I lowered my LDL and triglycerides by walking. LDL is the "bad" one. A high HDL is good. I walk a lot. 7-10 miles a day about 5 days a week. Sometimes every day. Thats a bit much but I have the time for it so why not. I also noticed a sharp drop in the right direction when I switched to a low carb diet. But I think that had more to do with the weight loss resulting from that diet, rather than the diet itself.

Yes a high HDL is GREAT! It is the LDL that you would want low. I find if I equate LDL to ”lousy” it is easier to remember.

Oops that text I posted was totally wrong, it was LDL, not HDL. I will go back and edit it. The level was 162, Thanks for catching that!

What was your HDL? The ratio is something that matters as well.

72 HDL/162 LDL I can't imagine how that could be a good ratio . . .

72 is very, very good and mitigates, to some extent, your high LDL. But it's still a good idea to try and lower the latter.

When I was in my latter 20s, my doctor told me my HDL was fine but my LDL was not. I know it’s genetic, my mother and her father had it, and my brother has it.

I walked. Got down to a 13-minute mile outside! I reduced my fat intake. Increased the cruciferous vegetables. No good. I reduced it more, and had more of the vegetables that are good for it, added fiber powder to my oj. Whole grains. Salmon. No good. So I kept a food diary and the only animal fat I had was whatever trace was left in the fat-free milk in my coffee. No good. I lost 20 pounds, though. I was too thin.

When I moved and saw a new PCP, he said ”wow, I’m surprised your cholesterol is so high; you are so slender.” I looked him square in the eye and said ”and as we know, one does not have to have much to do with the other.” Sheesh.

Now I just eat in moderation but try to remove as much fat and cholesterol as possible. Well, not moderate enough, it is still high. I suppose I’ll have to take medication for it. Ugh. My HDL is still fine.

If it is genetic, I really don’t think lifestyle is going to do much for it.

Well, my Dad and his siblings had/have it. He's 90 and my aunt and uncle died at 94 and 95 respectively. They struggled with arteriosclerosis in their old age. They were both active and watched their diets somewhat. Not sure if they took the statin drugs. My dad does but not sure how much it has actually helped . . . he's had five stents and a bypass. My uncle had a similar number of heart procedures. My aunt did not have a heart bypass but she did have an artery bypass I think in her neck somewhere. My uncle had chronic scarring on his lungs so a viral pneumonia epidemic took him out, and my aunt died from heart failure. She was also struggling with what might have been a bit of vascular dementia. Not totally out of it, just slow on the uptake and synapses. She was also tired all the time, because congestive heart failure totally runs in my family, although they don't get it until they are into their late 80s. Being go getters my Dad and his siblings found the tiredness extremely frustrating. But they were still very active up until the very end in their mid 90s.

My dad does nothing in the diet department and at this stage not much exercise due to heart failure, although he is not immobile and tries to stay moving around. Up until the pandemic he was going to the senior center and doing a bit of the treadmill. I was going every day and doing 30 min. of cardio but stopped. Not sure if I want to go back there again but need to get on the cardio bandwagon again . . .

Losing weight and building fitness took care of everything for me: high LDL cholesterol, low HDL, high triglycerides, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, gout all went away and even the gallstones got much better.

That required losing about 35 lb via about -55 lb fat loss + 20 lb muscle gain.

I improved my diet a little too - nothing special, just the stuff we all know we should do.

Unfortunately, it’s not a permanent solution and if/when the weight climbs back up the problems return.

John HU’s-a-fatty Liu

I tried once to eat Dean Ornish style, which is very, very low fat. I just couldn't do it, but my Dad's cardio doctor swears by it. He reversed his own heart disease by losing a whole lot of weight. You can't even recognize him. He actually just retired to devote himself to educating people on heart disease prevention through diet, exercise and stress management.

My LDL was high and I dropped it quite a bit, to my Dr's satisfaction, by losing weight. I don't recommend the diet I am on though...the BU diet....bleeding ulcer. My stomach felt so awful that I couldn't eat and certainly not a lot at any one time. My tummy is improving, and I hope to be able to keep the weight off....I'm down over 20 lbs since my post-retirement high, and I could lose another 5 lbs, but I'm happy where I am now.

I also upped my exercising. Walking wasn't enough, so now I do barre (which is really a form of weight lifting and balance work) twice a week, yoga once a week, dance once a week and walk/hike twice a week.

