of a sweet tooth, but I do get sick of sugary things fairly quickly. I sometimes wonder if it's my body trying to repair itself and if that would happen to more FH sufferers if they listened to their body and tried to ignore the pressures of food marketing, but your story makes me think maybe it wouldn't. However, I think I'm on half the statin potency of yours (80mg simvastatin because rosuvastatin caused me dire problems), don't take ezetrol and have a similar cholesterol level.

Anyway, I'm glad you've found an approach which seems to work for you.