Have you lowered your cholesterol with medication or foods? An Adventure!

So, was wondering....  Have you ever lowered your blood cholesterol significantly by changing the foods you eat?  And what foods did you change to do that?  

I understand oatmeal is a good one :)

Want to try this Adventure? I have to have my cholesterol checked again in 90 days... So, would luv your company!!!  Feel free to join me :)  Just getting started but everyone welcome always!  Never to late to join us in the chatter!

Now this is something I've been, er... *thinking* about more or less and practicing for the last 3 years or so!  We don't have to radically change everything today...  Small changes as we learn about different foods we want to eat are just fine! 

For me, it's a choice between trying this or trying a cholesterol lowering drug.  I choose food!  Thinking I really, really want to try this first ;)


edit:  Added... here & to title...

~ inspiration ~

?Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.??Helen Keller

Day 1.  Will it work?

Please share your tips, tricks and experiences with me!  Best yet?  Join me in a daring adventure :)

a tag~it~licious thread on making dietary changes for lowering blood cholesterol levels by

• reducing the bad4heart fats,
• increasing good4heart fats and
• increasing fiberific foods ~ especially the water soluble kind ;)
  
  
   

Okie- I would just add milled flax seed to my oatmeal.  YOu can also get flax seed oil at a health food store in the refrigerator section and add that to the oatmeal,  I like the nutty flavor it adds to the oatmeal.  I try to stay clear of supplements cause if you can eat the vitamins and minerals the way our bodies are intended to get the nutrients its better.  I know from past experience the "fiber supplements" didn't do jack for me and I have to eat my fiber or else I get very ill.  I'm not saying don't take a vitamin supplement - but if you can eat the omegas then its better - IMHO

okiepic:  My sister (59) went from having to take Lipitor to what the doctor called "the cholesterol levels of a teenager" in six months, and she says the only change she made is taking fish oil (in capsule form) three times a day.  I've jumped on the band wagon and hope to see some lowering the next time my cholesterol is checked.  lkm

hi all. I was diagnosed with hypercholestraemia less than two years ago. It was later found to be hereditary and my sister has it and also I'd been a vegetarian and was only 20! Anyway, managed to lower it from 7.6 to 5.1. I'm due for another check up soon and I have to try maintain it under 4.5. What I did was:

- Took omega 3 and 6 supplements

-Ate a whole lot of seeds

-Ate a whole lot of soy protein

-Ate a whole lot of not just oats but oat bran (it has more soluble fibre which is what you're looking for to lower cholesterol)

-cut out commercial products of any kind (soups, baked goods etc)

-oh and had Proactive Flora Margarine (filled with plant sterols which combat choleterol)

Hope that helps. My next check up is end of May so I'm also jumping on board!

Thanks for the info - I actually haven't been inside the health food stores yet... not sure about the fish oil capsules - research has varied on the effects but those using them swear by them  (omega 3 I think) - I have tried to do most of mine with better choices at the grocery store and in the restaurants.  I have been pretty amazed at how hard it is for me to get even a reasonable amount of fiber every day.. right now the only supplement I am taking is calcium and a multivitamin - trying to get the rest from dietary changes.  I really don't know anything about milled flax seed or oil.  I think maybe I have seen it in the new Kroger's store in the healthy food section - has bins of stuff that look grainy and healthy and I really don't know what to do with them.  I can add it to oatmeal though... like I added the cinnamon - then I didn't miss the sugar.  Will see how I do as I lose more and exercise more  - again, thanks for the input.

Reworked my whole diet last June and added in lots of exercise.  Ditched the fast foods, fried foods, processed grains, high sugar foods, etc.  Added in lots of fresh fruits, veggies, and whole grains. Had my cholesterol checked this past January - Total 162, HDL 48, LDL 109, Triglycerides 50, and glucose 90.  Appreciated the evidence that what I am doing is working.  Now I've been running for three months, I am thinking the HDL is probably higher and my LDL is probably lower. The nurse told me to get my cholesterol checked again in about three years.

i wonder about taking the Cholesterol prescriptions.  I guess that is something I should research.  I would appreciate any comments, thoughts, experiences of yours :)

lizzy2 ~ let us know how your May results turn out, k?

