What do you use to lower cholesterol without statins?

ruthbru

I am pretty sure that if I could talk to my retired physician, his comment would be, "Don't change anything, it is working for you." (And he always monitored my blood work carefully, so we know it is not messing anything else up.)

lala1

Fallleaves---I take 2 spoonfuls of flaxseed every morning (straight! love the taste!). If I have oatmeat, it's usually the high fiber instant type so I don't add any. If I have a smoothie, I'll add a half spoonful or so (don't want to take too much...if that's even possible!). I took the test that calculates chance of cardiovascular incident (http://my.americanheart.org/professional/StatementsGuidelines/PreventionGuidelines/Prevention-Guidelines_UCM_457698_SubHomePage.jsp)

and I'm actually pretty good. If I could get my total number down a bit I'd be in good shape so that's what I'm going to work on (I wrote that I was 170 total. Actually I'm 180 and need to go to 170.). The smoothies are a new addition, so I'll be curious to see how that works on my numbers. Now if only I could find some veggies to go in my smoothie that don't change the taste! I really dislike veggies!!

Fallleaves

Wow, lala1, straight up flaxseed! You're a better woman than I! I'm not a big fan of veggies in smoothies, either. Enjoy them roasted, sauteed, baked or boiled, just not in smoothies. I made a kale-cucumber-carrot-green-apple-ginger smoothie once, and my husband had to drink it.

ruthbru

Ick! You have a nice husband if he'd drink that for you!

Fallleaves

Actually, Ruth, my husband is kind of a human garbage disposal. You would be amazed at the weird combinations of leftovers he will eat (I applaud his not wasting anything, but I'm also a little disgusted by it  

ruthbru

My husband comes from a family of 11. He will eat just about anything too, and be glad for it; but I think he would draw the line at a kale-cucumber-carrot-green-apple-ginger smoothie!

Fallleaves

Here's a study I just ran across that showed a decrease in total cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides (but increased HDL) in menopausal women who took black cumin seed powder for 8 weeks: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24409406

lightandwind

Good one Falls, Thank you..

lala1

I, too, have a husband that will eat anything which is evidenced by his love of sardines on crackers any time of the day. He once went fishing at a public pier and spotted a  bucket of KFC left behind by a previous fisherman. Needless to say, he "knocked the ants off and had a great lunch!". I've also seen him eat the eyeballs out of a sauteed fish and make a casserole out of the discarded heads and tails of boiled shrimp. Men...... :P

Fallleaves

Lala1, your husband definitely sounds like he's on the opposite end of the "picky eater" spectrum!

ruthbru

Geez, I guess my husband IS a picky eater after all!

slv58

wow, I just tried to eat a spoonful of ground flax-yuck! Sorry, can't do it, but wish I could as I keep forgetting to add it to meals!

neverready

I'm just between surgeries right now (not even on an anti-estrogen drug), and I'd say run it by your doctor first,

but I've just started taking Moringa Oleifera (at Dr Oz recommended dose of 400mg). Its a superfood, leaves of a tree they feed to the starving in africa etc, many anti-oxidents, and I believe cholsterol-lowering may be part of the package too.

Later, after everything (last surgery then chemo are completed) and I'm just on an anti-estrogen drug again, then I plan to add in Garcinia Cambogia, another sort of superfood, this one also a natural diet aid, really more sure it also helps cholesterol. I know it helps  your fatty liver (if you have one, and i do), Dr Oz dose for this one is between 1500 - 3000 mg a day.

the only prescription I take that is close to a cholesterol medication is Lovaza (prescription 1gram fish oil liquid-filled pill), for high tryglicerides). it isn't happening overnight, but (just with lovaza and with cutting out sugar too, every time they test, all that (good and bad plus triglycerides is slowly getting better over a couple of years span. I have no idea if any of this is a 'statin' but somehow I doubt it. the moringa is much too new for me to be able to say much about it.

Cutting out sugar is something I've done because I have someone around me/in here with me frequently who is diabetic, plus I don't want to become diabetic myself, so I think if I behave as if I am now (by cutting out sugar) just maybe hopefully I won't be later.

