Emily

[Dalmilling54]

I have been on simvastatin for over 18 years now I'm on 40mg but my colestrol never seems to go down I've cut back on loads of foods with fat but it seems to stay the same I get fistraighed with this does anyone have any idea's about how I can lower it many thanks Emily

[Andyman]

What are your levels now? ☺

[Hidden]

Hi Emily

You don't say what your cholesterol levels are, but has your doctor referred you to a lipid clinic?

If not, you could ask for a referral. If statins aren't reducing your cholesterol levels, there may be a variety of reasons for this.

I'd try not to worry too much about your cholesterol - it isn't really a risk factor in itself in any case, particularly for women. A recent study from Norway found that in women, high cholesterol is linked to a longer life.

drmalcolmkendrick.org/tag/h...

[Hidden]

It's my view that our individual physiology has a lot to do with which foods raise or lower our cholesterol. I've certainly found that my cholesterol drops when I lose weight (which means of course I cut out sugary food and eat fewer carbs) and goes up if I eat too much sugary food and put on weight - being put under stress by the medical profession doesn't help there since I tend to reach for the cake when I'm feeling stressed.

But I think cholesterol is only a side issue anyway. The real issue is that our bodies produce cholesterol to cope with problems like too much sugar. But some of us are more affected than others - that's just a result of our basic genetic make up. For example south Asian people have higher rates of type II diabetes, even if they're not overweight.

[Penel]

Although fat may affect your levels, it seems that refined carbohydrates may affect it more. Try swapping to high fibre foods, or cutting down on carbs from sugary breakfast cereals, bread, pasta. This should help with weight loss, too.

scientificamerican.com/arti...

[rogbert]

Hi Emily,

You dont say what your levels are ? If your that worried you should see your hospital doctor or GP who i'm sure is keeping tabs on you by regular checkups perhaps you need to increase your medsI have been on statins for over 40 years and am currently taking 80 mg atorvastatin daily plus 10mg ezetimbe my cholesterol readings started at 28 and I'm now down to under 3, although I had a heart attack 3 years ago as I have other problems .

[1Joseph1]

Does it just happen with certain foods? Do you check for hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated oils and trans fats? It's good to read the labels as much as possible but sometimes they don't put all the ingredients on the label and put things in food that don't look they're fattening but they are. And finally, if I may ask, I was thinking how do you cook the food and what do you put on it? I'm very careful about what I eat and I still get blocked arteries but for the last several weeks or month I've been taking a fiber called beta-glucan that's in oatmeal because fiber absorbs fats and unfortunately any supplements if you take them within 4 hours of taking fiber cause they're transported by fat except for vitamins C and B that are water soluble. I take high dosages of beta-glucan in tablet form and so far so good. If you try it let me know what happens. Thank you. Good luck!