I recently got my cholesterol checked...and I thought this might be a good group to share my good news with!  My cholesterol untreated can get to about 400 and it has been this high since I was really little.  I'm not even overweight..but I have to eat healthy and take medication to keep it low, so I've found C-C helpful.  Anyway, I take Lipitor and Zetia.  In the past with medication, my cholesterol has hovered around 225.  But I just got my results back from the most recent check.  Get this-down to 147 (LDL=101)!!  I know that the difference has been my healthy eating.  Hopefully, this can be of inspiration to others with the same problem!

Wow!!! 

How high are your levels now, United?  Mine are holding steady with the diet in the normal range with dietary changes - the lipitor sits in my drawer and reminds me...eat fiber - eat fruits - eat veggies - eat more fish and chicken - eat less red meat and make it lean when you do - NO FAST FOOD.  Still hard to get full quota of fiber...

nods.

Hi I can't believe I didn't see this thread sooner! 

YES, I did it.  I had Cholesterol of 249 last year while ON lipitor at 284 pounds.  After losing a lot of weight (down to 209.5 currently), adding exercise and omega-3s, increasing daily fiber to 25+g, almost entirely eliminating meat (only do fish now and rarely poultry) and cheese (only do low fat in small amounts), adding in veggies, yogurt, and whole grains, and cutting fats to the "good" ones (olive and canola oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds), my Cholesterol (OFF lipitor for 6 months) is now 146!

It can be done!  My triglycerides also went from way over 200 to down around 100, and now my big challenge is to get my blood sugar down below 100, where it has been hovering for a few years.  That means more exercise and carbs with lower glycemic loads, but I can do it!  :D

[quote]   when i was a kidlet and they served those horrible humongo bowls of pasty gobby oatmeal at camp ~ it looked so gross, I darn near vowed never to eat oatmeal... EVER!!!  Nope.  No thank you!  Don't even want to try it!!! [Unquote].

I don't cook my oatmeal into gobby stuff.  I just put a bit in a bowl,  cover with low fat milk, just like I was going to eat cold cereal,  and put it in the microwave for about 1 or 1-1/2 minutes. It doesn't turn out all gobby goopy then.  Penny.

I am 25 years old and my cholesterol is 221 but my good cholesterol is a whopping 75.  My doctor told me to lower my total/bad cholesterol by diet and excercise but I have been dieting and exercising (4-6 times a week for an hour) for 4 months  before I had it tested.  I know its genetic and I dont understand how I could lower it without raising my good cholerstrol even more. 

On another subject one food that I eat a lot of is almonds.  One serving of almonds, in almond butter, raw or roasted, has been shown to raise good cholesteroll and lower bad cholesterol.  I read the study and it looked good....maybe that partly explains why my good cholesterol is so high.  I eat slivered raw almonds, about a quarter cup on my salad 5 days a week (though the studies were 7 days a week)

I started the first of the year with cholestrol of 225. Started watching my carbs (kinda South Beachy) and by April it was down to 135!  My trygliserides went from 155 to 88!

dhowell ~ Wow!!!

nuked oatmeal, eh???  i'll have to try that penny-tx :) 

Just got my cholesterol level checked via donating blood.  Went from over 400 something to  (drumroll please...)  now 307.

Still very high!!!!!

But I'm glad that I have made some sort of change, and this is without using meds, only diet changes.

As I keep losing weight, hopefully this will keep lowering.  Also, since it was only through blood donation process, didn't find out my separate HDL/LDL levels or triglycerides.  My insurance from new job kicks in at the end of July and I will get all that info then. 

P.S. since I've started a new job 1.5 months ago my weight loss has really slowed down.  But at least I'm not going backwards and gaining again, or reverting to eating trash again.

Good luck to you all.

*yay* Jen!  that's gr8 :)

I'm bumping this up to the top because we've had questions about high cholesterol!