cholesterol

does anyone no a good way to lower cho;esterol, need to go back to dr. in 3 months i dont want to take any medication for this. thanks rita

I was just told last week that my cholesterol levels were a little high.  Wonder if that fried seafood dinner I had the night before the test could have affected the results.  My doctor said a low fat diet and exercise would help.  I have to go back to be retested in 2 months.  Just to play it safe, I'm going to be sure to stay far away from fried foods for a few days beforehand.

Cindi 

I have this problem, too, and on meds because of it. I have also spent a lot of time researching the subject, because I'm cynical when it comes to what's bad for me when food is involved. Unfortunately, you have to eliminate as much as you can from the foods you eat.

I have to disappoint you further, because your body may be producing too much cholesterol, in which case, you will need some kind of med to get it down to a healthy level, whatever that is.

Most serum cholesterol is produced by the body, unless you eat a ridiculously high amount.  25% is produced by the liver. Some is produced by the gall bladder. Cholesterol is used by the body's cells to maintain cellular health (it's part of the cell walls). This is the "hereditary" cholesterol you hear about on those commercials talking about "Aunt Mae" or "Uncle Will."

The average American diet contains between 200 and 300 milligrams, which is small compared to the 1 gram your body produces (1,000 mg = 1 g); but you control, through your eating, the extra cholesterol your body does not produce- which is why diet modification is necessary.

The problem is much more complex than just a "cholesterol" problem. It also has to do with stuff called triglycerides, and the types of cholesterol, or lipoproteins. Low Density (bad), High Density (good)- those are talked about all the time.  But then there's also Very Low Density (bad) and Intermediate Density (also bad), and other forms.  There are other parts to this puzzle as well. If you want, check out the website www.wikipedia.com.  They seem to have it all down. Be forewarned, tho, this reference can get very technical and scientific on you.

Anyway, you need to start monitoring what you eat.  There just isn't any way around it. A simple rule of thumb is, unfortunately: if it's high in animal fat of some kind, or some vegetable oils (Palm Kernel or Coconut oil), then it's probably high in cholesterol.

Okay, now comes a little hope, but it's up to the individual.

More leafy dark green vegetables: Any lettuce other than iceburg, kale, broccoli, (beet greens radish leaves are also edible), Swiss chard, Bok Choy, mustard greens, chollard greens, spinach, etc. They contain amino acids and enzymes that break down "stuff" contributing to "high cholesterol."

Cut back on land-based meat and replace with fish: cod, pollack, salmon, sardines, anchovies- those high in the Omega fatty acids (3, 6, and one other- can't remember right now). If you can't go the fish, then go beans and other legumes. Use Beano if necessary.

Cut back on sources of saturated fats. BTW, butter and eggs do not fall into this category! (YAY!) Blasphemy?  Not hardly. Margarine is a bad thing- as your doctor. Margarine is, basically, a nearly plastic Trans Fat- period. My mother has serious heart problems. She's had 2 angioplasties, and has a stent keeping one artery open. All 3 of her cardiologists have made the same statement: 'You're better off eating butter than margarine. We can treat the extra cholesterol from the butter. We can't do anything about what's in margarine.' Big Daddy Foodmaker offers alternatives to both- if you can live with it. I would try those alternatives.

EGGS: Yes, very high in cholesterol. 1 large egg contains 213 mg cholesterol- almost the entire day's suggested daily allowance, according to the FDA.  But, here's one surprise: saturated fat is the real issue to high cholesterol, and 2 large eggs have less sat fat than 8 oz of whole cow's milk! Here's another surprise, guaranteed to blow your socks off: according to my research (mostly from the website already given), eggs have less of the "bad" fatty acids that cause health problems than SALMON! OMG, here's another: butter has even less than eggs!!!

 Vitamin supplements: There are a few here that you can take that will help. BUT, be forewarned!  Supplements (of any kind) are intended to be used when your diet is lacking a necessary component to good health.  They are NOT a substitute for poor eating habits, and over- consumption can result in toxicity.  Dietery fiber helps the body "cleanse" the blood of excess materials of all sorts; Another reason to eat more veggies and legumes and whole grains. But, when necessary, go for natural sources. Psyllium, and other ingredients like it, is simply plant cellulose- indigestible plant fiber that just goes through the digestive tract. Lecithin is a nutrient that keeps cholesterol emulsified in the blood until it's either used by a needy cell or is returned to the liver.  Niacin, a "B" vitamin, makes the liver work harder to process cholesterol.  For lowering cholesterol, niacin is sometimes recommended at "mega-dose" levels by the doctor.  CAUTION! There are life- threatening risks to "mega-dosing."  In the case here, the danger is liver failure, at worst, and liver damage most likely- both very rare.  There are probably more, but one that is NOT, is soy. There is no unbiased scientific proof.

