what is high chlorestrol in measurement terms and how can I prevent it and reduce it.?

Question

I am slim build, work out, not overweight, eat sensibly, have low blood pressure and my chlorestrol was 7.3 at the last test. and the doctor has suggested statins. As I prefer hoemoepathic remedies, I am reluctant to go the statin route. I am already taking plant sterols. I have just had another test and I am awaiting the results and the doctor said if it was less than 6.8 my health is at risk. Can anybody help?

Answer 1

Diamond lil,

I am sorry to hear about your case. It seems rather unfair that you should be doing so much right and still have this level of cholesterol.

You probably already know that the problem, then, is no doubt your liver.

I understand your wish for homeopathic remedies. They seem to best route for me, too, but don' tbe too quick to rule out the statins. You know that the statins are made from yeast? In fact, red yeast extract has in it what is made into lovastatin, and if you can buy that over the counter you might think about doing so.

I would caution you about one part of that, however: the statins can irritate the liver. They prevent the liver from producing cholesterol, but they interfere with it in such a way that it can irritate it and in some people at high enough doses can do some damage. So I would not recommend that you take red yeast extract in large doses. I would get your doctor's counsel on this first, take a liver enzyme test as a baseline, take a level of either red yeast or the statin he recommends, and then retake that liver enzyme test again in a couple of months and see how you're doing.

Something else you might try is vitamin B3, or Niacin, but not the Niacin that is put in to most multivitamins, which is useless for cholesterol lowering. That form is niacinamide, and it's a "nice" vitamin, but it hardly does anything at all. It's just cheap. Ironically, Nicotinic Acid (the form of Niacin that will do you good in thes regard) is also cheap.

A caution about Nicotinic Acid, though, and it's much the same as with red yeast extract. It can irritate your liver. I don't think that it will irritate it as much, because it appears to use a different pathway to preventing cholesterol production in your liver than do the statins, but it can be irritating nonetheless.

I have found that a low dose--35 to 50 mg--doesn't lower cholesterol drastically, but it does lower it perceptibly, and at your levels, every little bit helps.

This form of Niacin will cause the famed "Niacin Flush," a slightly bothersome reddening of the face that is warm and just a little itchy, but at these low doses it is only barely detectable by you and not noticed by anyone else.

Whatever you do, don't take the full 100mg or--horrors--the 500mg tablet.

And beware of cure-alls. I have found that all the herbal "remedies" for high cholesterol do not work. I have a cousin who is crazy about mangosteen. Well, she has a right to be. Mangosteen is crazy. It doesn't work. Diet, exercise, niacin, and the statins will.

And speaking of exercise, just how is your exercise routine? You say you work out, but you don't say how. I hope it's aerobic exercise like running. While working out in a gym is helpful for some things, it will not be helpful for getting your cholesterol levels down. For that you have to get out and pant (not gasp--you don't have to go that far) for 30 to 45 minutes a day.

"Eating sensibly" means different things to different people. In your case, you might not be able to settle for that. You might have to go the whole way and become a vegan vegetarian. We have known for a very long time--since, what 1905?--that animal products raise cholesterol levels, but in some of us the raise is much greater than in others.

Check out the work of Dr. Dean Ornish, and if you can, get his cookbook "Everyday Cooking With Dr. Dean Ornish." Simple, easy recipes for lowering your fat intake, and they work. My cholesterol numbers plummeted when I did this. YOurs may not fall quite as much, but I think you will find them lower the next time you check them.

Also look up the work of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, whose conclusions are very similar to Ornish's.

And the Portfolio Diet out of Toronto, Canada.

And if you worry about becoming a vegetarian, please don't. It is a drastic change, this is true, and for a time there will be frustrations, but not for the rest of your life. Not even for six months. Most of the frustrations fade after one month, and most of the rest after three. The brain habituates much more rapidly than we fear it will.

Sure, from time to time you will wish you could have that dish of ice cream or the sticky, gooey roll, but you will be able to resist it with only a very small pang. And if, now and then, you have some of one (please, not the whole thing), well, that happens. It will set you back a bit physically and psychologically, but not badly. And what's a feast day for, anyway? Enjoy Christmas and your birthday, and be good the rest of the year, and neither you nor your arteries will be any the wiser.

But look up the information on this Ornish/Esselstyn diet, and if you choose to follow it, don't dip in a toe and decide on the basis of that non-trial that you don't want to do it. Jump in over your head and go completely under with it and stay there for six months. You will find that not only is it not so bad, you will very likely find it quite enjoyable.

I find that I'm much more interested in food than I was, I enjoy baking and cooking--which I never did before--and making what is healthy for me (I'm quite pleased about the smile on my doctor's face when he hands me the results of my tests) and my family is a great pleasure and satisfaction indeed.

I find that so many vegetarians are so...negative, identifying themselves by what they do not do or eat. Those of us who do this for health's sake, however, find that it's a very positive lifestyle change, doing what is right and good, and the enjoyment of more than just food rises quite high. I'm even happier with people. My wife irritates me from time to time, but it passes quickly, and the snuggle afterward makes enduring it worthwhile.

Anyway, try these things, and if you still have to go on a statin, use it along with a vegetarian diet. It is a natural substance, after all, and it will prolong your life. I expect that your family would approve of that, too.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Which form of cholesterol are you talking about? There are 3 types, what they call HDL=Healthy, LDL=Lousy and then the regular cholesterol. They recommend the regular to be under 200. LDL they recommend under 30 and I don't remember what they want for the HDL, but they want a higher number, I think above 35. They also check for TRIGLYCERIDES and they want that down also, but don't remember the numbers for that either.
Also weight doesn't have much to do with the numbers. Diet and genetics are more what counts.
Your liver produces cholesterol on its own. If you are above 200 then they will recommend a change in diet and if that doesn't work they will sometimes recommend a medication to shut the process down.

Answer 3

The ideal cholesterol level should be under 5, but 4.5-5.5 is OK. Anything above means that you should be watching your saturated fat intake and should take statins that the doctor prescribes. Try cutting down on fat-laden foods and fill yourself up with fruit. Watch the labels on your food. Even so, some people make more cholesterol than others, it has not much to do with size. Good luck.

Answer 4

Try the mangosteen juice, my husbands cholesterol was a high 256 and now it is 162. an awesome number. His arteries were plugged 85 and 90%, 3 yrs ago, now they are only 60 and 65%, and getting better.
check out www.mangosteenexperiences.com and read about the xanthones or go to www.pubmed.com and enter xanthones or mangosteen and you can read the science of this.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

my chlorestrol was 7.5 but by using satins its down to 5.5 but they say thats still high .now i have to watch my diet more closely .i started of with 20 mg of satins and now iam having to take 40 mg you have to do what you you beleave in your self

Answer 7

STANDED IS 3.5 OTT IS ANY THING OVER 5