Hello

[e047928]

Hello. I am new to the group. I am trying to lower my cholesterol and improve my health. Any suggestions?

[arty_sax]

How serious are you?

What lengths are you willing to go to?

[MarymaryA]

Hi, the British Heart Foundation have lots of advice. As far as I know I don't have a heart problem (although my father died of a heart attack) but I had had high cholesterol for some years and last year matters came to a head when I developed a blockage in the main artery at the back of one of my legs and I suddenly went from someone who walked several miles each week with a walking group to someone who could not walk more than a couple of hundred yard up the road without awful pain. The doctor put me on medications to get my cholesterol down and thin my blood and I also joined a gym as I found it easier walking on the treadmill at the gym. My cholesterol was tested after 6 months and it had come down but not as much as I wanted and I still couldn't walk very far without pain. My nephew told me about a doctor in the States who had been successfully treating heart patients whom the heart doctors had given up on. Sorry if this sounds like a big sell. It sounded so to me until I read his book (Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Dr C B Esselstyn in which he cites case studies and gives lots of evidence including photographic). I started on a wholefood plant-based diet at the end of August 2019 and when my cholesterol was checked again in March this year it had gone down another point. I have now been walking again in the open (gym closed because of Covid-19) and have sometimes walked up to 4 miles and am aiming to do more when I have time. Considering I could hardly walk up the road last year without feeling that my leg would explode, being able to walk up to 4 miles is progress. Another bonus is that I have lost weight without trying. I have never been clinically obese but I am now back to the weight I was when I was 20 (I am now 73) and I can eat as much as I like as long as I adhere to the wholefood plant-based diet with no added fat. You get as much fat as your body needs as the whole-grains have some fat in them. Admittedly it was not as difficult for me as for some people as I had been a vegetarian since I was in my thirties. I think it was the fact that I absolutely loved cheese and ate tons of it that was my downfall probably and also some vegetarian ready-made foods have a lot of fat in them. I have now got used to not having cheese (even the vegan cheeses are high-fat) and don't miss it so much. I look on boxes and choose vegetarian or vegan burgers/fillets that are fairly low fat and I have also found very low-fat or no-fat salad dressings. I enjoy my food and eat a lot and my food is usually very tasty. You will find lots of people who knock this type of diet but I don't actually care. It has achieved what I wanted it to. The blockage in my leg has not entirely gone away yet but I think it has diminished considerably and no longer dominates and restricts my life. ... And I feel as if I have a new wardrobe as I can get into all my clothes again. Good luck with your quest to get your cholesterol down. It can be done and you can still have tasty food.

[e047928 in reply to MarymaryA]

Thank you for sharing your experience and resource. I appreciate your assistance.

[craftynan2five]

Has your GP given you any advice? Also you dont say whether its really high or slightly raised or if you have any other health problems.You could maybe talk to your practice nurse about it.If its quite high maybe you need a statin to help bring it down,sometimes its not all about controlling your wheight etc . Itried several different statins but they didnt agree with me so i decided i needed to lose some weight but after losing 4+stone it had actually gone up. Finally they said i had done everything i could to help myself and they put me on a different drug called ezetimibe ive been on it about 6 months now with no sid effects. I should have gone for blood tests about 6 weeks ago to see whether its had any effect but with being on lockdown i havent been able to go so its fingers crossed until i can get a blood test. Hope this as been of some help to you without knowing your background story i cant really advise you anything else to do but you can always keep in touch and let us know a bit about your background and how you are getting on. Anne xx

[e047928 in reply to craftynan2five]

Thank you. It was 289 but it went to 259 a while back. My doctor put me on a Med to lower which I took for 2 1/2 months with no improvement. I quit taking it in March. I am now using food and exercise to get my numbers down. I eat 1/2 to one grapefruit a day and I try to eat an avocado 3 times a week.

[craftynan2five in reply to e047928]

for me once they realised i had done everything to help myself they said it would more than likely be inherited cholesterol losing 4+ stone should have took it down but it actually went up so you never know yours could be the same if the first lot of medication didnt make a difference.Where i am they try you on 3 different statins before they start investigating it further. Regarding the diet i just started an healthy eating plan of 1200 calories a day low carb and high protein plenty of fruit and veg i started cooking everything from scratch so i knew exactly how many calories there was in everything i ate and i lead quite a sedentory lifestyle due to cancer of my spine and it only took me 9 months to lose it but i have no desire to go back to unhealthy foods. i love everything i eat now. its a lot easier to be able to check calories because its listed on everything these days. By the way a couple of replies that mentioned oats are spot on its a super food item for your health. hope this as been of any help to you. anne xx

[craigside]

Hi

As long as I can remember my cholesterol was always around the 6.5 mark and after turning 50 my GP mentioned that I should try and reduce it otherwise I would need to go on statins.

I didn’t want to go on statins, so I started having the cholesterol reducing yogurts every day, they do work and reduced my level to 5.5, which GP was happy with.

1 year ago I stopped the yogurts and instead ensured I consumed porridge oats daily. I have porridge a few days a week, or I make a drink with the oats (Just mix with milk or water and drink it).

I’m now 58, and in January I was checked and my cholesterol reading was 5.

So, porridge oats does it for me...

Good luck.

[sandybrown in reply to craigside]

Very good information. Could you let me know the make of oats you use and the carb content. Thanks.

Are you able to control blood glucose level as well?

[e047928 in reply to sandybrown]

I eat Quaker Oats old fashioned and steel cut oats. My blood sugar is good. Thank you.

[craigside in reply to sandybrown]

Hi

Use Quaker porridge oats. I put approx 50mm deep in a pint glass, this equates to 40g of rolled oats (150cal, 4.4g protein, 24g carbohydrates).

I mix with water or milk and drink it. I have it once or twice a day.

It definitely works for me in lowering my cholesterol. A bonus for me is this also stops the need for snacking so I don’t eat biscuits and crisps etc between meals...