Natural remedies for high cholesterol?

[melissel]

Beyond eating healthier and losing weight, of course!

 

DH's bloodwork came back this morning and his cholesterol is crazy high. He was disappointed, because he's lost 25 pounds, and he believes the doc is going to put him back on meds now. Before we go that route, we'd like to try some natural remedies first. He's heard about cinnamon caps, but are there other things that are recommended?

 

TIA!

[RoughCollie]

Dean Ornish's book has a lot of valuable, scientifically based info in it.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Ornishs-Program-Reversing-Heart-Disease/dp/0804110387/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255726694&sr=8-3

 

See comment by Stacy Dunn-Emke on this page, too.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Spectrum-Scientifically-Proven-Program-Better/dp/0345496310/ref=pd_cp_b_1

 

If you look at the page, there are other books by Ornish.

 

Along the same lines:

http://www.amazon.com/Prevent-Reverse-Heart-Disease-Nutrition-Based/dp/1583333002/ref=pd_sim_b_5

 

Basically: Exercise, fish oil capsules, and a diet consisting of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, low fat.

 

These books have information about reversal diets and prevention diets. Reversal diets are very strict and are for people who already have heart disease.

[Lisa in Jax]

Red Yeast Rice and CoQ-10. Another idea is Niacin.

 

HIH,

 

Lisa

[HiddenJewel]

Omega 3

 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol/CL00002

[LauraGB]

MIL and DH had good results with Enzymatic Therapy's Cholesterol Shield and thier HDL Booster:

http://www.vitacost.com/productResults.aspx?ss=1&Ntk=products&Ntt=cholesterol%20shield

 

and

 

http://www.vitacost.com/Enzymatic-Therapy-HDL-Booster

 

Dh has some weight to still loose, which will help him more.

 

And of course, lots of exercise and no smoking.

[whitestavern]

Besides diet, I've heard artichoke pills, cinnamon, niacin, and red rice yeast (which can have similar side affects as pharmaceutical options).

[Jean in Wisc]

I read/perused Nourishing Traditions and Eat Fat Lose Fat. It made me start to ponder that we (our culture) really have not gained health by changing to a low-fat diet, and perhaps the authors had some good points to consider. I don't "do" the author's full routine, but I got rid of the canola oil and the margarine. I can't eat butter, so I now use coconut oil for my spread. I've started using beef tallow rather than Crisco...anyway, I went back to the "basics" that my grandparents (who lived into their 90's) ate. A year later, my cholesterol had dropped by 30 points.

 

Go figure...

Jean

[LauraGB]

I read/perused Nourishing Traditions and Eat Fat Lose Fat. It made me start to ponder that we (our culture) really have not gained health by changing to a low-fat diet, and perhaps the authors had some good points to consider. I don't "do" the author's full routine, but I got rid of the canola oil and the margarine. I can't eat butter, so I now use coconut oil for my spread. I've started using beef tallow rather than Crisco...anyway, I went back to the "basics" that my grandparents (who lived into their 90's) ate. A year later, my cholesterol had dropped by 30 points.

 

Go figure...

Jean

 

Congratulations, Jean! :iagree:Eating "real" food (in moderation, of course) helps a lot of [so-called American] ailments.

[Georgiana Daniels]

I, too, have heard that red rice yeast is effective (but haven't started it yet myself.)

 

I've read that walnuts and apples are good for lowering, but I'm not certain how effective it is. (I am doing that.)

 

My doctor told me to go vegan. Of course, I type this as I swallow the last bite of burger. LOL! But I have, for the most part, cut out meat and dairy and hopefully that will make an impact 2.5 months from now when I get tested again.

[ElizabethB]

Reduce bad fats.

 

My husband's went down by 50 points when we switched to olive oil and occasional canola/sunflower oil and switched from beef to turkey and lean chicken. Also, reduced cheese and eating out, and more whole grains--both bread and noodles, we switched from white to wheat noodles. And, more fruit and veggies, especially apples and lettuce (real lettuce, not iceburg.) Whole wheat noodles taste better if you cook them a little longer than the package recommends, and don't rinse them.

 

He ate a lot of chili, the difference between beef and turkey chili in fat content is quite high, we switched to turkey chili.

[Jean in Wisc]

Congratulations, Jean! :iagree:Eating "real" food (in moderation, of course) helps a lot of [so-called American] ailments.

