How can I lower my cholesterol in 3 months?

[Yoyoyo1]

I've been told I have high chlorestrol by my gp. Has come as a shock, as I am a veggie, non smoker, don't drink much, exercise etc... it is probably genetic.

She said if it's not lower in 3 months, I will need to take statins and see a cardiologist.

What diet changes can I make? I don't eat fish or meat.

TIA

This would depend on whether you believe saturated fat leads to high cholesterol which is bad for the heart.

I personally believe heavily processed and full of sugar plant based milks are worse for inflammation in the body and therefore heart health.

But then I firmly believe in full fat milk, unpasteurised butter and meat and 2 veg. Basically eating like they did post war (when we were healthier as a population).

I think ultra processed food is far more harmful to all metabolic health (including heart health) than full fat dairy products.

We’ve all been a bit ‘greenwashed’ so do people even know why they order oat milk in their coffee?

My GP suggested a low carb diet which I have been following. It allows cheese and other full fat foods but fewer carbs and it has bought my numbers down.

Yep low carb makes sense. Pleased to see doctors are changing advice about full fat foods.

Just off the phone to hear that my 'bad cholesterol' is gone way up. I've never researched it and don't even know the scale but I'm told I'm at 7.7. I need to also get it down cos I have more tests in 3 months.

I'm overweight and already struggling on a daily basis to eat less, I've stopped gaining weight which I was doing rapidly and was hoping to stabilise for a while before I feel mentally ready to really tackle it long term. This is just really depressing news, I find it hard enough already.

Sorry no advice OP, just solidarity!

I've read that it's not total cholesterol or even total LDL that matters, but rather the particle size of the molecules. The NHS rarely pays fir those tests though so people have to pay privately if they're interested in

It can absolutely be genetic and there's nothing you can do other than take statins. My DD took part in a trial by GOSH when she was 12 months old (she was there for jabs so I agreed to the trial which was the same method as the heel prick test when they are newborns) and it turns out she has high cholesterol (now 12 years old and the most sinewy girl you ever did see!)

Obviously at that age, diet had nothing to do with it and it'll be something that will be kept under review. She next sees the consultant at 16.

My DH and I then had our cholesterol checked and although DH's wasn't particularly high for his age, mine was 2 point something so the defect obviously comes from his side so he was prescribed statins and been taking them ever since with no side effects whatsoever. Better to be safe than sorry, hey??

Yes there’s a condition called familial hypercholesterolaemia. So that’s genetic.

Exercise, olives, fruit, veg, finish, nuts, seeds, whole meal items, oats, no alcohol, no smoking

Apparently a lipid clinic now offers an injection to lower cholesterol - I don't know much about it though - Leqvio

I have high cholesterol, had it since my teens, never been over 9 stone except when pregnant. I have a very good HDL to LDL ratio though and no family history of heart issues. I am not too worried. I refuse to take statins as there is evidence they increase diabetes risk especially in petite women and that’s much more concerning to me (I have PCOS and had GD).

Are you on HRT? Oestrogen protects against high cholesterol so post menopausal women do tend to see rapid cholesterol rises. I don’t know if there is research showing that HRT helps but logically it should do?

Exercise has done a lot to reduce my cholesterol (down from 7-8 to 6-7).

Exercise and eating more of the things that improve your HDL can help. But really if it is genetic there is only so much you can do.

I eat ridiculously healthy, but my cholesterol was always "high" because my HDL (good cholesterol) is never more than 0.8. I tried hard for a year by eating salmon, nuts, olives etc daily and taking a ton of supplements, but my HDL never improved. I had to accept that it was out of my control and went on statins. My total cholesterol is now 2.99, LDL 1.57 and HDL is still around 0.7.

Does anyone know how the finger prick test compares to the in the arm test?

Also fasting or not fasting before a test?

I ask because a from the arm test in late September put me at 7. something total cholesterol.

had a finger prick test couple of weeks ago and it was over 10!

Ditto. I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, after extensive monitoring I had a pacemaker fitted so am also now on blood thinners. It was also suggested that lowering my cholesterol was something else I needed to do , and since over many years I had signally failed to do so by any other means I agreed to statins, though I was worried about possible side effects. There have been none.

Not sure whether this has been mentioned, but have you had your thyroid levels checked, that can also cause high cholesterol?