Avoiding bad fats in the diet is important. DH keeps his cholesterol low with a statin and he takes CoQ10 with it and has been doing fine for many years on it. Others have had issues with statins, so YMMV.

Also, there is a more detailed blood test they can do where they analyze the type of cholesterol in your blood to determine your risks...my overall risk was not alarming at this point so no need for meds.

Make sure your thyroid function is in the normal range as that can mess with cholesterol too.

My husband's was creeping up at one point and with his dad having had heart issues, our dr. was proactive. The one thing that made the most difference for him, IMHO, was decreasing the amount of cheese we were eating. Not that we were eating tons, but I guess we like cheesy things and it was something that was pretty easy to cut back on. He still eats red meat, drinks a small glass of milk most days, and is very active. My MIL's triglycerides were high and with stroke disease running in her family, she took action. After losing weight and taking up walking, she is within normal range.

I would do whatever I could to avoid a statin drug. There are several bad side effects.

statin effects

Repatha.

I got the whole panel. My overall cholesterol was 251. Everything else within normal range including thyroid, other than slight anemia which I have always had. Not bad enough to need meds for it.

My weight has definitely crept up and I'm much less active now that I am on indefinite sabbatical. I do yard work but not as active as I was at work. Like I said, I started my sabbatical by going to the gym every day for cardio but the pandemic put a stop to it. My neighborhood is not walker friendly, although people do it. It's just unpleasant for a whole host of reasons. I have an exercise bike at home but the pen for our new puppy took up that spot and there's no alternative place for either item . . . at least not right now so that could be a project, make room for the exercise bike. Its on the porch which is fine for summer and fall but it's freezing out there now. I want to enclose the porch but that is not happening soon . . .

I obviously have to stop the binge eating and higher level of drinking kick that I have been on, that would help with weight loss, but I need to lose a lot of weight, 20 lbs at least so it's going to take more than that. I have to up the whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Should not be a problem as I love all that stuff. I just cut back because it is time consuming to prepare and hubs isn't that crazy about that kind of stuff, nor my Dad and I've been busy cooking for them.

My cholesterol is high, exercise helps increase HDL but does not lower LDL. My total cholesterol was 282 before covid, have not had it checked since. It helps HDL is over 100, so my ratio is great. Triglycerides ranges in 60s, but just can't seem to reduce LDL. I have lost over 70# several years ago, not helped any. But might have been a lot worse if I had not.

My cholesterol is high, exercise helps increase HDL but does not lower LDL. My total cholesterol was 282 before covid, have not had it checked since. It helps HDL is over 100, so my ratio is great. Triglycerides ranges in 60s, but just can't seem to reduce LDL. I have lost over 70# several years ago, not helped any. But might have been a lot worse if I had not.

Most hypercholesterolemia is genetic. Ideal diet alone (without medications) will generally only lower levels ~15%.

When I see lists of foods, i wonder what form they should be taken in? Do some lose that effectiveness when processed or cooked, or when mixed with other things?

I started taking Crestor this past spring, with no discernible side effects whatsoever, and excellent results. I chose this statin partly because it does not have an adverse reaction with grapefruit, and I like grapefruit:)

Like nancyofnc, I'm finally on Repatha and it's working. I had high HDL and slightly high LDL, but my Heart Dr. was still concerned. He tried many of the statins and I reacted negatively to all of them. It runs in my family and not much else has worked.

My doctor told me, ”Your ”good cholesterol” is so high, and your triglycerides are so low that anyone would be crazy for saying anything about a high LDL.” She said the real problem is inflammation. The cholesterol sticks to it. Do whatever you need to reduce the systemic inflammation, and do not worry too much about circulating ”big, fluffy cholesterol”.

Look at the amazing before/after pictures on some of the LCHF websites. The differences in the faces is not ”fat” loss,so much, as reduced inflammation.

Most hypercholesterolemia is genetic. Ideal diet alone (without medications) will generally only lower levels ~15%.

This was my DH's experience. He followed a nutrient dense, vegan diet for 6 months (a'la Joel Fuhrman) and his bad cholesterol did not budge. His triglycerides were always fine, so it was not a sugar thing and it is just what his body does. He takes a very low dose statin which helps some, but he is not interested in increasing it. His doctor used a risk factor calculator that used more than just the cholesterol. It looked at blood pressure, age, bmi, etc. Based on that he had about an 1% risk of heart attack in the upcoming 5 or 10 years (cannot remember the exact benchmark). He feels comfortable with that level of risk without being overly aggressive about his cholesterol.