My, my! I guess a button got pushed...

Eat oatmeal for breakfast, with non fat milk (use powdered, you can make it  bit stronger than the skimmed you buy in the store).. Go talk to your hospital DIETITIAN and have a talk with her/him about setting up a diet plan for you. (there should not be any costs involved)

Yep- sorry. Oatmeal is considered important for lowering cholesterol.  This assumes your body can tolerate eating it.  Mine can't, so I forget it can work for many. I can't remember all of it, so someone help me out.Quick oats are OK, but there are more effective oats out there. Steel rolled (?) have more soluble and insoluble fiber, and there's another- just can't think of it right now.

Flaxseed is also beneficial; so is wheat: millet, bulgar, and barley. Buckwheat is also good. Whole grain wheat is also good, or stone ground wheat with added wheat germ. Then there's tritacale, a special kind of wheat.  I'm sure there is other stuff out there that will help.  It's like I said, the first thing that you need to do is change your diet.  If that isn't enough, then, well, you have to decide what you need to do.

 Please check out this web site. This doctor is well respected. My DH had serious side effects from statins that took several months before they disappeared.

Thanks for this useful info;

Wattle

You can try the suggestions offered here--but you do need to remember that you can only affect your cholesterol numbers a very slight bit by changing your diet.  Mostly, genetics determine how much cholesterol our bodies will produce.  Another important thing to understand is that the medical community keeps lowering the definitions of what is 'sick' and what is 'healthy'--part of the smash and grab being practiced on the middle class to separate them from as much of their money as possible before our economy self-destructs (which is happening at an alarming rate--soon there will be NO middle class at all).  Back to what I was saying--the values keep getting lowered so that the dr's can scare people into having more check-ups, so the drug manufacturers can sell more meds--often to people who were considered (and were) perfectly healthy just a few years ago.

That being said--oats, fish oil, flax seed (it has to be ground--whole flax seed won't help, you won't digest it and get the benefits) can be helpful.  Watching the fat you eat.  Not just fried foods--read labels.  Lunch meat is terrible, so are most prepared foods and fast foods (even salads you get out in restaurants may be much higher in fat than you think).  Also, be aware of the amount of cholesterol/saturated fat in ingredients you buy for your home.  Canola and safflower oils are actually quite low in saturated fat, so if you must have the occasional fried treat--make it at home, using one of those.  Also, olive oil is actually GOOD for you--it cleans out the cholesterol you've already accumulated in your blood vessels. 

Lots to know, and I really believe the most important thing is that you can only do so much yourself.  Taking the drugs isn't that bad a deal--I've been on them for the past 15+ years, with no side effects, and with great results.  If you can avoid taking them, great--but if your dr. recommends them, they may be the difference between living healthy, longer, and dying young from a stroke (my g'mother died at age 53 from a stroke--I've already surpassed that age by many years).

I lowered my cholesterol by 84 points in 1 month...no medication...also, didn't eat meat, dairy products, eggs, oil-based foods...ate a lot of fruit, vegetables & whole grains...barley, oatmeal, brown rice...very difficult to stay on a very strict diet...remember to exercise regularly too.  I think I found the recipe for oatmeal soup (made w/chicken broth & onions) in a Fannie Farmer cook book (not sure)...my co-workers were amused to see that I had soup that I could actually unmold & it also took the design of the lid...once it heated up, it was like a thick, hearty soup...not bad, but I only made it once. Depends on how motivated you are.  And, in the end, because of the ratio & tryclides...I ended up on meds....just like everyone else in my family. Good luck to you, even if you go on medication, you'll probably be making major changes in your eating habits. 

As far as oats are concerned there are old rolled oats, steel CUT oats, whole oat groats and different kinds of oat meal: old fashioned, regular, quick  cooking and (shudeer) instant.

Grains don't have anything to do with cholesterol. It is very sinple: stop eating ANIMAL FAT,: steaks, roasts with fat, pork, chicken skins. Eat more poached fish, skinless chicken breasts, less eggs(yolks are the culprits), no butter, cream. high fat cheeses (that measns 95% of all cheeses), no lunchmeats, hot dogs, sausages  and such, rather buy sliced turkey breast for lunch meat or real lean ham (if you are not on a low sodium diet.

Eat more fruits and VEGETABLES.

Deep fried things are fine as long as it is not chicken or other meat because deep frying is done in VEGETABLE fat/oil and vegetable fat has NO cholesterol  just  lot of calories. Try to get along with very little animal fat and please READ LABELS on EVERYTHING.