I am 37 years old, BMI= 22.9 (60 kg/ 162 cm), teetotaler, no smoker. 1 year ago my cholesterol was checked first time and it was high (=300). I reduced fat in my diet and it came down to 250. I thought I can reduce it whenever I want, so I stopped bothering. My fat intake increased a bit. Cholesterol back to 300. So I am avoiding fat again.
Doctor suggested Simvastatin medicine but I did not buy it. I still think I can reduce it by following a strictly low fat diet. Well, I do not exercise except that I walk, or sometimes run a bit, to work. Walking time=15-30 min per day.
* Should I take medicine and eat the food that I like (fat, cheese, meat etc.) or follow low fat diet (even if I find it not tasty) and avoid taking medicine?
* How bad is high cholesterol? I read that (high) cholesterol is good for brain and cholesterol reducing medicines have some side-effect on brain.
* Medicine has to be continued for life once I start?
My mother, 57 years old, has high cholesterol too, detected about 5-7 years ago.
* Is my high cholesterol due to my mother? Do we have a heredity problem?
My son, 7 & 1/2 years old, is also "under-weight" like I was. I always tried to give him fatty diet so that he could gain weight till 1 year ago when high cholesterol was also detected in his blood. He had 275 which is reduced to 250 now.
He also does not exercise except normal activities in the school plus walking to school. But he does swimming two times half an hour every week mostly.
My wife also has high cholesterol although she has the least among three of us. This situation doesn't point to heredity. Isn’t it?
* Why a lean child has cholesterol? Because of cholesterol we are probably not giving him good diet because we try to avoid fat, meat etc. He takes calcium plus vitamin milk (half cream milk) )+ fish + egg white (no yolk) etc. and mostly he does not eat fatty foods like cheese, red meat etc.
* With this diet how can I make him healthier and taller?