Can high cholesterol be reduced through diet?

[PalmTreeCocktail]

My mother has high cholesterol. It's 5.8. This was identified a few years ago from a blood test. She refused to take medication and she was asked to manage it through diet. She wanted to do it through the diet.

I found all this bizarre how the GP never referred her to a dietician. My mother wanted me to check online for her about lowering cholesterol through the diet.

My mother seems to be doing a lot of the right things.
She doesn't smoke. She doesn't drink. She walks daily.

Her diet is not varied.

Typically:
Breakfast is weetabix, with flaxseed and milk. Toast. She likes brown soda bread toasted or brown bread. She uses Flora spread. Tea.

Lunch might be a scone with Flora or two boiled eggs and tuna and soda bread.

I don't know what she has for dinner. I think maybe beans and potatoes.

Other foods in her diet include - bananas and tomatoes and biscuits and sweets.

Her diet is not very varied at all, in my opinion. When I researched this before for her I recommended to her to change her milk from full fat milk to low fat milk but all she did was make excuses about the change.

She's really not taking any of this seriously and she's very set in her ways too and habits and what she eats. She doesn't usually like trying new things. I suggested more fruit and vegetables but she won't do that.

This has been going on for so long now and she's still in the same place as she was since about 2019 with raised cholesterol.

I'm actually sick of helping her at this stage. She's getting me to research online but she won't ever take any of this seriously and all she will do is complain and make excuses and staying her ways. I am also fuming at the GPs in that she is supposed to manage this through her diet yet they never referred her to a dietitian to do it.

She seems to be doing a lot of good things like no drinking and smoking and walking daily and no takeaways and no greasy foods or pizzas. So she is doing a lot of good things. I know her diet is limited and not varied. Would that be causing the cholesterol to be high?

How can cholesterol be lowered through diet?

A GP isn’t going to refer for dietary advice for a cholesterol level of 5.8.

Tell her to stop eating biscuits, scones and sweets. If she’s going to make excuses about the suggestion of changing milk, she isn’t going to give them up though. What on Earth difference do you think a dietitian would make?

lots of info on line though.
https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/support/reducing-your-high-cholesterol

She's getting me to research online

What exactly did she ask you to do, OP?
I know you love her, but she's an adult & allowed to make decisions you don't like.

ps: I feel the same way about my children...

Why is this your responsibility? She’s an adult, she’s made the decision to refuse medication, there’s loads of freely available info about how to improve chlorestorol through diet and lifestyle. That said it doesn't work for everyone, some have a genetic predisposition to higher levels and a lot depends on the makeup of the total levels. Why not just leave her to it?

She's an older person but not very old either. She never learned to use the Internet. She doesn't know how to use a computer or smart phone or Internet. She's getting me to research online for her about lowering cholesterol through diet.
It's just, we've been here before. I did this before for her. She never took any of it on board and made excuses on everything. Her diet still remained the same and limited with very little variations from week to week. There's very little fresh fruit and vegetables in her diet. She made excuses with all of suggestions I gave her. She finds fault with everything that I suggested before to her.

A relative of mine reduced theirs successfully following a book that involved eating oat muffins daily, I think it was this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/8-week-Cholesterol-Cure-Percent-Deprivation/dp/0060914718/ref=mpssa111?keywords=the+8+week+cholesterol+cure&qid=1684880494&sr=8-1

She needs a load more fruit and vegetables! Can she aim for at least five a day? (Not always the same five)

I am trying to lower my cholesterol through diet as I don't want to take statins. No doctor refers people to dieticians for that. The nurse just told me to google low cholesterol diet.

Lots of fruit and veg
Whole grain bread, rice, pasta
Pulses and beans
Low fat cheese and dairy
No processed food
Limited red meat
Oily fish
Nuts and seeds

You can only do so much. 5.8 is not massively high. 5 is the recommended limit. Mine was 8 when checked last.

One simple change she could make would be to swap out her Flora for one of the cholesterol-lowering margarines available in the supermarket. You could buy her a tub, explain how it helps, and leave her to it. (Unless she is already using Flora Proactiv.)

