AIBU to ask if anybody has managed to lower their cholesterol naturally?

[StupidAnnoyingCholesterol]

Just that really. I'm almost 50, probably perimenopausal and carrying about 10 extra pounds. My cholesterol was hovering around 5 for years and years but has suddenly jumped to almost 7. My GP is sending me out a diet sheet and retesting my cholesterol in 3 months with a view to putting me on medication if it hasn't gone back down.
My diet is pretty OK and I'm fairly active but obviously I'm going to try harder with both. Does anybody have any other tips or advice? I'd like to stay off the medication if at all possible.

I have. I halved it. I am just under 40 and have had high LDL and low HDL cholesterol since my early 20s (hereditary). I am not overweight and exercise regularly so the changes I made have been dietary. It has taken time and lots of discipline but is now normal for me. I eat no dairy, use a butter alternative and little red meat. I drink soya milk (with calcium), and have attempted increasing my HDL by eating more nuts and avocado. I do have occasions where I indulge, and sometimes more often then i should but am pretty happy with the impact so far.

I also should add I eat plenty of fruit and vegetables. Good fibre is supposed to also decrease cholesterol.

Thanks for replying. I usually have a yogurt and mandarin orange for a snack at work. I've read that apples are better for cholesterol so might go for nuts and an apple instead.

Yes my mum has done successfully and much to the surprise of her GP who just wanted to medicate. Mum already had a pretty healthy diet but she is fond of cake and puddings! She stopped making sponge based cakes and now makes buns or teabreads instead for when she fancies something sweet as there barely any fat in those. She started using benecol spread and upped eating nuts as a snack. Plenty of fish and chicken and very little red meat. No chocolate or crisps. In three months she got her cholesterol back down into the healthy range. Shes in her late eighties, gardens every day and is now back to dancing twice a week!

Please read about total cholesterol and how the total number doesn’t mean anything by itself. Low cholesterol is very unhealthy.

Your HDL to Triglycerides ratio should be as close to 1 as possible for optimum health. www.thebloodcode.com/know-your-tghdl-ratio-triglyceride-hdl-cholesterol/

I had high blood pressure and my LDL and triglycerides were awful considering my weight is bang on normal BMI. I have changed to a whole foods plant based diet (Forks Over Knives or How Not to Die), and in just under six months, my numbers are way down and my doctor is happy with a trial of no blood pressure meds for the first time in years.

@Snowsquonk

Yes my mum has done successfully and much to the surprise of her GP who just wanted to medicate. Mum already had a pretty healthy diet but she is fond of cake and puddings! She stopped making sponge based cakes and now makes buns or teabreads instead for when she fancies something sweet as there barely any fat in those. She started using benecol spread and upped eating nuts as a snack. Plenty of fish and chicken and very little red meat. No chocolate or crisps. In three months she got her cholesterol back down into the healthy range. Shes in her late eighties, gardens every day and is now back to dancing twice a week!

Your mum sounds ace!

I wasn't expecting to hear my cholesterol was high and I didn't think to ask any questions about the good and bad cholesterol. That's an interesting article about triglycerides, she didn't mention triglycerides at all.

My DSis got hers down by eating bananas and exercising a lot more. I think it was the potassium in the bananas that helped.

The theory is that the HDL (good cholesterol) helps get rid of the LDL (bad cholesterol). Increasing HDL therefore should decrease LDL. Eg: nuts and wholegrains help increase HDL.

I have got both high good and bad cholesterol, I understood they cancel each other out, but not really sure