How do I lower my cholesterol naturally?

[erika77]

I want to know the natural way to reduce cholesterol fast.

[annenic]

I brought mine done wn from 9.3 to 6.7 (still on it) by stopping eating all bread, cakes, biscuits and all things naughty for 3 months then I would have one every now and again as a treat, now I have something everyday. It takes a while I’m just over a year in, but it’s better that pills in my opinion x

[Marz]

Cholesterol is much needed in the body for many transactions - especially for the brain and for the formation of many hormones.

Before Thyroid Testing came into being in the early 70's anyone who had raised cholesterol often had their thyroids treated. Raised cholesterol can be a Hypo symptom. With almost 12 million people on Statins in the UK is it any wonder that Alzheimers and Dementia along with other neurological conditons are on the rise ....

[sos007 Ambassador]

I had triple bypass surgery in March 2015. I successfully reduced my cholesterol naturally by changing my dietary and lifestyle habits. This process took 10 months for completion but the reduction in cholesterol was immediate.

Read this post:

healthunlocked.com/choleste...

Here are the rest of my posts - choose the ones you want and read them carefully:

healthunlocked.com/user/sos007

The bottom line is you must eliminate sugars and food that convert to glucose in your body such as all simple carbohydrates:

-Sugar, honey, agave, maple syrup etc...

-soft drinks both regular and the 'diet' variety

-Fruit juices

-Alcohol (limit of one per day at most - ideally only red wine)

-white flour products - bread, pasta, pizza (you can have the whole grain version of each)

-white rice and white potatoes

-Reduce your consumption of animal proteins to one meal of 3 oz. per day (fish twice per week, red meat once per week, white meat the rest of the week);

-Increase your consumption of legumes - chick peas, lentils and beans; (look up some Greek and Italian recipes for these items online)

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Limit your consumption of:

- cheese

- butter and oils

these are fats and they are high in calories (calorie dense) so you must limit their quantity;

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Eat more:

-vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables as well as broccoli;

-2-3 whole fruits daily, ideally - blueberries, blackberries, apples and oranges;

Every day have:

-some walnuts and almonds - 6-8 pieces of each;

-Greek yogurt for protein - plain, no fruit, 0% fat - add frozen berries for flavour;

-Egg white omelette - egg whites are high in protein

Walk every day - start with 20 minutes and work your way up to 60 minutes per day.

Good luck.

You can message me privately if you need any other info, but read my other posts first.

[Jessie1234 in reply to sos007]

Thanks sos007. I’ve just found out that I have Haemochromatosis. The doctor ran the full run of blood tests unknown to me and the results were pleasing...no diabetes risk, neglible liver damage, good HDL to LDL ratio but the overall cholesterol level is high (9.9)! I also have High Blood Pressure. My diet is happily very close to what you recommend bar my very sweet tooth and I am very physically active. Time to cut out sugar, biscuits, home baking etc. Plus loose weight. I’ve read some of your other posts. I’d like to add in more vitamin c but am a bit anxious as it increases iron absorption which I need to avoid. Any ideas? I’m starting shortly on a red seaweed calcium supplement which has 72 trace minerals included for my bones.

[sos007 Ambassador in reply to Jessie1234]

Hemochromatosis is excess iron in your blood and tissues. In men iron accumulates over a lifetime and begins to become problematic after the age of 50 or 60. Iron is measured in the ferritin levels of a blood test.

This is a 'condition' and not a 'disease' that can be resolved. The primary treatment is regular phlebotomies (blood donation). You can take care of this yourself by donating blood every 56 days to your public blood services organization, or if your condition is severe enough, your doctor may send you to a clinic to have it done more frequently.

In the meantime, you have to stop (not reduce - stop) eating foods that are high in iron such as red meat (including pork, veal and beef), and shellfish.

The effect of vitamin C on iron retention is still undetermined with some studies showing it has no effect: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/102...

That said, those who suggest vitamin C causes iron retention indicate you can still take up to 2,000 mg daily.

Try restricting it to 1,000 mg per day until your ferritin levels get back to normal.

Sugar is poison to the human body - watch this video:

youtu.be/aIc6iF5k9v4(Not working as expected?) - 14 minutes

For the record, I average only 1 teaspoon of sugar per day which means I eat virtually nothing sweet. Focus on your triglyceride and blood glucose values - if they are kept ultra low, then your LDL will take care of itself.

I wouldn't take the red seaweed calcium supplement - have you been told you have osteoporosis? 2,000 mg daily of vitamin D and a well-balanced diet as I described, as well as 400 mg of vitamin E will ensure strong bones. The supplement you mentioned is noted for potentially having bad side effects including increasing blood clotting which can trigger heart attacks and strokes.

Good luck.

[Jessie1234 in reply to sos007]

Thank you for all the information sos007. Yes I have osteoporosis but have never had a fragility bone breakage. However now I'm in my 60's I'm getting a bit more nervous and have upped intake of supplements such as boron, Vit K2, Vit D3 . For a number of years I took no dairy as I'm sensitive to it. In the last year I'm taking kefir made with goats milk and a good quality, probiotic organic yogurt daily but probably need to increase the volume of yogurt. My diet is good but I doubt if I reach 700mg of Vitamin C daily which is why I'm considering a supplements plus It'd be a good idea to note my intake for a few weeks. I'll try to get to 1,000mg daily.

My BbA1c level is normal at 35 mmol/mol. Serum triglycerides normal at 1.2, HDL at 1.7. The LDL is 4.1. Serum cholesterol is 6.3.

From today no more sugar! I suspect this is my problem. In N Ireland a haemochromatosis patient is initially referred to a hospital consultant with anything from a one and half year to 3 year waiting list which is where I stand now. The local blood transfusion service will only take a referral from this consultant and then you are restricted to 3 donations annually! Recently a consultant has been appointed to the service and hopefully later this year our own doctor may be permitted to refer us. I gather it'll be quite strictly regulated.

My apologies annenic for butting in on your post. Its great to get advice from people who have been down this road successfully. I'm trying at all costs to avoid taking a statin. In fact I will downright refuse to take them!

[sos007 Ambassador in reply to Jessie1234]

There's a difference between 'normal' and 'optimal' values when measuring various blood metrics.

Your triglycerides are sub-optimal and should be lowered. This will also lower your LDL.

Read this post about my last blood test:

healthunlocked.com/choleste...

Your HDL is good, LDL is high.

Sounds like your government-run health care system is worse than ours (Canada).

Go somewhere and get your blood donations done ASAP, privately if necessary. Iron overload is a serious condition that needs to be treated immediately.

Immediate cessation of sugars and simple carbs is critical for you (they are inflammatory foods). Make sure you get 15,000 steps per day - 45 to 60 minute brisk walk.

Your solution is in your diet and lifestyle, not drugs.

[Jessie1234]

Together Health calcium Marine (lithothamnion Calcareum) Multi mineral complex, a UK made product, sustainable sourced off the coast of Iceland. It includes some magnesium and trace amounts of silica, strontium plus more. No quantities given except for calcium, 2 tablets 384mg. Early research is promising for bone building as loads of nutrients combined in a plant base. Can reduce B Pressure too. I'll not exceed this amount as diet can supply the rest and I think overdosing can affect the liver. Swanson do them too but sourced off Ireland, hopefully less pollution from Icelandic source.

[sandybrown]

Very interesting conversation but the person who put the post so far has not made any comments, I wonder WHY?

[CDreamer in reply to sandybrown]

None of the above is ‘fast’?