Natural remedies to lower cholesterol

[StopPBC]

Has anybody with PBC & high cholesterol tried 1MD Nutrition CholestMD - They claim it Supports Healthy HDL & LDL Cholesterol Levels. Contains Olive Leaf Extract, Bergavit, Niacin, Garlic.

Any other natural remedies that work?

[CCordier]

Be very very careful when taking any type of herbal product to treat anything because there are herbal treatments for various disorders that are very hard on the liver.

In particular, be wary of "red yeast rice" to lower your cholesterol if you want to avoid taking statins (the usual drug prescribed to lower cholesterol). Red yeast rice has the exact chemical compound in it that prescription statins have. In fact some pharmaceutical companies just extract the compound from red yeast rice instead of making it from scratch in a lab.

It can cause liver toxicity, so its a no go for anyone with PBC.

[Persevere99 in reply to CCordier]

Hi

I’ve just read that niacin can also cause muscle aches. How is that possible?

Statins, of course, cause muscle aches, by competing with the same enzyme, in the liver, that muscles need.

But, niacin? Unsure why?

As a vegan, my total cholesterol is very low at 2.8 UK (1) I’ve read other vegans saying the same thing.

So, I’m looking to raise HDL by trying this and that. I recently tried 6 weeks of 3G vegan oil Omega 3, but it didn’t raise it even 1 point!

Will never take a statin.

Thanks

Persevere

[rderezin]

for years i can swing my number down 25 points between 3 month draws by eating oats then last year i switched to msin meal at lunch and a bowl of cheerios with fruit for dinner and amazing after 25 years my numbers are normal. I really believe in oats in any form.

[OdinsMom]

Why not just cook with olive oil and garlic? Herbal products can be dangerous with liver disease not for what they say they contain but for what else they may contain. Personally my cholesterol was fine, went up with PBC and came back down after transplant.