Excellent Cholesterol/HDL Article

[mas2782]

Touches on a lot of the topics we have been discussing with regard to cholesterol...very informative, thought some of you would enjoy it. Found it in Forbes of all places.

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2007/0416/054.html

[terrina]

i know there is no comparison. i was just so excited that i had finally stopped my HLD from sliding into nothing  i mean 28 and going down...i see yours is 60.  i absolutly did not sugest to change what you are already doing just something more to try. it was really nice of you to answer.
some people think that a complex of different omegas is better, but as far as i could find out we already have a big intake of 6 and 9 in our western diets, however we can-t say the same for 3. and the ratio should be 1 - 2.
as my girlfriend is well aware of i get very excited about things and want everyone to feel the same. she has a little extra weight and her cholesterol has began to be less stable.  she has tried different things and then got frustrated in not seeing her cholesterol get any better. if she manages to take omega 3 more rigorsly and i will let you know if there are any changes.
i got into them more seriously when the found some noduls on my thiroid. it scared me a bit since i lost my father and a brother both to throat cancer.
the nodules have slowly shrunk and are on there way...
it has been really nice to participate in this discussion.
ps mas2782 do you have high cholesterol also+

[lollynanda]

You are correct to take statins if diet alone does not work.  Those of us with cardiovascular histories need to keep our LDL's even lower than most.  Not an easy feat on diet alone.  I have known people to lower their cholesterol with diet and supplements alone, but you need to include things like niacin,, and/or other supplements that should be recommended by a health professional who knows about these supplements.  Some supplements (such as Vitamin E) need to be avoided by people like myself on "blood thinning" medications.  So the best sources for most things are from foods themselves, where interactions are less likely.  However, even if taking statins, should continue to follow the dietary guidelines as well. This would even allow you to eventually lower your statins if necessary in the future.  For those who are interested, there's an excellent resource , world's healthiest foods.  They have a sidebar for nutrients/foods that tells all the benefits of the different foods, and where for instance, you can find the best sources for Omega 3's from foods.

[Barbarella]

I'm glad you lowered your cholesterol naturally.  However your LDL was only 138.  Up to 130 is normal for people with NO heart disease.  My LDL was 231, My TC was 306.  All the natural stuff I took/tried for one year did NOT help me.

Like I said before if the cholesterol is only elevated slightly you might get it down with natural stuff, but if its extremely high its hard to get it down naturally.  Maybe it works for other people it did not work for me. My high cholesterol is inherited, its not from eating the wrong food or not exercising.  

When talking to other people with very high cholesterol and who were afraid of statins and took natural stuff all of them either caved in and took statins or didn't take statins and are ignoring their high numbers because the natural stuff didn't work.  These were people like me with VERY high cholesterol and not low numbers like you have.

[terrina]

i believe in natural
i believe in vitamins and minerals and take them religiosly every day.
especialy vitamin c against cancer among other things.
i have tried many things to adjust my cholesterol especialy my good cholesterol which was getting lower and lower until it reached 28 making my ratio 6.6. esercise, foods, supplements and vitamins of all kinds. nothing just HDL getting lower and lower.
i researched and started taking fish oil with omega 3.
in 6 months taking it everyday with my morning juice.  
my LDL went from 138 to 114, my HDL from 28 to 38, my TCh 184 to 168 and my ratio went from 6.6 to 4.3.
i realize my situation is not as serious as yours, however my mother is a 85 lb toothpick and eats very little, yet her cholesterol too is a little over.
i don-t expect you to believe me blindly, but look it up on-line and maybe try while sticking to what ever you are taking.
i don-t mean to intrude just to inform.
lots of good luck

[Momto3]

I read it the same way as mas2782....Better revisit the article to be sure I didn't miss something.  

[mas2782]

Maybe I read the article completely differently than you did...from what I read the authors were basically saying that statins SHOULD be taken if needed and that the link between lowering LDL and decrease in heart disease has been a lot easier to see/link for the doctors than it has been with raising HDL.

In other words, I read that not only is it difficult to engineer HDL raising drugs, but that an increase in HDL does not necessarally mean a decrease in heart disease or mortality?

[Barbarella]

The two guys who wrote the article are neither MD's nor Phd's.  They only talk about HDL, but nowhere do they mention the LDL which is the most dangerous.  My HDL is excellent in the 60's, but my LDL before statins was 231 (should not be over 130 for people with NO heart disease).

What are people suppose to do who have total cholesterol over 300 like I had,  a friend of mine just was told her cholesterol is over 400.  She eats healthy like I do, exercises like I do, and is not overweighed like I am not,

These articles do not tell people "where" all the excess very high cholesterol is settling in your body.  Of course not, its in your arteries, it for sure doesn't come out with your bowel movements.

I totally agree that the pharmaceutical companies are making a ton of money from these cholesterol drugs, but at the same time all these articles written by people who are critcizing cholesterol meds its a lot of jeleausy involved about doctors who get the kickbacks, and about pharmaceutical companies making big money.

For people like me and many others who are and have been walking around with a TC of over 300 and 400, an LDL of 231 all the "natural stuff", and over the counter stuff does not help.

We are in a situation "shall we or shall we not take statins".  If we do not, and have a heart attack or stroke then comes the "why didn't we take meds, why are we putting our loved ones through that, if only we had taken meds".  If we do take the meds we are holding our breaths that we wont get side effects.

My mother in law thought she knew it all and refused statins.  Until she had several strokes, her heart was fine but her carotid arteries were almost completely blocked, she ended up in diapers, lost her memory and was a vegetable for 6 yrs in a nursing home.  Before that about 15 yrs before she was told of her high cholesterol and laughed it off.

Yes, you can have a heart attack with normal or low cholesterol, but very high cholesterol is not going away by itself especially if its genetic.

As for the horror stories about statins again that does not apply to everybody.  I for example cannot even take a baby aspirin without my stomach lining being on fire.  I cannot even take CQ10 without getting side effects and feeling like I have the flu, when taking Valerian Root I get PVC's three times as bad as I had them before I took the Valerian Root, but I can take Zocor for the last 4 yrs with absolutely no side effects.

[Momto3]

Great article, very informative!

[anacyde]

Good article!