I've got a genetic condition, familial hypercholesterolaemia. It was identified several years ago and I've been on statins ever since. Some side effects to begin with (very loose bowel movements) but they switched to atorvastatin and theres been no noticeable side effects since.

My understanding is that if you've got a genetic condition such as mine, even following the most rigorous low cholesterol diet will only go so far.

I almost certainly inherited the condition from my dad, who was also being treated using statins, but they discovered it quite late on in his life. He died of a sudden, massive heart attack aged only 64 and I'm convinced the genetic condition was a huge factor in this.

So personally, I'm very happy to carry on taking statins, seems to be a bit of a no brainer to me!

DH has got familial high cholesterol. As I said he got his down through cutting out dairy and eating more oats (he was veggie to start with). He’s not an ounce overweight but he ended up in A&E last year with AF.

I however am notably overweight and my diet isn’t that much different to his. My cholesterol is perfect.

Doctors are taught the mechanisms that caused cholesterol on a chemical basis. Cholesterol is produced by the body to protect against and repair damage in the blood vessels. The damage can be caused by an inflammatory diet high in sugar, carbs and processed food which is why often reducing carbs can improve all kinds of physical problems. Ibs, acne, joint pain and cholesterol. Low carb was used as a treatment for epilepsy (and still is where drugs aren't effective)

It's a well known problem that medical students are taught very very little in terms of nutrition which is shocking considering how important diet it. The limited time means that they are often taught very simplistic information, fat is bad etc which is now outdated and can't put two and two together with the chemistry of the body, role of insulin etc.

Fortunately this is slowly as more and more organisation are recognising the problems with the current model. The diabetes society is a big one that are now recognising the issues. Only a few years ago they were recommending low fat, whole grain etc.

Increase your intake of soluble fibre to at least 10 grams per day. Here is a food list, with serving size, and amount of soluble fibre per serving.

Plant foods contain two both soluble and insoluble fibre. The soluble fibre, dissolves in water and forms a gel. This gel then binds with cholesterol in bile helping to remove from the body, which lowers the amount of cholesterol in the blood.

Humans don't actually absorb that much cholesterol from food. Most of it is produced in our bodies.

What are your triglycerides like? If they are within normal range, then your fat intake should be ok.

<a class="break-all" href="//chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/carleton.ca/healthy-workplace/wp-content/uploads/soluble-fibre.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dietitians of Canada soluble Fibre Food List

A friend of mine died from undiagnosed high familial cholesterol at 34 .He was superfit - he was taking the exam to be a championship referee at the time . My DH had some side effects from statins so he takes the lowest strength ie 5 mg rosuvastatin on alternate days and takes Q10 to counteract side effects and touch wood he's been fine and brought his levels right down.

Hi OP, I have genetically high cholesterol and sound similar to you - veggie, non-smoker, exercise a lot, yet had high cholesterol with a high proportion of my score being the "bad" cholesterol.

Good news is that I brought mine right down with diet. Cut down on the crisps and junk foods, ate low or zero fat dairy (I eat a LOT of cheese) and generally made an effort to choose low fat options (I never bothered before as I'm not overweight). I've maintained my levels for 8 years, and pay for a private blood test annually (around £15) to keep an eye on it, largely as my GP won't test regularly.

It's not been hard at all, and if it ever creeps up I spend a few weeks going hard on not eating any fat at all, and that seems to do the trick.

If it’s a genetic thing then I’d take the statins.

I have a parent who has inherited high cholesterol. Their mother had heart problems for years and died from them. My parent’s issue wasn’t picked up until they were in their 50s and I think that their ridiculously healthy lifestyle (they’re a serious runner) is the only reason they got away with it. They never smoked and have been a healthy BMI their whole life. They tried to reduce it through dietary changes and took about 0.9 off. It was still ridiculously high. They’ve been on statins since then. I was tested and luckily I haven’t inherited it.

I have genetically high cholesterol but I keep it at acceptable levels for my GP by eating a Mediterranean style diet and am avoiding statins.

The book How Not to Die is fantastic. Science based and full of advice on all sorts of health conditions. Highly recommend.

One tip is that Brazil nuts lower cholesterol naturally, and you only need to eat something like 4 a month. I've been putting mine into smoothies. There's loads more in the book.

And as others have said, totally plant based is the future.

Sometimes it is just genetic some on my mothers side have this and needed statins from quite young. Its possible dietary changes will not help you if your body simply makes too much of it. However of course you should try and see what happens.