Bad cholesterol

[Hometeam2016]

hi my husband s bad cholesterol is 5.7 the dr has gave him statins even without suggesting a diet change , can I ask please how can he lower his BC ? What types of meals can he have please anyone have any advice please

[sandybrown]

What are the cholesterol levels from blood test? Other blood numbers, like blood pressure and blood glucose?

[Hometeam2016 in reply to sandybrown]

not sure numbers but he was told they was all ok , his cholesterol was lower they would like he can’t remember the number

[Hidden]

In my experience, a generally healthy diet, focussed on plant-based but not processed (i.e. not pretend meat), but including a little meat and fish from time to time - what they call "flexitarian", I think - and lots of beans and veg and oats, and that sort of thing seems to help. But it's worth keeping on with the statins, too, as they do seem to work wonders.

[Hometeam2016 in reply to Hidden]

thank u x

[DakCB-UK in reply to Hidden]

Diet and exercise should be tried before statins. The doctor was rather poor not to do that. Statins work fine for many people as far as we can tell, but they are not without risk of some pretty horrible side-effects.

Oats are key. Those cholesterol-lowering with-meal drinks like benecol also work well, but ironically cost more than statin prescriptions.

[Hometeam2016 in reply to DakCB-UK]

I thought this but then I heard an interview on Jeremy vines with a dr who said they are giving them out due to the heart problems lately I think some may be referrring to heart attacks etc or problems from vaccines well

Supposedly

[DakCB-UK in reply to Hometeam2016]

I just posted a link elsewhere to this telegraph report about even more liberal statin prescribing as a cynical attempted quick-fix to the recent collapse of the NHS heart screening tests and prevention work: telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/0...

I agree with the quoted anonymous experts: "more people on statins alone will not be enough to meaningfully improve the health of the nation."

[Moonglo]

Hallo, I had to change my diet to low carb after being diagnosed with diabetes. Despite visible benefits (weight loss, lower blood glucose readings etc) over several years, my cholesterol readings remained stubbornly high. It was only after reluctantly trying statins that my readings reduced. I’ve been on statins for a couple of years and have had no side effects.

[Hometeam2016 in reply to Moonglo]

thank you , yeah all his other tests come back ok apart from cholesterol coke back lower than there like but bad chloesterol is 5.7 so his a guy that don’t really eat fried food as we have an air fryer but it could be the wrong food , he likes red meat cheese etc I don’t lol , his going to have to change some habits or will it work moderation and I was going to. Change to whole meal rice /pasta ? Maybe jacket pots but once a week but then is it all to many carbs

[Moonglo in reply to Hometeam2016]

High cholesterol runs in my family, and I came to that conclusion after changing my diet with no results on the cholesterol side. And I love cheese too much! Making small adjustments really helps, and even then if the cholesterol doesn’t go down it might be worth trying the statins.

Starchy carbs (pasta/rice/potatoes) are ok in moderation and when you offset it with exercise (I walk a lot). You could also try substituting red meat with chicken/turkey/fish and put loads of veggies on the plate to compensate for the fewer carbs. For example, I’ll make a chilli con carne using turkey mince, with around 5 tablespoons of rice (as opposed to 8-10 tablespoons). If I feel the portion is small (which is rare, lol) I’ll add broccoli or cabbage on the side. My plate is always loaded!

[sandybrown]

Hello,

Human body produces 80% of cholesterol for the human body to function, the other 20 % is from what goes into our mouth food and drinks.

A GP, can do a risk analysis and offer incidence towards controlling blood test numbers. Also a print out of blood test results for reference.

A lipid test gives HDL,LDL and Triglyceride numbers and total cholesterol. NHS have guide line numbers, life style change can control blood test numbers. controlling food and drinks and regular exercise can help towards a healthy life.

Take care.

[Batty1]

Exercise, stop smoking if he does and cleaning up his diet …. Do this for a while and test cholesterol again.

[sluggerpeggy]

It can be lowered by Diet and Exercise!

[AMADORA]

hello hometeam: i usually dont reply and only read this time, i felt a need. Please do not worry ! I was diagnosed with high cholesterol very close to your husbands numbers about a year ago. My doctor and i went on with a very strict diet and exercise routine ( daily ) for 8 months once we did the second blood test my cholesterol did not move an inch. He mentioned to me, that even though, some peoples cholesterol levels are purely genetic and in my case this was the case ! so yeah, i am on statins cause it will save my life! The first set of statins i was on cause a great deal of lower mucle aches, i was taken off of those about 6 months later and put on another type of statin ( it is a try and see type of medication ) but ..have no fear one will be found eventually and your husband will feel better almost in the first week <3 all my love from Canada