Need to lower my Cholesterol....any help??

sitcom321

i have recently had my bloods routinely taken where it shows my cholesterol LDL was 7.1 my gp recommended putting me on statins which i am not keen on really. we came to an agreement i would try to lower my cholesterol by diet over the next 4-6months and if there is no improvement i will then go on statins.

i wondered if anyone can recommend anything that would help. i have already

changed breakfast to porridge
changed butter to benecol
bought walnuts/almonds to have a few every day
changed diet so no red meat whatsoever no just chicken, turkey salmon sardines & mackerel.

i have cut eggs down to 1 per week and cut out prawns (which i love!)

any other ideas would be greatly appreciated

peachyprice

By far the biggest change can be made by exercise, 30 mins of sweat inducing activity a day should make a big difference.

Also, it wasn't that long ago that 7 was an acceptable level, now it isn't but there's been a vast increase in the amount of statins prescribed, but the number of deaths from heart disease hasn't decreased. Call me cynical but statins are making a difference somewhere, not necessarily to the nations health.

RichardD1970

Agree with the above, exercise.

I lowered my Cholesterol by one whole point by doing the Couch 2 5k program, I now jog 5k 3 or 4 times a week. Haven't stopped eating anything, although I am doing the 5:2 diet. Good support threads for both on here

terra_ferma

I've read that recent research shows that the link between diet (particularly saturated fats and red meat) and high cholesterol is not as clear is it was thought.
You may not necessarily be able to lower your cholesterol through your diet, but worth trying.
I would also stay away from low fat foods because they tend to have higher levels of sugar and additives to compensate for the lack of fat.

This article looks interesting (I would ignore the bit about soya as there is limited evidence, and may be more beneficial to the USA economy than Briton's health )
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2272401/The-foods-cut-cholesterol-just-months--dont-cheese-chocolate-breakfast-egg.html

PS doesn't look like you need to worry about eggs and prawns
http://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/conditions/high-cholesterol.aspx

cickly

I have been doing some research on this for my Mum who has recently been told she has high cholesterol. It seems to be a low fat diet and exercise are the most advised things, so just trying to be a bit more health conscious (as you seem to be doing) will be a good start.
Everyone I know who has taken statins has had more side effects than positive results, so I would also think carefully before agreeing to them.
Is high cholesterol hereditary? Both my parents and Gran have HC, so if there is genetics involved and you're not leading an unhealthy lifestyle, maybe medication is the only answer?

terra_ferma

cickly wrote: »

I have been doing some research on this for my Mum who has recently been told she has high cholesterol. It seems to be a low fat diet and exercise are the most advised things, so just trying to be a bit more health conscious (as you seem to be doing) will be a good start.
Everyone I know who has taken statins has had more side effects than positive results, so I would also think carefully before agreeing to them.
Is high cholesterol hereditary? Both my parents and Gran have HC, so if there is genetics involved and you're not leading an unhealthy lifestyle, maybe medication is the only answer?

It's not actually a low fat diet per se, but a diet low in saturated fats. There is a big difference, and in particular a diet substituting low fat products for standard ones could easily have too much sugar in it.
Some low fat products are just a rip off, they substitute fat with water, so you pay the same amount for less product.

I too think cholesterol is at least genetic if not hereditary, and so are other issues, most of my life I ate a very unhealthy diet, with no exercise, if life was fair I would have a lot of issues with diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure (I've now changed my ways and eat very healthily).

If it was me I'd definitely try a diet low in saturated fat, adding those foods that are supposed, and increase exercise. Not a fan of diets, but even less a fan of tablets that mess with your body even more.

sitcom321

Thanks for the advice everyone. Funny but I really didnt know that exercise could lower ur cholesterol! I will give it a go and see how I go on. I really dont fancy statins. I have heard the little yoghurt drinks are good for it too

peachyprice

My mum uses the Benecol butter and doesn't buy anything over 5g saturated fats, hers dropped from 7 to 5 in about 6 months.

Thing is, you could take statins, reduce your cholesterol and suffer all the nasty side effects, but they still won't increase your life expectancy.

belfastgirl23

If you can afford it I'd say this is one of those things where spending a little money might help. See a personal trainer. Book an appointment with a respected nutritionist. What you need now is good information with a solid scientific basis. Yes people here can give you stuff to think about but there's no substitute for professional knowledge. I've read enough to know there are different schools of thought re fat vs sugar on this issue for example.

The exercise advice is clearly good though!

A.Penny.Saved

Bacillus Coagulans is meant to improve cholesterol, it's a probiotic. It is used in a patented formula to lower cholesterol as I remember. I did have loads of them but I have been using them in my fermentation, which I started eating yesterday, plus consuming a few capsules here and there.

There are nutrients which can help improve your circulatory health, it's not just about total cholesterol. Fish oil improves triglycerides, mine are pretty decent even though my total cholesterol is almost as high as yours. Stress is meant to be a big factor, the body produces more cholesterol in order to produce more stress hormones. Hypothyroidism is an important factor and one that I need checking again because I am sure they didn't check it thoroughly enough last time.

Statins = absolutely no chance of me ever taking them.

I would suggest that you look at more natural methods of lowering your cholesterol, in particular do not eat polyunsaturated vegetable oils! They are the worse oils that you can eat and cause/contribute to many health problems including heart disease, cancer and autoimmune illnesses due to their tendency to promote inflammation. Plus most of it is spoilt ie rancid but with added flavourings and odours to hide it.

thor

sitcom321 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice everyone. Funny but I really didnt know that exercise could lower ur cholesterol! I will give it a go and see how I go on

I recently had my 40 year plus free nhs medical check and it came out that I had very good cholesterol levels, blood pressure and a low heart beat rate. From this I was told by the nurse that I must be eating lots of fresh fruit and veg which is very far from the truth. I do try but fail miserably and actually have one or two sugary snacks per day and main meals consisting of hardly any vegetables(apart from potatoes).
Both my parents suffered from diabetes and high cholesterol but I am all clear (so far).
This does not mean that a good diet won't lower cholesterol but in my case I think exercise definitely does.