Possible beneficial side effect of statins.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30149418/
"Statins and Colorectal Cancer - A Systematic Review
Conclusions: Accumulating evidence suggests that statins may have a role in colorectal cancer prevention and treatment. Further studies are necessary to define the associations between individual statin characteristics, their doses and colorectal cancer."

To further mdln’s point statins are proving beneficial in autoimmune teeatment as well. i have historically low cholesterol( my treating doctors at the stroke icu said it was ridiculously low) but because I have Antiphospholipid syndrome ( an autoimmune disease) with a history of clotting I am on a high dose statin. I have no ill side effects and my sed rate and and CRP have gone down significantly. Statins lower systemic inflammation and are being studied to see how this effects many solud tumor malignancies.

Well, I have also inherited my family's tendency towards "inflammation" oriented problems, such as IBS, chronic cystitis, (hence no tea) migraine, chronic sinusitis and arthritis. We are the "itis" family. There are anti inflammatory diets, I'm not so sure they are all that they are cracked up to be. I tried one for my cystitis, didn't seem to make a huge difference because I think it is not just what you eat but how much of it. Cutting out tea and high tannin wines seemed to be of the biggest help to me. I never cared for or ate cured meats anyway, so most of the other stuff, some fruits and vegetables, I didn't eat in large enough quantities anyway.

"Sticky fibers" is good for IBS and I have reduced flare ups by eating those kinds of things so maybe just being more vigilant and making sure I eat more of the things I like to eat anyway. Most of the bad stuff I won't miss, except cheese. I always feel bad about discarding egg yolks, but I guess I could go back to that. Egg beaters are just colored and flavored egg whites so no sense paying extra for that . . . I love all legumes and tofu stuff, but hubs hates tofu and complains that beans give him gas, so I have not been eating them as much as I used to.

I'd have to reduce my LDL by about 40% to even get in the close range. And I have to agree that many of the relatives I know who have taken the statins have had a lot of side effects and no noticeable benefits. They still got the blockages. Of course maybe they would have gotten more without, but the stains destroy other organs so it's kind of a tradeoff. I'm not ruling them out, but I'm not ready to go all in. I frankly wish more was being researched on statins as far as dosages and other thing so that more was known about their effects, both good and BAD. For now, I'm going to do the diet stuff since that would be good for health overall, and see if anything budges. Maybe add some supplements like fish oil or flaxseed, which I have taken in the past but just stopped because it was expensive. I eat the good fish but it is expensive so I don't really want to start eating a radically larger amount of fish.

Edited to add that I"m not totally dissing statins, just saying that it differs from person to person, which is something that often gets washed over in the medical literature. I have some of the risk factors for having side effects BUT also some of the risk factors for needing the drug, so it has to be a cost/benefit decision, same with a lot of medications. I had the same experience when I tried steroids, lots of side effects and zero benefits. Same with the prozac based anti-depressants, no real benefits and a lot of side effects for me. That doesn't mean I think others don't benefit, it's just that I am cautious in adding new medications as if they were going to be the silver bullet for me. Sometimes they are, for example synthyroid changed my life, and flonase has been great for my sinus problem and melatonin, calcium, vit. c and magnesium supplements have helped greatly with insomnia and restless leg syndrome. But I tried a lot of natural treatments and pharmaceuticals for my migraines and chronic cough, and they didn't work. Neither did the steroids. Good ol' fashioned codeine at night helped with sleep and time with healing.

I had a blood test in Feb, 46 HDL, 96 LDL; and I just had it done again this month, 44 HDL, 108 LDL. I need to lower LDL too. I think the difference is caused by flaxseed oil capsules. I have been taking 1 flaxseed oil capsule with multivitamin every morning until I finished the bottle this summer. I will buy another bottle and start to take it again. You could give it a try too.

I was rx'd Crestor about a year and a half ago. I eat well, exercise daily, am at a good weight, etc. so lifestyle change was unlikely to change my numbers according to my dr.. FFWD to about six months ago when I began to experience numbness in my feet. This plus a pain in one ankle and pain in the bottom of the other foot when hiking led me to a foot and ankle specialist. He ordered a nerve conduction study to confirm his suspicion of "idiopathic neuropathy". In the meantime, I learned of the possible relationship between statins and neuropathy. When I asked him about this on a F/U visit, he quickly confirmed this possible connection, suggested I consider changing or discontinuing the statins. I had already gone off them and have a scheduled visit with my PCP (a different dr. than the one who rx'd Crestor) to discuss further. Am also considering scheduling an appt. with a "lipidologist" to discuss any other possible options.