 

Thanks :)

 

I could also mention that I have not had any dairy products for years, but we do live on a beef farm, and we eat plenty of that because it is our "cheap" protein.

 

:D

[Laura Corin]

Going largely vegetarian, choosing very few saturated fats and eating a very large amount of fibre has brought mine way down. I hope to be taken off medications in the next few months.

 

Laura

[Quiver0f10]

http://drmcdougall.com/

[E_Edgerton]

My father has allergic reactions to all cholesterol meds. He has to rely solely on diet and exercise...which is enough...just continue to drop weight and keep a healthy diet. Don't underestimate oatmeal!:)

Edited October 17, 2009 by E_Edgerton
spelling

[Lovedtodeath]

Milk thistle and liver cleanses will help. High cholesterol is often a symptom of an innefficient liver. Which makes the liver damage from cholesterol lowering medications rather ironic IMO.

[GailV]

I read/perused Nourishing Traditions and Eat Fat Lose Fat. It made me start to ponder that we (our culture) really have not gained health by changing to a low-fat diet, and perhaps the authors had some good points to consider. I don't "do" the author's full routine, but I got rid of the canola oil and the margarine. I can't eat butter, so I now use coconut oil for my spread. I've started using beef tallow rather than Crisco...anyway, I went back to the "basics" that my grandparents (who lived into their 90's) ate. A year later, my cholesterol had dropped by 30 points.

 

Go figure...

Jean

 

The more I read about cholesterol, the more I think you're on the right track.

 

The science behind this is really fascinating, by the way -- my current understanding is that it has to do with how your endocrine system works. I've recently read that high cholesterol used to be considered a marker for hypothyroid ... and hypothyroid can cause heart problems.

[Lovedtodeath]

The more I read about cholesterol, the more I think you're on the right track.

 

The science behind this is really fascinating, by the way -- my current understanding is that it has to do with how your endocrine system works. I've recently read that high cholesterol used to be considered a marker for hypothyroid ... and hypothyroid can cause heart problems.

:iagree:good point!

[AngieW in Texas]

I'm allergic to nutritional yeast, but not to baker's yeast. Do any of y'all know if red yeast rice will cause problems for somebody who is allergic to nutritional yeast?

[Ellie]

Atkins. My total cholesterol came down 100 points in two months doing Atkins; my good cholesterol is several times higher than normal, bad cholesterol is low.

[GailV]

Article I just found by Ray Peat on cholesterol. (I was actually looking for info about metabolism, landed on this site, and stuck around to read about MS, then noticed this article about cholesterol -- go figure.)

 

Things that struck me:

 

At one time raised levels of cholesterol were actually considered protective.

 

Many toxins lower cholesterol.

[Guest Matharry]

Hi,

 

Eat regularly throughout the day, try having five to six small meals and make sure to have protein with each meal. Protein act as a thermagenic within your body, which aid to speed up your metabolism. Protein is also crucial for muscle building and maintaining.

[stripe]

Oatmeal.

 

A friend of my mom's has had success eating oatmeal for breakfast (along with other dietary changes).

 

Per the Mayo Clinic, the top five foods to lower your cholesterol are oatmeal / oat bran; walnuts, almonds, and most other nuts; fish and omega 3, olive oil, and foods fortified with plant sterols / stanols.

[Jennifer in NH]

basically, an all meat or nearly all meat diet will lower cholesterol. This is totally backed up by actual science..I don't want to start a flame war..I'm sure this could. reading Gary Taubes: Good calories Bad calories, is a fast way to get most of the scientific literature out there.

[stripe]

An all meat diet?! I could never do that. That just sounds depressing.

[Lovedtodeath]

Oatmeal.

 

A friend of my mom's has had success eating oatmeal for breakfast (along with other dietary changes).

 

Per the Mayo Clinic, the top five foods to lower your cholesterol are oatmeal / oat bran; walnuts, almonds, and most other nuts; fish and omega 3, olive oil, and foods fortified with plant sterols / stanols.

Actually, barley works better than oatmeal. I love to use barley flour in my baking, and use whole barley in soups. Even plain broth with barley in it is tastey.

[tmkclscroggins]

Try purityproduct.com. They have a supplement that has plant sterols as well as COQ-10 and fish oil in it. This should lower cholestrol

 

 

melissa

[Georgiana Daniels]

basically, an all meat or nearly all meat diet will lower cholesterol. This is totally backed up by actual science..I don't want to start a flame war..I'm sure this could. reading Gary Taubes: Good calories Bad calories, is a fast way to get most of the scientific literature out there.

