Lowering cholesterol without statins - I did it!!!

[lucky penny]

To the OP,

What about alcohol? Did you reduce your intake, change it?

Do you use tobacco?

Any other lifestyle changes? Like sleeping more regularly, stress etc.?

Congratulations! You deserve to celebrate your accomplishment. And thank you for sharing it.

OP here. I've never smoked & rarely consume alcohol, once in a while a glass of wine. During those months when I turned things around there were some periods of very high stress (deadlines) & a few weeks with way too little sleep -- that definitely did NOT feel good -- but I always managed to exercise every day & I feel that made a huge difference.

I'm feeling great & my mindset is that this way of eating & exercise is how it will be always. I just find it easier to always say no to unhealthy foods (even one cookie) rather than to continually debate about indulging a little bit "just this once." (That's what I used to do & apparently those little indulgences really added up.) And it's much more pleasant to just go out & walk some more than to feel guilty for not doing it.

A big serving of plain, cooked spinach every day reminds me that I'm eating for health, not for comfort or emotional reasons. Eating lots of oatmeal & berries, salmon, nuts & avocados & other veggies reminds me of that too. I also like greek yogurt & occasionally have a slice of whole wheat bread with almond butter or a small whole wheat "everything" bagel. And I do like good pizza, but only a slice or two, & not often, & not unless it's really good.

A favorite healthy indulgence is baked sweet potato fries, sprayed with a little olive oil - I eat these almost every day. Another is no-wheat pancakes (combine a banana, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1 egg or 2 egg whites, 1/2 tsp baking powder in a blender -- add more oats if the batter is too thin, or a little liquid if it's too thick; cook in a skillet sprayed with cooking spray or olive oil; sprinkle with berries; flip once). This makes about 4 pancakes & they are delicious!

I like eating this way & it definitely seems to agree with me physically & mentally.

 

[Chuckanut]

. Another is no-wheat pancakes (combine a banana, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1 egg or 2 egg whites, 1/2 tsp baking powder in a blender -- add more oats if the batter is too thin, or a little liquid if it's too thick; cook in a skillet sprayed with cooking spray or olive oil; sprinkle with berries; flip once). This makes about 4 pancakes & they are delicious!

.

You might like waffles or pancakes made with garbanzo bean flour. Really. They are quite good and one can hardly tell they are not wheat flour when topped with some berries or just a tad of real maple syrup.

You are an inspiration to us all. Congrats!

 

[MichaelB]

I agree that ratios are better predictors than just the basic numbers. All the research I've seen indicates that these three ratios are meaningful and these values are indicative of relatively low cardiac risk:

Total Cholesterol/HDL: less than 5.

Trigycerides/HDL: less than 3.

LDL/HDL: less than 4.5

I'm one of those folks with genetically high cholesterol, but all my ratios are excellent (high HDL and low triglycerides) so I feel confident. My ratios were not always great, but they have been since I started a low carb, high fat diet. But that's another topic.

Just got back my results and they are similar. Very constant over 5, 10 and 15 years.

Higher total cholesterol (236) but the ratios are very good
- total / hdl = 2.8
- tri-g / hdl = 0.8
- ldl / hdl = 1.7

Doctors always comment that my hdl is high for a man. (84). DW gets the credit here - I try hard to ruin my body with poor dietary choices, but DW prepares most of my food, her cooking is both exceptionally healthful and very tasty.

 

[athena53]

I went back and looked at my historic figures after reading the more recent posts here. Although my total cholesterol is still high (223), the calculated numbers and ratios are really good since my HDL is 94. Numbers are considerably improved from the year before, too.

I gave up statins a few years ago when I developed tendinitis a few months after starting them. I told this to the doc who prescribed them the next time I saw him. A year later I had another checkup and afterwards got a call from his office- "The doctor said your cholesterol is high so he's prescribing Prevastatin"... Umm, no. That was what gave me tendinitis. Fortunately, I love a lot of the things that are good for you, including all those weird alternatives to rice and potatoes: wheatberries, faro, quinoa, bulghur, etc. I can also live on very little meat. So far, so good.

 

[Crewer]

I'm inspired. Two years of vegetarianism didn't move my numbers. I've recently gone very plant-based, am really trying to quit cheese, and have cut out most bread (for a different reason). My weight is down. I'll check out the book. Thanks.

 

[Andre1969]

I don't know how I managed it, but I just got some blood results back, and my cholesterol number came back at 173. For comparison, it was 223 in 2015, and 248 in 2014. I had bloodwork done in 2016, but can't remember what it was, and avoided the doctor completely in 2017...although that's probably not a good thing, as I get older.