Numbness, tingling, in legs & feet, pain when walking can be caused by peripheral vascular disease, due to atherosclerosis. Cardiologists often test for PVD.

I have been on a statin for years with no side effects. My cholesterol has been high since I was in my 30s and I have always been thin ad active. My levels are totally good now.

I should add, my husband passed away this spring. He had a blockage but before they could do a catherzation he developed kidney failure. He was on medication for blood pressure and cholesterol. His blood pressure was always less than 120/70, and his cholesterol the last year had been under 100 total, and got down to 60, and almost half of it was healthy cholesterol. Of course, HDL not as good as should be. But Dr always was happy. Don't count on numbers.

Hugs Nancy!! That dance between lungs, heart and kidneys is very familiar to me with my family. I am so sorry for your loss.

Ironically, I have idiopathic neuropathy in my feet and the blood test was to see if there were any issues. It's not diabetes, that has been twice ruled out now.

Going to start with some lifestyle changes that I should be making anyway, and keep an eye on this and see where it goes. Have to figure out a couple of other health issues too, so one step at a time . . .

I used to take flaxseed oil capsules, I could easily get them at my nearby health food store. Not anymore. It doesn't pay to buy flaxseed over the counter, it needs to be refrigerated to keep it's antioxidant properties . . . same with the other oils, if they aren't refrigerated they aren't worth much. That's why the real good stuff is so expensive . . . which is why I quit taking it, the combination of not easy to get and price. But I am visiting the big city more often now so maybe can pick some up again.

Just got two bottles of flaxseed oil capsules from Walmart @ $4.88 each tonight. and it says "store at room temp 59F-86F". Not all Walmart stores have it. It's out of stock at the store near me. Check your local stores. It's a good price. Maybe I should go back to get a few more bottles......

.......just ordered 8 bottles online (Walmart). I am all set for a while. :-)

As soon as I hit menopause I had high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I already exercised 5x a week so added rigorous diet to the mix though my diet wasn’t terrible. After six months - no improvement so I went on meds. After eight years on a statin I developed tendonitis and bursitis - a rare side effect. I ended up going off for a couple years. Then I had a cardiac calcium CT test and the results were high for my age. So I went back on a different statin. It’s been a couple years and no problems. I have strong hereditary factors for HBP, high cholesterol and heart disease so the risk benefit ratio for meds is favorable. Plus I want to enjoy life and a burger and a steak occasionallly, not to mention cheese!!

My DH had numbers high enough to be of concern. Part of it is genetics. He was very lean, and worked long hours in home repair. But he ate fast food almost every day, on his drive between jobs.

I started packing his lunch, including vegetables and fruit he could eat with his fingers, and he started on flaxseed oil and fish oil. Within 6 months, he was back in acceptable range.

Re flaxseed oil, we've found little difference in how we feel unless we look for the "high lignan" stuff. We get it in a bottle, it must be kept refrigerated, and it needs that brown stuff stirred up from the bottom all the time. But taking that makes our joints feel so much better. I now add ground flax seed to my morning breakfast.

See for example: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23885993/#article-details

@summersrhythm_z6a I'm going to order some of those capsules. My husband's numbers are good now (or at least they were at last physical), but with his parent's history, it would be a good idea. We neither one have joint issues/pain, etc. so the capsules should be good for us.

@aok27502 good for you! Glad his numbers came down.

Glad to know there are some statins with fewer side effects.

Once upon a time, three moves ago, I had gotten some flax seed at the aforementioned health food store and intended to grind it myself. Never got around to it. Not sure what happened to it, maybe on one of my unpacking adventures I will run across it. That was also back in the day when I could get "the good stuff" in the refrigerator section of the local health food store within walking distance. Guess I'll have to seek out a source in some nearby big cities now. I am getting to the point where I have to go into these cities routinely anyway, my own town is now so limited as to what kinds of shopping is available. We once had two great health food stores but they both closed down, long before covid.

I actually like all the health foods and don't much care for the meats and fried stuff. The exception would be baked goods . . . and I just have to break the sweets habit, I have been "self medicating" with sweets and alcohol a lot lately. I gained a "covid 10 lbs" and I was already struggling to lose 10, so I am at least 20 lbs. overweight. I have to start to take that seriously. I was already just about to have to buy all new clothes . . . I love all vegetables and fresh fruits too, and even things like tofu and beans and whole grains. Last night I made chili with rice and barley and red and black beans. Hubs gave it a "meh" but for me it was back to how I used to eat . . .