The Flora people have tips and a guide for lowering cholesterol on this site:

ProActiv UK (pro-activ.com)

I reduced my cholesterol from 5.9 to 4.7 by overhauling my diet and giving up beer and takeaways (mostly!) and adding in tons more fruit and veg and whole grains and running regularly (about 20km per week). Like your mother I'd ignored this raised cholesterol for a while but then decided to tackle it in January this year. Hope this helps.

A level of 5.8 can be lowered by diet, but it does need a little bit of effort.

A level of 9+ can also be lowered by diet, but not by a significant enough amount to make it worth the effort.

Statins are absolutely fine. A better diet is obviously a good thing in any circumstances without any question, but taking statins should not be a worry.

I got mine down from 5.3 to 3.8 in 3 months with a combination of a healthier diet and more exercise.

I see a Consultant for my cholesterol,been seeing him for 20years now.

He told me not to bother with the so called Cholesterol reducing spreads,they make zero difference.He is a Professor so I believe him.

My dad has cholesterol spots on his eyes and I asked him what the Dr said he just eat better. NHS would be flooded if everyone with high cholesterol saw a dietitian. I get you frustration as really my dad perceives me as nagging where as it may come better of a professional.

Drop the rope. "Mum, why would I do research when you don't take the advice? All the same applies as last time you asked." Then stop.

And switching milk really isn't going to do an awful lot.

@BansheesOfEdSheeran its very irresponsible for you to say Statins are fine and should not be a worry, they can cause crippling side effects for a lot of people I know as my husband was one of them.

i was under the impression diet does little to change cholesterol levels, but that overall improved weight and exercise does help.
her cholesterol level isn't very high, has she had the blood test repeated lately?
if it was a one of reading it may not even be a factor anymore.

I agree but would emphasize the need to drastically reduce all forms of sugar and refined carbs. Dr Mark Hyman's books are excellent and easy to read.

Exercise and walking are also important.

A couple of simple changes. She could swap her weetabix for porridge which contains high levels of soluble fibre that would reduce her levels of LDL cholesterol. Apples, pears and some green veg also contain soluble fibre.

My dm switched to have porridge with chopped apple in it, for breakfast. And she eased back of the puddings and biscuits. Just those two things reduced her level from 5.1 to 3.9.

Your mother's diet sounds dire. Does she not eat meat/fish and two veg, ever? It's fine to have a little of what you fancy but not all the time. There are lots of really nice things you can eat which do not raise cholesterol and can actually reduce it. Hers is not very high so it is workable without statins. I wouldn't take statins, the side effects are often awful. Natural plant sterols and milk thistle are effective supplements. Get her to eat porridge with added fruit, bananas are nice added to it. I add lots of different fruit to porridge but I really like fruit, fresh and tinned in juice, so it's no hardship; neither do I have a sweet tooth but if I fancy something occasionally, such as a scone with cream and jam or a croissant, I'll have it, always in the morning. However I do eat proper meals and vary my diet.

The vast, vast majority of people take statins with no problem. They’re one of the best researched and safest medications around. Yes, there’s a possibility of side effects as with any drug but it’s unusual and can be remedied by stopping taking them, so I don’t think it’s irresponsible to say they are nothing to worry about. For a very night percentage of people they will make a positive difference to their health.

Night?! High.

A lot depends on whether the patient has a few things wrong with them; many do and that has to be taken into consideration before statins are prescribed as well as other medications they may be taking.

It is possible to reduce high cholesterol without statins and I do feel that should be tried first, however many patients are not careful with their diet, despite knowing they should be. Swings and roundabout.

In an otherwise healthy person you won't get medication for a cholesterol that low.

She needs to cut carbs and processed foods right down.

It's the ratio of the good to bad cholesterol that matters, not so much the overall number. 5.8 isn't particularly high if she has a good level of good cholesterol, HDL.
All the dietary adjustments in the world won't massively alter the LDL - the cholesterol made in the liver, but statins will. Raised LDL can be hereditary. High triglycerides point more to a poor diet and lifestyle.
Regardless of her numbers, if her Q risk (of cardiovascular disease over the next ten years) is greater than 10%, they usually advise statins anyway.
You need to look at the detail.