High cholesterol tends to run in my family, too. Now, on the bad side, I got diagnosed with what my doctor said was one of the worst vitamin-B deficiencies he's seen in a long time...so I guess it's not all rosy... :/

 

[Jeffman52]

High cholesterol tends to run in my family, too. Now, on the bad side, I got diagnosed with what my doctor said was one of the worst vitamin-B deficiencies he's seen in a long time...so I guess it's not all rosy... :/

Do you take things that lower your stomach acid? If so that could be what the culprit is in your Vitamin B. Apparently you need a certain amount of acid to get B from your diet. Also make sure to keep an eye on that. IIRC Vitamin B deficiencies can cause neurological issues

 

[audreyh1]

Now, on the bad side, I got diagnosed with what my doctor said was one of the worst vitamin-B deficiencies he's seen in a long time...so I guess it's not all rosy... :/

Well that is easily remedied via supplements and you should feel a whole lot better.

 

[RAE]

Well that is easily remedied via supplements and you should feel a whole lot better.

Sometimes it is, but not always. My wife also was diagnosed with a severe Vitamin B12 deficiency a while back, and the oral supplements did not help a bit, as she wasn't able to absorb them. Turns out she has Pernicious Anemia, which means that she cannot absorb Vitamin B12 from food or supplements, because the intrinsic factor in her stomach/intestinal lining has been damaged. Vitamin B12 is a very large molecule, and therefore not easy to absorb for some people. Anyway, she found that she has to have the Vitamin B12 shots for the rest of her life in order to restore B12 levels to normal. It's not a big deal (we do the shots at home), but it's something she has to do periodically or she starts feeling poorly. So if the B12 supplements don't remedy the problem, you may want to ask your doctor about the Intrinsic Factor test, which will indicate whether you have Pernicious Anemia or not.

 

[rdy2go]

I had my six month DR visit the other day and he was happy to see my total cholesterol had dropped ten points from 202 to 192. He asked if I was eating better or doing something to change it and I said no, nothing that I could think of. Maybe we are getting more exercise, but I doubt it. Anyway, since I'm in the normal range now he will get brownie points from our health insurer for my improvement. Whatever.

 

[gayl]

I went vegetarian and discovered I LOVE oatmeal. Cutting stain in 1/2 (splitting 20mg in 2). Pharmacy is 'concerned' but primary knows what I'm doing and lab values are borderline low

 

[Blueskies123]

Once my cholesterol hit 250 I started on statins. Now it is down to about 180. A good friend of mine has had 2 heart attacks and is now taking his statins. Have you seen someone in the hospital with open heart surgery. Think carefully about the risks you are taking if your cholesterol is above 250.

 

[lucky penny]

OP here. My father died of a heart attack at 56, and all siblings have high cholesterol so I could say it "runs in the family"; one had a heart attack in his early 60s, one had emergency bypass surgery at 65, so when my cholesterol rose to 258 that definitely got my attention. If dietary changes & exercise hadn't lowered it for me, I probably would have started statins. The stories posted here about bad side effects are sobering, but I know many who have taken statins for years with no apparent problems.

Since his heart attack 5 years ago my brother has been the poster boy for healthy lifestyle changes - he gradually lost 60 pounds, eats well & goes to the gym every single day. My sister, who had surgery around the same time, has made no apparent changes.

Making healthy changes gives me the illusion of having some control; plus, I feel good, physically & mentally. Even if it's an illusion, for me doing nothing is not an option.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

OP here. My father died of a heart attack at 56, and all siblings have high cholesterol so I could say it "runs in the family"; one had a heart attack in his early 60s, one had emergency bypass surgery at 65, so when my cholesterol rose to 258 that definitely got my attention. If dietary changes & exercise hadn't lowered it for me, I probably would have started statins. The stories posted here about bad side effects are sobering, but I know many who have taken statins for years with no apparent problems.

Since his heart attack 5 years ago my brother has been the poster boy for healthy lifestyle changes - he gradually lost 60 pounds, eats well & goes to the gym every single day. My sister, who had surgery around the same time, has made no apparent changes.

Making healthy changes gives me the illusion of having some control; plus, I feel good, physically & mentally. Even if it's an illusion, for me doing nothing is not an option.

With your family history, I recommend reading this article. Kind of an eye opener.