We already went low salt with our diet, and I have at one point in my life eaten much better heart health wise. My exercise routine has suffered too, need to step that up. Gonna try that first, then see what happens. Not ruling out statins for the rest of my life, just going to try some other things first.

LPink, it's carbs, baby, when I stopped the carbs my cholesterol dropped dramatically. i was feeling really ill and went gluten free. Then potatoes were giving me issues and I stopped them. The inflammation factor is real. I am now on Zetia and Nexletol (a new non statin) that has brought me down to more normal levels. I wasn't that high, but have a high calcium coronary score. That's why I need to watch it.

Guess I had better stay away from all the Christmas cookie threads!! :)

Edited to add that I've already limited my gluten. I tried gluten free as part of that "anti-inflammation" diet, which I have been on for migraines and also chronic cystitis. It made zero difference, and I love whole grain wheat products so I just limit myself to one or two max servings of gluten per day. Some wheat products are actually not very high in gluten, and some are extra high because they add it in . . . MSG and other glutamic acids bother my stomach and give me a headache, so I know if I've eaten too much. No ranch dressing or other such processed foods for this gal. Not to mention the salt. That's why I make my own breads as much as I can, with just the right amount of gluten, no more than necessary.

I used not to eat breakfast but after being told my LDH was a bit up I started eating oatmeal for breakfast everyday and increased the amount of nuts, oily fish and soya I ate. Lowered LDH to normal in 6 weeks. No way I was starting statins without trying everything else first. Nor was I going to start faffing about with ’health foods’ or fads.

Yeah, after my mini-stroke I was put on a 10 mg statin. My LDL was only 100 but they want it LOW, generally under 70 for higher risk. I talked to my doctor for a good length about the side effects and he reassured me with a dose this low it was extremely unlikely I’d have side effects. You have to keep in mind these are one of the most common prescribed medications worldwide and millions take them with no problems. Now my LDL is in the 50-60 range. 👍

My total cholesterol levels have always been very good.

Now postmenopausal, my HDL has taken a dive to 45. It used to be 60-70 mg/dL. I exercise every day, eat salmon, etc. But my weight is too high and that might be the only way to get it higher is to lose weight. I need a complete reset on my lifestyle after the stress of teaching in pandemic.

What mdln said. If you have family hypercholesteolemia, you are not going to lower it by lifestyle alone.

Unfortunately, there is so much misinformation on LDL, including social media ”influencers” who say LDL is not a thing. It is very much a thing. If you want to follow a cardiologist who is attempting to combat the misinformation, you may want to look at Danielle Belardo MD on Twitter and IG.

Well, anything I can do to lower it naturally will mean even if I do end up taking a statin, it will be a low dose. I weighed myself today, I need to lose 25 lbs, not 20! Call me crazy, but I think that would go a long way to lowering my LDL. Hopefully this health scare can give me the motivation I need. I just gave in totally to stress during the pandemic. I also gave in to eating what I was making for my Dad and husband, path of least resistance. The hardest thing is the exercise, particularly in the winter, at least for me. I've never had a weight problem until now, probably due to just being so busy and working a lot outside. But being on sabbatical and the pandemic--my lifestyle has changed and not for the better.

This is an interesting, easy to read and understand short article on the history of statins, discovery to why they are so commonly prescribed. Encourage anyone taking, or considering, a statin to read.

https://www.clinicalcorrelations.org/2019/01/11/on-the-history-of-statins/

Love this quote from the article: "In this article, the authors demonstrate that medical discoveries don’t just happen but result from a hard work of many scientists." Applies to many medical treatments in this world . . .

As time goes on, it will be interesting to follow the interplay between lifestyle, genetics and medications. I'm always seeking a kind of middle path between treatment and prevention. Trying to figure out what is easiest to do for me to make healthy life choices, realizing we all can't afford a gym membership or personal trainer and all the health foods and the time to prepare them . . . I always start with the low hanging fruit. Less carbs, more fiber, less saturated fat, more exercise, good sleep, stress reduction, etc. Maybe some supplements. Lose weight. Then we'll see where I'm at in six months when I have to have my blood test again. I could lose 25 lbs in that amount of time if I work at it . . . sigh.