 

Uh oh, now I'm confused. My dr told me to cut out meat and dairy in order to lower my cholesterol. :confused:

[NorthwestMom]

Running. After running for 6 months or so, my total cholesterol dropped by 45 points, bad went down and good stayed stable. This was just running 2 or 3 miles at a time, 2 or 3 times a week, with no dietary changes.

[Lovedtodeath]

 

Uh oh, now I'm confused. My dr told me to cut out meat and dairy in order to lower my cholesterol. :confused:

Doctors are generally not doing a great job at combating heart disease are they?

[Spy Car]

Beyond eating healthier and losing weight, of course!

 

DH's bloodwork came back this morning and his cholesterol is crazy high. He was disappointed, because he's lost 25 pounds, and he believes the doc is going to put him back on meds now. Before we go that route, we'd like to try some natural remedies first. He's heard about cinnamon caps, but are there other things that are recommended?

 

TIA!

 

Fish oil (omega 3 fatty acids) are key to preventing damage (plaque build up) in the arteries. Fish oil actually makes the blood more "slippery" so plaque forming cholesterol tends to keep flowing rather than attaching itself to the cell walls.

 

Cutting out "bad fats" is also wise. Use olive oil.

 

Also, it would be useful to know how much of the LDL is made of of "B-pattern cholesterol." Because it's the B-pattern cholesterol that really sticks to cell walls and forms plaque. A "total" LDL reading is not particularly useful in determining risk. There are tests (rarely run) for determining the ratio of B-pattern cholesterol which are expensive because they are labor intensive, but there are also ways to "estimate" the B-pattern ratio by comparing the triglyceride levels with the LDL numbers.

 

I'd at least press the question with your husband's physician so you have a better understanding of the true risk.

 

Bill

[Lovedtodeath]

I have never even heard of that Bill, thanks! I want my DH to get that done now!

 

I know so many older people who poured bacon grease on all of their food every day and are way healthier than we are.

[Pippen]

Check out this article on red rice yeast, along with fish oil:

 

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92103272

[Lovedtodeath]

 

I'm allergic to nutritional yeast, but not to baker's yeast. Do any of y'all know if red yeast rice will cause problems for somebody who is allergic to nutritional yeast?

Some people cannot have baker's yeast but can handle sour dough bread made with wild yeast. My guess is that the red yeast is wild. It could cause you problems. There would really be no way of knowing unless you get tested. I don't think it is the best choice out there anyway...

[Spy Car]

I have never even heard of that Bill, thanks! I want my DH to get that done now!

 

 

This is, unfortunately, information that is not widely known (or if known, not considered).

 

I was impressed that the professor in the "Bitter Truth" video that went viral around here alluded to the importance of determining A vs B pattern numbers in his presentation. It was a bit of an aside, and deep into the presentation, so it was easy to miss. But my estimation of him when way up for his inclusion of this vitally important information.

 

I'd at least ask your physician about the "estimation" of B-pattern cholesterol from comparing LDL and triglyceride levels first, as the other tests are not cheap, and may not be covered by insurance.

 

Bill

[Lovedtodeath]

Thanks. So I didn't watch that video. Should I?

[Spy Car]

Thanks. So I didn't watch that video. Should I?

 

In a word? YES!

 

The explanations for how the body metabolizes various sugars at a biochemical and cellular level were fascinating. And it's totally clear how fructose based drinks (and its addition to food) leads to obesity due to the way the body deals with fructose (only metabolizing it in the liver, like alcohol) rather than metabolizing it in a multitude of ways (including mitochondrial activity inside cells) like we do with glucose.

 

He attacks the idea that a "calorie" is calorie. And shows why. And calls fructose a "poison" or toxin because the liver has to do all the work. And to get fructose out of the liver quickly it is transformed into "fat" and released.

 

He explains it (far) better than I can. But yes, it is well worth watching.

 

Bill

[Georgiana Daniels]

Doctors are generally not doing a great job at combating heart disease are they?

 

Too true!

 

Maybe I'll just keep exercising and taking off weight, and start taking red rice yeast. Then not stress so much about cutting out the meat and dairy.

[Lovedtodeath]

I have looked into nutrition and diseases quite a bit, as a hobby. I really think that exercise is the most important thing. With diet, I just try to stay away from anything processed, what I mean by that is stripped down, or with added chemicals.