If you have had a heart attack at an early age or one of your parents did but your standard risk factors for coronary heart disease are normal you should consider getting tested for Lipoprotein(a) or Lp(a).
The standard lipid profile that most patients get checks LDL (bad) HDL (good) and total cholesterol along with triglycerides. While these are useful, I have many patients who have normal standard values but have developed advanced coronary heart disease at an early age despite following a perfect lifestyle (not smoking, regular aerobic exercise, healthy diet.)

https://theskepticalcardiologist.co...now-about-lipoproteina-and-heart-attack-risk/

 

[RTbyFiveThree]

Being able to reduce statin use through lifestyle changes is great! Statins can lower CoQ10 levels, so it's a good idea to supplement if you are still on statins. CoQ10 helps our mitochondria make energy (the "powerhouse of the cell" if you remember from biology). This is potentially why statins lead to certain side effects like muscle pain.

 

[Hermit]

I take a low dose of statin. Have now for several years. Doc said my triglycerides were a bit high. She told me to take fish oil supplements. After a couple of days, I had a severe case of diarrhea. I stopped taking the fish oil. I would rather kick the bucket than live the rest of my life with diarrhea.

A little more background:
Last January, my pharmacy switched a second cholesterol medicine to a generic and I had diarrhea of three months before I figured out what changed. I stopped taking that medicine and felt great. The doc said that medicine was probably not necessary and agreed with me discontinuing it.

Bottom line: I have no clue what should work and what doesn't. If I can't get thing right with Dr. consultations, why would I want the self-prescribe more stuff?

 

[mamadogmamacat]

Well it could have been the brand of fish oil. Quality seems to vary a lot, and rancidity can be hard to tell since fish oil smells regardless, and with my allergies my sense of smell is not so good anyway.

However, I have found that Kroger brand fish oil (I buy the kind that gives almost 1000 mg of EPA and DHA in only one capsule and I take one twice per day) has not caused me any gastrointestinal problems. What it has done is allowed me to back off on some of my pain meds for my knees, which were ruined by statins.

I have no experience with CoQ10, or if it even can be absorbed through the stomach (vaguely recall reading something back when I was suffering with statins that absorption of CoQ10 orally is very poor).

 

[Dash man]

Be careful with the fish oil. My cardiologist told me to stop because some recent studies have found a correlation with fish oil and prostate cancer.

 

[audreyh1]

Once my cholesterol hit 250 I started on statins. Now it is down to about 180. A good friend of mine has had 2 heart attacks and is now taking his statins. Have you seen someone in the hospital with open heart surgery. Think carefully about the risks you are taking if your cholesterol is above 250.

Huh? Half the folks who get heart attacks have normal “healthy” cholesterol numbers.

And taking statins is not risk free.

 

[MRG]

Be careful with the fish oil. My cardiologist told me to stop because some recent studies have found a correlation with fish oil and prostate cancer.

I just eat salmon. Works well. Bears eat them and they don't have heart issues.

 

[mamadogmamacat]

Be careful with the fish oil. My cardiologist told me to stop because some recent studies have found a correlation with fish oil and prostate cancer.

Interesting, especially since the doctor who I got the fish oil dose recommendation and caution about quality from, is you guessed it, a cardiologist. Oh well you makes your choices and takes your chances. Quality of life is a big plus for me, with the fish oil, and there is this study:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12540506

 

[audreyh1]

In Spain people drizzle high quality extra virgin olive oil on everything. I’m adopting that practice!

 

[athena53]

Huh? Half the folks who get heart attacks have normal “healthy” cholesterol numbers.

And taking statins is not risk free.

A neighbor who had a heart attack has total cholesterol at a level low enough to impress his doctors (I forget the exact number). Unfortunately, his HDL (good cholesterol) level was zero.

 

[razztazz]

A neighbor who had a heart attack has total cholesterol at a level low enough to impress his doctors (I forget the exact number). Unfortunately, his HDL (good cholesterol) level was zero.

My HDLs went to near zero because of statins

Here's my latest. Old doctor, and most of the ones I've had the past 20 yrs, thought triglycerides were important. One only after they started advertising a pill to lower them. Before that he didn't care.The new guy I just picked up 2 weeks ago? "Triglycerides don't matter"

 

[Chuckanut]

My HDLs went to near zero because of statins

Here's my latest. Old doctor, and most of the ones I've had the past 20 yrs, thought triglycerides were important. One only after they started advertising a pill to lower them. Before that he didn't care.The new guy I just picked up 2 weeks ago? "Triglycerides don't matter"

Well that just adds to the confusion.


My understanding is that the HDL/trig ratio is more important than total cholesterol. Who knows for sure?