how to beat high cholesterol?

I just recently found out that I have high cholesterol from my doctor and was wondering what might help bring those levels down?

Thank you

oatmeal is one that is recommended.  Also a regular person is supposed to keep cholesterol intake under 300mg per day.  You will want to stay well under that.  I personally average around 100-150mg of cholesterol per day since I have changed to healthier eating habits.
I bet there are tons of links on the internet.

from what I have been logging for food. I have almost always been under 300. Does it have anything to do with sodium? my sodium intake is high. I also walk 3-4 per week regularly, rarely drink.

Self-care for high cholesterol can be approached in a number of ways?but it can be hard to know just where to start. To make it easier, our doctors recommend trying these simple steps first:

• Cut the bad fats
• Foods that contain saturated fat, hydrogenated fat, and cholesterol (such as animal products; fried foods; and sweet, baked snacks) can raise cholesterol

• Reduce risk with fiber
• Add whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables to your meals to reduce heart disease risk

• Raise ?good? cholesterol with exercise
• Start a regular exercise program to help raise HDL cholesterol

• Get some supplemental garlic
• 600 to 900 mg a day of a standardized garlic extract may help lower cholesterol and prevent hardening of the arteries

• Add soy protein to your diet
• 30 grams (about 1 ounce) a day of powdered soy protein added to food or drinks can help lower cholesterol

I havent seen anything with cholesterol related to salt or drinking.  I pulled this off of a website I looked up.
Im suprised your doctor didnt recommend anything. 

I was told over the phone and have to go in and talk to her. Thank you so much for the info

I've also got high colesterol - I made an attempt to control the numbers with exercise and diet but in the end had to take Lipitor and Foltix to get my numbers under control. It's important to remember that some of those numbers are genetic and they may need to be controled with medication...and to remember if you are on medication it's supposed to be in conjunction with diet and exercise (I've got some friends who think it's okay to eat whatever they want 'cause they're on cholesterol pills!).

Hi Everyone!  I know how to do it because I did!  (Can you tell I'm proud of myself?  :D). 

My cholesterol was over 200 for 2 years, and I'm 34.  It didn't go under 200 even with Lipitor. 

BUT!!!!

After 6 months of low fat, low cholesterol (under 275mg a day), low sodium (under 2300mg a day), low calorie (1300-1500 cals a day), high fiber (25g+ a day), good fat (avocado, nuts, canola, olive oil, etc.), AND exercising 3-4 days a week AND losing 58 pounds . . . .

MY cholesterol level is NOW 122!  I just found out, and am durn excited.  I eat 20-25% fat, 25-30% protein (mostly soy and fish), and whole grain and veggie/fruit carbs.

Alcohol, other than a glass or two of red wine (which is supposed to be good for cholesterol) does not help and can hurt.

Lots of water and fiber HELPED me. 

Niacin and Omega-3 (fish oil) helped.

Eating more fish, fresh veggies, soy, and fruit helped.

Exercise definitely helped.

Weight loss, for me, helped probably the most.

GOOD LUCK!  You can definitely do this!  After all, if I did, anyone can!  :D

The oatmeal really is a proven way.  Give it a try.  (Unless it's genetic.)

Niacin is working for me.

writestuff, you posted that you eat low fat and good fat (avocado, nuts, canola, olive oil, etc.).

I have recently been looking at my fat intake and with eating good fats (e.g. almonds) my total fat is high. Something like 60-70 grams total.

does eating low fat preclude eating the good fats? Or are the good fats ok regardless of the total fat number?

Thanks for the help.

Theoretically, a diet high in fiber and unsaturated fats should lower your cholesterol :)

As far as your question, nocapper, humans do NEED fat, so about 20-25% of your calories should be coming from fat, preferably unsaturated. You should do your best to stay away from trans-fats as much as you can as they are very bad for you.

Writestuff has it set out for you... pretty much what I was going to say... I helped my ex-husband (at the time he was my husband...but that's another story) lower his cholestrol after a major heart attack... doctor didn't think it could be done without medicine, but gave him a couple of months to try... and it worked! 

Eat low fat but incorporate the good fats in ... and if you eat the good fats and grains, fish, etc that Writestuff mentions, your diet will be low fat... eat whole foods...not processed foods.

it's not only what you DON'T eat...but also what you DO EAT... as in eat more veggies and fruit, fish, tofu, soybeans, lentils - all dry beans and peas in general lower the bad cholestrol and raise the good cholestrol... flax seed oil (made a great salad oil)

Has anyone heard the story behind calcium lowering cholesterol?

Here's the theory:  If blood is too acidic, it will start damaging blood vessels, arteries, etc.  The body wants to protect itsself, so it makes cholesterol to line the arteries. Calcium is "basic" on the pH scale.  By increasing levels of calcium, blood acidity goes down, hence cholesterol goes down. Does this make any sense?

My mom is a science teacher and she had some lithium strips (?). I had been taking a calcium suppliment for several months.  She was not taking extra calcium. We both tested our saliva to see if our bodies were acidic or not.  I was not and my mom was. She has high cholesterol, mine is below 130.

Thoughts?

aclayton, I hadn't heard that but . . . interestingly . . . I started taking a calcium chew supplement once a day about 3 months ago . . . hmmm.

nocapper, I only go to 20-25% of my total cals in fat, and almost all of that is from the nuts, avocado, olive oil, fish oil, or canola oil.  I do this by eating fat free yogurt, sour cream, and mayo, by drinking skim milk, and by only using better n eggs or egg whites, so no fats there, really.  I also eat cheese very rarely--like once a week in very small amounts.  My salad dressings are all low fat and/or olive oil based, and I don't do butter but choose the heart healthy margerine with plant sterols designed to lower cholesterol.  As for "meat" fats, I only eat chicken once every 2 weeks, and have fish 2-3 times a week on average, with all my other protein coming from soy (tofu, boca burgers, garden burgers, morningstar farms products), or lowfat/high fiber "veggie" protein sources like beans and lentils.  

I hope this all helps!  I don't know if just doing part of it would work, but I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing because it works for me.  Why don't you try making a few, serious changes and see if it helps the next time you get tested, if doing all I'm doing is too much.  Good luck to you!! :D

This is for aclayton. The lining of one's arteries is called the endothelium. The acid/base tester is litmus paper. If acidic blood caused endothelium damage which increased low density lipoprotein =LDL( for some reason called "bad cholesterol"), then any basic substance ie PH greater than 7 would lower LDL too. 

writestuff thank you for the details on how you lowered your levels and everyone else who gave me advice

Thanks much for the advise writestuff (and others).

I recently had a couple of stents put in for blocked arteries, so I am trying to modify my diet of course. I have actually been doing this for a couple of years now, so its not as drastic as it sounds. I just need to add further levels, so to speak.

I started to use the food log on this site to at least look at what I was consuming and nearly fell out of my seat when I saw that I was at 90 grams of fat the other day, despite eating "better".  A bunch of this fat was from from almonds, though, so I need to learn more about what kind of impact that has or not.

I am going to try to introduce soy into my diet and need to increase my fish from 2 to 3 days.

As I try to get deeper into this, there seems to be so much more to learn. I obviously have a longer way to go than I had thought. Its a little overwelming when I look at all the infomation.

Thanks for help, though.