Any tricks for lowering cholesterol?

[Breezy]

Fish oil, oatmeal, cinnamon, blueberries, lots of colorful vegetables, lean meat (DEER!!), cut out the junk food and beer and such. Lots of exercise....

yup but if its in your family like mine(my dad,mom and both grandpa's) that might not work like in my case. have high cholesterol since my dad had open heart surgery at 40. i was 10 !!! been on meds since my mid 20's

[Breezy]

If its genetic, then you may need medication, I realize you said you don't want to go that route, but you may have to. For me, diet and exercise wasn't enough, no matter what, I had to get on meds.

same here.

[Shane]

Niacin. Works wonders but I recommend getting the prescription (good stuff) from the Dr.

Oh yeah, niacin. And not the non-flushing kind. The kind that makes your face turn red for a few minutes after you take it is the kind that works on cholestorol.

[ShaBow]

If its genetic, then you may need medication, I realize you said you don't want to go that route, but you may have to. For me, diet and exercise wasn't enough, no matter what, I had to get on meds.

Same for me! I hated the idea of taking medicine but had to end up doing it!

[Breezy]

i take 7 pills nightly.

bayer aspirin, fish oil, multi vit, vit c, b-complex, cholesterol pill and a blood pressure pill

[Bluesman]

Co Q 10 supplement. 100 mg a day.
Often on sale 2 for 1.

[wlo11]

I concur on the fish oil. I would recommend a pharmacy grade like Stronger faster healthier brand http://www.sfh.com/products/omega_3-oil

One large bottle is a teaspoon a day and will last you 2 months. Good stuff!

I will give that a shot...the Dr. told me to take at least 3000 mg per day.

If its genetic, then you may need medication, I realize you said you don't want to go that route, but you may have to. For me, diet and exercise wasn't enough, no matter what, I had to get on meds.

Yeah, I'm afraid this might be the case but I'm gonna give it one more valiant effort...

[laredoarcher]

Cayenne pepper capsules and raw garlic

[WCB]

I took pharmaceuticals, excercised and ate better and less. 4 days out of the week I have a banana and yogurt for breakfast and eat eggs/sausage/toast 1 day at work (we have a cafateria at work).
My cholesterol was high but not only the good one is only 1 point out now, my blood pressure is perfect, weight is 165 at 5' 8.5" and hart like an 18 yr old...

[tex4k]

My dad had liver and some other problems for several years before he passed, but his go to answer whenever a question like this came up was "if it don't taste like cardboard spit it out, it's bad for you". But I've had friends and family with similar problems, all of them that did any good with diet just tried and tested until they found a diet they could live with. Be sure to tell the dr what your trying to accomplish and get his input.

[Poco]

Run, run, and run away from the table as much as possible!! Lmao

Mine has come way down by dieting and i do take fish oil also. Not sure whats helping more. My doc says a lot of his high cholesterol patients are very active people. A lot of it is caused by hereditary. Good luck!!

Ray

[mudbone]

!!

I've had borderline high cholesterol nearly all my life (genetics) but recently it's been a little higher than normal. I work out on a regular basis, mostly lifting weights but I also include plenty of cardio. I have to admit, beer is my nemesis and I know it doesn't help the cause. I had my pre-employment physical and was told I need to do something about it. So other than taking pharmaceutical drugs, anyone have suggestions?

Lose weight and change diet, pretty simple!!!

[coonazz]

Lose weight and change diet, pretty simple!!!

I work out 5 days a week. Drink a kale smoothie every morning. I never eat fast food, only eat lean meats (fish 3 x a week) and take all the supplements you could imagine and mine is still high.

No so simple.

40mg of simvistatin is the only thing that works.

[TX Doc]

Your best bet is to work on your diet and start exercising. You can try the flaxsee oil or metamucil (psyllium). The fish oil will help bring down the triglycerides, but does not really effect your total cholesterol or LDL. Just take the OTC fish oil. There is a prescription version called Lovaza but it's expensive and I don't think it works any better. Niacin helps to raise your HDL cholesterol which is protective. The problem is niacin causes flushing and redness and most people won't tolerate it. Taking aspirin with it can help, but I've pretty much given up recommending it to my patients. The prescription Niaspan causes less flushing but is very expensive. If you cholesterol problems are hereditary you will probably end up on a statin medication even if you change your diet and exercise.

[Wapitislayer]

Green leafy veggies, always choose the meat with the least legs (fish, then chicken, then beef). Cut out all fast food, soda, limit alcohol intake, drink plenty of water throughout the day, and of course exercise at least 30 min a day (especially running/jogging). Easier said than done, but it takes a long time to break bad habits. Good luck.