hubbys cholesterol high please help

[sassy40]

the doc wants him to go low fat and low cholesterol but i am thinking low carb. not very low carb to lose weight just so his cholesterol cleans up what can i do to help him? you think maybe 100 carbs a day?

[sugarless4life]

Hi Sassy !

What are his individual numbers? (HDL, LDL, TRIGS)???

Total means nothing; its the breakdown/ratio that matters most.

Betty

[sassy40]

I will get that tomorrow i know he said 1 of the numbers was 197 but i will go back tomorrow and pick up a copy

[sassymanal]

My husband high cholestrol as well and what helped him was taking Omega 3-6-9 and just looking at the labels to see the cholestrol count.

[girl81]

Is he doing any exercise? Is he taking fish oils?
Why "not very low carb"?

[lindaokc]

My Dr. has insisted that I take a statin to improve my cholesterol. LDL of 140, HDL of 70, triglicerides <100 and CRP of 1. I'm a 63 year old female in excellent heath. I don't even take blood pressure medicine. I told her no and we're still fighting over it She said she's an expert on Cholesterol. I think she's just a statin pusher. A study (don't ask me to name it, I can't) showed that the oldest population in nursing homes had the highest cholesterol. Now, I'm not advocating nursing homes, but seems like higher cholesterol=longer life. Lower carb has not improved my cholesterol, but I'll bet my LDL is the large fluffy type Wish I had words of wisdom for you, but the Dr's are all pushing statins.

[sugarless4life]

She said she's an expert on Cholesterol. I think she's just a statin pusher.

If she was, then she would KNOW that your ratio of LDL to HDL is 2....which is OUTSTANDING! Anything less than 3.3 is considered very low risk of CHD.

You are right; she is a statin pusher.

Great job, Linda !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Betty

[lindaokc]

Originally Posted by sugarless4life

If she was, then she would KNOW that your ratio of LDL to HDL is 2....which is OUTSTANDING! Anything less than 3.3 is considered very low risk of CHD.

You are right; she is a statin pusher.

Great job, Linda !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Betty

Aww, thanks, Betty

[sassy40]

Why not very low carb? because he wont and he does not need to lose that much weight to go as extreem as i have thats why i am thinking 100 or less i will get the blood work results today i thought the dr. said 197 and 97 were the #s but i am not positive also this was at 1:00pm that they checked he had not eaten but had coffe with coffeemate.

[luckiangel]

Sassy, it makes a difference what test had those numbers. Sounds like he is just borderline high. in the past i have found that cinnamon works well with lowering triglycerides as well as any of the oils. I like borage oil. Carnitine also helped to keep me on track with my eating. atkins helped my lipids a lot but when i got on this lower fat, no gluten, lower carb diet that works in detoxifying the body my numbers went even lower and my HDL shot up to 65. It's the highest it's ever been.

[binga]

read these books-the Great Cholesterol Con and Hidden Truth about Cholesterol- Lowering drugs.
You will get quite an education

[sassymanal]

Can you tell us what his numbers are?

A few other things that helped Dh is eating less eggs or buying the egg whites only. Eating Wild Salmon twice a week. Eating meat that is not high in cholestrol/ saturated fat. No fried foods at all. Limit eating out or eat at a healthy place. Cook everything with olive oil or smart balance etc. No more chips/junk. switch dairy products skim/1% etc. switch to all wheat products.

I will let you know if i remember anything else.

[sassy40]

i will post when i get the numbers later this afternoon.

[JerseyGyrl]

[COLOR="Purple"]The Dr. wanted to put my DBF on 20 mg a day of Lipitor IMMEDIATELY ( with no discussion of changing his diet etc.) These were his test results:
Total Cholesterol = 275
LDL = 191
HDL = 47
Triglycerides = 184

He began eating Atkins/Protein Power style He eats bread, but..its ezekiel bread and he eats an occasional sweet potato instead of white potatoes. He eats a lot of fish and veggies now. He has lost 35 lbs He also takes supplements such as fish oil & garlic.

These are his cholesterol test results as of Novemeber 2008:
Total Cholesterol = 195
LDL = 123
HDL = 49
Triglycerides = 114

I'd also like to add, his entire family has a history of high cholesterol & they are all on meds (which was also something the Dr. took into consideration regarding wanting to put him on meds)

I'm very proud of him...and...NO Lipitor!!![/COLOR]

[lindaokc]

Originally Posted by JerseyGyrl

[COLOR="Purple"]The

I'm very proud of him...and...NO Lipitor!!![/COLOR]

[sassy40]

ok here are the numbers do i need to be worried? they gave him 20 mil lipitor
chol:250
ldl:187.6
trig:92
hdl:44
ahdl risk factor 5.7

[Bring it on]

Hi Sassy, I am going through this myself. My doctor wanted me on lipitor. my total cholesterol was in the 230s. My HDL is low. If I find any helpful info I will pass it on.

hdl should be over 40.
ldl should be under 130
total should be under 200

you really need to look at the ratio of the so called good (hdl) to the total number.

