Question about cholesterol/triglyceride lowering with diet/wt loss

[Nay]

only. I am 5 ft, 5 1/2 inch female, weigh 186 lbs., and I sincerely want to lower my cholesterol (287) and triglycerides by diet and weight loss only. My doc wants me to start taking statins to lower cholesterol, but I swear, so many people have horrible side effects (some irreversible) that I truly do not want to start on them.

May I have some of your stories (esp females) about whether your cholesterol went down with weight loss?

I would also be interested in hearing from people about their experiences with statins, too.

[auntAgonist]

1. welcome Nay! I don't have any information to share

but your questions are really good ones. I'm trying to figure out how to lower my husband's cholesterol too. He'll get results next week of some blood work he had done. We are shying away from medicine because he has ulcerative colitis and is NOT in remission at this time. Meds are very hard on his innards :(

I'll be watching this thread with interest.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and to yours.

aA
kesha

[Systematic Chaos]

2. Before you agree to any statin drug please check this thread:

Decide for yourself.

If you are going to try the diet approach then I urge you to read some of the articles found here.

To be perfectly honest with you, my cholesterol at its highest was 200 on the dot, and my triglycerides were in the high 100's. And this was with a weight of over 400 lbs on a 6'2" frame - which is actually unusually LOW for someone in that size range - and in retrospect I should have not filled the scrip. I was put on Lovastatin for that and did not have any side effects and actually ended up with cholesterol in the 150's and triglycerides in the 70's. Having said that, in spite of the fact that I am still very overweight, I would never resort to taking those drugs again. I have maintained healthy levels without them, and I have other problems which I need to address without the side effects of meds like that to contend with.

Lastly, do some reading up on the ability of garlic to drop cholesterol. I eat a lot of that in my cooking and take it as a supplement, and that probably has more to do with my good cholesterol and triglyerides than anything. :)

[Nay]

3. Thanks, GG. I had found and read that thread already. I also do

know about the McDougall plan, but found it quite hard to follow--I was pretty hungry most of the time.

I am going to try pantethine for 3 months along with a reducing diet and exercise during the same three months to see if that will bring it down.

I remember reading that the pharmaceutical companies had a hand in lowering the acceptable readings in all sorts of tests -- BP, cholesterol,etc. -- in order to rake in more patients. There were even a bunch of doctors who were up in arms about the whole thing. For most of my adult life, my cholesterol has been about 230 -- only in the last few months has it gone up to the 289. I really am wondering whether it was a freak reading.

Anyway, I am still interested in hearing peoples' success, or lack thereof, with diet/supplements/weight loss to lower cholesterol. Statin horror stories are welcome, too. I already have a few of those from friends.

[GardeningGal]

4. Just had a physical....

but I don't know my blood test results yet. I'm hoping my cholestrol is down a bit, but I'll have to let you know after I get the results - hopefully next week.

[Nay]

5. So, have you been losing wt or changing eating habits to bring

your cholesterol down? Or are you on a statin? Thanks for answering, and I look forward to hearing from you when your test results are back.

[GardeningGal]

6. I've been trying to lose weight.

I'm finding as I get older it is harder and harder. I've been exercising and trying to watch what I eat, especially lowering fat consumption. I'm not on any drugs. The only reason I was concerned about my cholesterol is because I had gained weight since my last physical and I had been eating poorly.

[pamela]

7. My Dad and my sister lowered theirs with the South Beach diet.

I'm on it now, but I've only been on it about 3 weeks so I don't know if my cholesterol is any lower yet. It's not a hard diet to follow, once you get the hang of it.

[Nay]

8. How long did it take on the diet for their cholesterol to go down?

And what were their numbers before and after?

[pamela]

9. I'm not sure.

My Dad's went down pretty quickly but I don't know what his numbers were. He said that his doctor had said he wanted to put him on a statin and was also concerned about his blood sugar levels. Dad already takes a lot of medication for high blood pressure and wanted to avoid the statins so his doctor recommended the South Beach diet. Within three months, his cholesterol was back within the normal range and he wasn't having any more problems with his blood sugar.

My sister did it more for weight loss and lost about 40 pounds-30 within the first 6 months and then another 10 after she went to Phase 3 (maintenance phase.) She said her cholesterol went down, too, but I don't know the details.

I've been on it for almost 4 weeks now and have lost about 12 pounds. I feel like my energy level is more even. I think I was having blood sugar dips and spikes before. I get frustrated with the diet because it's expensive and time-consuming but I'm enjoying the food and I like that I'm not really counting calories or controlling portions. It's almost too much food, especially now that my appetite has decreased considerably.

[Nay]

10. Thanks. I know the South Beach diet severely cuts back on

refined carbs, but adds in some unrefined ones, like oatmeal, etc. I have been doing that myself--cutting out all the sweets, breads, stuff like that. I've been eating some fruits and lots of decent vegetables, but prob have not been eating as much protein as the SB diet calls for. I'm not a big meat fan. But it's wonderful that your dad's numbers came down to the point where he doesn't need to go on the statin. I REALLY don't want to mess with those drugs, either, since it would be my luck to have one of those horrible irreversible side effects and be worse off than if I'd just had a damn heart attack and gotten it over with.

I will pick up the SB diet book from the library and get some tips from it, see what they say can be substituted for a lot of the meat.

[flvegan]

11. To lower cholesterol without statins

the most effective way is to limit/eliminate the intake of saturated fat and animal products, and follow an exercise routine. A vegetarian or vegan diet isn't for everyone right off the bat. Reducing the intake of say, red meat and egg yolks is a good start. Maybe reducing the number of meals where meat is the main portion. If meat is eaten 14 times a week, try reducing it to 7. Dietary cholesterol is found only in animal protein, so reducing it is elementary.

Bear in mind that cholesterol is a number that varies with the individual. A base-line "best" number may not be what is best for you. Some folks' bodies simply "make" or retain more, and therefore the number will always be higher.

[Nay]

12. Thank you. I never did eat a lot of red meat or eggs, but I have

been very lax in the exercise department. I have instituted a walking program--about 3 MPH for about 45 minutes per day, 6 days a week. In your opinion, is this sufficient?

When I do eat meat, it's fish, chicken breast or turkey breast; I rarely eat red meat (once every two or three months) or eggs (one a month, maybe), but I do eat too many sweets, some of which are fatty (like candy bars). I'm determined to stop that practice and replace the junk with more vegetables and fruits.

I also feel that the cholesterol targets docs use are way too low. When I was in my twenties, my cholesterol was about 224-235. Docs didn't freak out then, and you really have to wonder whether the drug companies urge the lowering of targets to get more people on medicine. I know they have been accused of this, and it makes sense.

If my baseline is about 225, and my last cholesterol reading was 239 (the quickie test) at work, and 289 with the fasting test, do you think cutting out all animal products and doing the exercise above will lower it to the 225 in 3 months?