Cholesterol

[carissa_konrad]

I recently found out that I have very high Cholesterol! I asked for the breakdown of the numbers and the clinic is waiting to mail me a release form before they can send those to me. In the mean time, does anyone have advice to lower it WITHOUT prescriptions? Vitamins? ANYTHING? I excercise REALLY well and am only 21- so this concerns me. Thanks in advance for any advice you have.

[Galoutofdixie]

Hi Carrisa,

So sorry the clinic is giving you a bad time. By law those are your tests and you are entitaled to a copy of those tests. That does not mean the origionals. Maybe they misunderstood you. Some places charge a small copying fee, but most do not. If the clinic is close by to you, I would just go in and tell them you'd like a copy of your tests. If they give you any hassel, tell them it's the law. Remember, the origonals are theirs, but you are entitaled to have of copy of those. If the've mailed the results to your doctor. Just pop into his office and ask for a copy. Tell them you want to keep track of your results over time. They should give you a copy without any problem.

Sorry I can't help with the supplement question, but someone should be in soon with some ideas. Hope this helps a little.

Chris

[choochy]

I work at a clinic as the lab tech. I often call patients back with lab results. Most often the provider will or in your case should give recomendations on how to improve your lipids without Rx's 1st. The most common recommendation, for the providers I work for, is simply - increase fiber, increase exercise, increase water intake and add a daily multi vitamin.

Personally my parent who refuse Rx's have had very successfull results adding these supplements- garlic, fish oil (omega-3), flax seed, and vegetable fiber. As well as using virgin olive oil in place of butter and cooking oils.

You should consult your Provider before making any changes or additions to your diet.

On a positive note! I have seen a notable amount of patient actually lower their lipids on LC.

Choochy

[carissa_konrad]

Ok, well, thanks for the tips. I'm NOT going to go on prescriptions at age 21, when I am very active and thanks to LC, very healthy. I appreciate the advice!

[route66]

How high is "high"? You really need to get the numbers to see what the deal is. Just because the total is higher than "normal" doesn't mean anything. It is the ratios of LDL to HDL that will really tell you if your in trouble or not.

Many folks who eliminate sugar and other high glycemic foods from their diets see a natural lowering of cholesterol without any other changes to their diets or daily regime. What is your family history on the subject?

[carissa_konrad]

When I recieve the results I will certainly post them pronto- thanks for the advice everyone.

[ShannonM]

two words, dietary fiber, they actually bind to the cholesterol in your blood and help to eliminate it.

Shannon

[carissa_konrad]

Thank you very much! I've been trying to add in more fiber with flax and fiber suppliments. Do you have any certain fiber suppliments that you would recommend? I get my blood work done again tomorrow, so in a few days I'll have results. I am not at all overweight and work out 5-6 days a week, I'm a very healthy athlete, so I've been ULTRA confused by the information from the blood tests. THANKS!

[ShannonM]

Here is what the good book says on fiber....

"How can you get the benefits of fiber without the carbs contained in these foods? The answer is supplementation. I recommend that you take one tablespoon of psyllium husks daily. Be sure to select a sugar-free product. You can also take one tablespoon of coarse wheat bran or flaxseed meal. Although it is derived from grain, coarse bran is pure fiber and therefore contributes zero to your carb count. Psyllium husks should be mixed with water. You can sprinkle bran over your vegetables or blend flaxseed meal into a shake." -Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, 2002

He also goes onto say that you should definitely drink the recommended 8 glasses of water per day.

If you don't normally consume fiber you should increase gradually because of some GI side affects. And beware not to over do it because it can inhibit absorbtion of minerals because food doesn't stay in the digestive tract long enough for your body to absorb much.

Hope that helps some.

Shannon

[RobinB]

Originally Posted by ShannonM

two words, dietary fiber, they actually bind to the cholesterol in your blood and help to eliminate it.

Shannon

Didn't know that, thanks!

[Lisa Rae]

a few things that helped me we're flax seeds, omega 3 caps, good fiber filled veggies (like spinich and broccoli)..increased exercise and eating more chicken and fish vs. red meat. Oh..and switching from butter to olive oil.

[kcduffer]

You need to see how your cholesterol is broken down. How much HDL vs LDL. HDL is good, LDL is not. My total cholesterol has always been high, but so has my HDL, so my risk is low. If your lab results are just total cholesterol only, they're worthless to anyone who reads them. I'm sure someone will correct me if this is wrong, but I think that the ratio of your HDL to total cholesterol should be 1 to 4, lower than 4 is even better. For example, if your HDL is 60 and your total cholesterol is 240, that's a 1 to 4 ratio.

[trans4mation2005]

exercise will raise your HDL... if you do need a pill.. use lipitor...it doesn't have as many , if any, side effects... i used it for a while.. till insurance changed it... now with new pills .. i have to have blood work every month to keep watch if the pills will kill me..lol.. i'm thinking of paying $150 a month for the lipitor

[divandan]

Fight bad fat with good fats! And those are Omega 3-6-9, Flax oil, Fish oil... I've also been very active, eating lots of vegetables, fish, very little or no fat, not many sweets, and my cholesterol was always on the higher side (since my teenage years!). Then, a few years ago, I started taking 1 tbs of flax seed oil and 3 capsules (caplets?) of wild fish oil daily, and it (the "bad cholesterol") dropped significantly.

Hope this helps!

[Low-Carb-Kevin]

I've been lurking here for over a year... it's time I post something and this is a good place to start.

http://www.ravnskov.nu/cholesterol.htm is a great site that shows how we've been misled about cholesterol just like we've been misled about fat. Very controversial, I know. But if you really take a look at the studies he's talking about you'll see how wrong they (the medical community) may be. And in many ways higher cholesterol can actually help protect people who are older (if you read the studies you'll see what I'm talking about).

Anyway, I also just want to say thanks to all those who've posted here in the past. I lost 45 pounds last year and have managed to keep it off (I'm 6'4" and weigh anywhere from 190 to 195 depending on the week). The encouragement, ideas, and discussions are really helpful. And I can't tell you how great it is to see people achieve their goals! I'm proud of all of you for trying! I know how it can be both easy and hard at the same time while going down this road. I wish you all good luck and continued success.

Kevin