I have done atkins for 6 or 7 weeks now. I will have mine tested in about a week. I will let you know if mine goes down.

Best of luck.

[sassy40]

TY Rich i am trying to figure out if he needs to do moderate carb like i said in my 1st post. he will not and does not need to go induction levels like i do but i would like to see him under 100 a day and i was wondering if that will help. the dr, wants him to go low fat ands what gort me is when the dr, said no butter use margiane? wth? i just think low carb is much healtier

[Bring it on]

Originally Posted by sassy40

TY Rich i am trying to figure out if he needs to do moderate carb like i said in my 1st post. he will not and does not need to go induction levels like i do but i would like to see him under 100 a day and i was wondering if that will help. the dr, wants him to go low fat ands what gort me is when the dr, said no butter use margiane? wth? i just think low carb is much healtier

I think that everyone is different. If he went to 100 carbs a day and cut out refined sugars etc. That might be great for him.

I am trying this. I am not on induction, I am on owl. I am getting my cholesterol checked in a week. I will know if this works for me. Your husband can give it a shot for three months and then retest his cholesterol to see if low carb helps him. Otherwise you will never know. Does that make sense?

[luckiangel]

Originally Posted by sassy40

ok here are the numbers do i need to be worried? they gave him 20 mil lipitor
chol:250
ldl:187.6
trig:92
hdl:44
ahdl risk factor 5.7

I'm not sure if you should be worried but his numbers are high. His triglyceride is on the high end but still within normal ranges. if he can get his LDL down then the HDL should go up. I am not sure that going low carb is his answer if he doesn't want to go lower than 100 carbs but adding some of the things we have already discussed here would be beneficial. In addition whole grains especially oatmeal works well in getting lipids down. Fish oil, cinnamon, no trans fats, olive and coconut oil are good fats as well. Eating healthy and staying away from fried foods should help as well. Possibly something to detox the body would also help to clean out his system. I drink a vegetable broth every now and then and i also add chicken or turkey to it as well. Chicken, fish especially salmon, turkey.....i would stay away from red meat for a bit too.

[girl81]

Originally Posted by luckiangel

I am not sure that going low carb is his answer if he doesn't want to go lower than 100 carbs

I was thinking the same.

[JerseyGyrl]

Originally Posted by luckiangel

I am not sure that going low carb is his answer if he doesn't want to go lower than 100 carbs .

[COLOR="Purple"]I don't totally agree. As I said in my earlier post, my DBF's total cholesterol was 275 and his triglycerides were 184. He changed his eating habits...not full-fledged Atkins but, lower carb (I'm sure not below 100 carbs). He eats bread (ezekiel bread), sweet potatoes, occasional red meat, oatmeal, almonds...his total cholesterol has come down to 195 & his triglycerides are now 114 [/COLOR]

[psellars]

Originally Posted by sassy40

ok here are the numbers do i need to be worried? they gave him 20 mil lipitor
chol:250
ldl:187.6
trig:92
hdl:44
ahdl risk factor 5.7

Not an authority, but I would think he needs to improve his numbers. Not that you should be worried, but it would help him if he improved these numbers

When I went LC due to a type II diabetes diagnosis, my overall cholesterol numbers improved, greatly but not enough to satisfy my or my doc's goals. Additionally, high cholesterol runs in my family, so, I'm predisposed to the condition.

HDL (needs to exercise more) should be over 50

(my experience is exercise is the ONLY way to maintain or improve a healthy high 50's or more number. I think someone stated improving the LDL will increase HDL? I don't think that's quite right)

Is he pre or actual diabetic? If so, he'll probably find his LDL goal will be < 80 (hard to do with diet and exercise alone, hence lipitor or some other statin is often prescribed) But either way, I would expect his ldl is still way high

I would think a LC diet will help with his overall cholesterol health. However, he may find he still needs a little help from the lipitor (I know I'll get in trouble with this), especially if he is pre-disposed to diabetes.

LC and exercise. That's his ticket! ANd when I say lc, I mean lc, whatever his body requires which may be less than 20 a day.

I have to add, cholesterol is only one part of the overall health equation. Family history? What about his fasting glucose? What about his bmi? How does he feel overall? How active? His cholesterol numbers beg for more information

[sassy40]

ty and no not diabetic.

[Strawberry007]

Make sure he drinks lots and lots and lots of water.
Water is known to reduce blood pressure.