I also most weekends, eat one giant bowl of generic cheerios, 'giant' because I don't like a lot of milk with my cereal, but I get pint-sized milk cartons and hate to leave one half open, have to use it all, so in order to have enough cereal to go with all that milk, its huge. Usually when I do this its mid-day or in the afternoon/evening, and its big enough to fill me up and counts as one meal

abigail48

no sugar in the cheerios??  gary has said that you'll ruin your teeth if you chew un groundup flax seed.  ground up the more the better I'd think.  spot on the news last night man recovered from trahmatic accident with grams of fish oil in his feeding tube.  gupta said a gram a day would be good for the non-sick if you don't have bleeding problems

lala1

Oh, I do ground up my flaxseeds!! Couldn't eat it otherwise!!

And what do most of your docs tell you about how much fish oil to take? My MO suggested 1000mg but didn't really differentiate as to how much is the EPA/DHA part. But the holistic doc I saw said to try to find a fish oil that would give me at least 1000 EPA/DHA combined and that 1200 would be even better. I just don't want to take too much.

MelissaDallas

Neverready, you understand that diabetes risk is carbohydrates in general and not just sugar, per se, correct?

You can avoid sugar but still take in a very large amount of carbohydrates (which are metabolized as glucose) in starchy vegetables, fruit, juices, milk & grain products (including large bowls of Cheerios).

cp418

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Glycemic_index_and_glycemic_load_for_100_foods.htm

 

http://www.mayoclinic.org/glycemic-index-diet/art-20048478

 

abigail48

yes 1000 miligrams, a gram a day of fish oil gupta said.  probably a low dose. & this for I guess brain function?  I forget

sgreenarch

Sorry if repeating, but have any of you seen the study re the drug Metformin and breast cancer? 

http://www.cancer.gov/ncicancerbulletin/053111/pag...

So...I'm sitting here wondering about why my cholesterol (which was always normal) has gone up 100 pts since starting Femara, a year ago. Metformin does often have the SE of lowering cholesterol. Why? My glucose is normal on Femara, and I may be way off base, but I wonder why no one is looking at the reason why Femara raises cholesterol and if it has something to do with insulin/liver/adenoids, etc. I am no endocrinologist, but I wish that it was worth someone's time to look into this...However, it's much easier if you're a busy Dr to just send a patient off to start on a statin. I don't blame most Drs. They're largely overworked, underpaid and dealing with larger problems, especially problems that don't have such simple solutions. But it's me that's going to have to be on this statin for 5 years. They all said I could delay starting this for a few months with no risk, so I am starting on a kamikaze regimen to see if I can impact this on my own. They all think not, but perhaps I wasn't strict enough. Giving it three months...

-No sugar

-Very low carb, only complex carbs, some oats

-Ground flax seed

-plant sterols

-no eggs, red meat, lean dairy and more oily fish

-omega 3 tabs

-Nuts, seeds, mostly olive oil as fat

-Apple cider vinegar

Please weigh in if I've missed anything. Sorry. Thanks!

dlb823

sgreenarch, my cholesterol has also increased something like 90 pts, and I've wondered if it's a mechanism within latent cancer cells that is promoting the creation of an alternative (to estrogen) fuel.   I don't fully understand this research re. the molecule 27HC, but is it possible what's going on?  In other words, rather than the cholesterol simply being a by-product of low estrogen, could something in those of us who have had bc actually be working to create a new fuel to feed latent bc cells?  http://www.dukehealth.org/health_library/news/high-cholesterol-fuels-the-growth-and-spread-of-breast-cancer

althea

Does anyone know what happens if statins are skipped on a recurring basis? My mom is starting to be remiss in taking all the items in her pill organizer, and I'm trying to figure out the pecking order of priority.  I'm finding pills all over the house!  So far I think I know that her blood thinner and beta blocker are not to be missed.  Not so sure about her statin, which is pravachol or  Pravastatan.  something like that. 

MelissaDallas

Althea, it would just greatly reduce the effectiveness. If she has cardiac issues to take a blood thinner & beta blocker I Imagine her doctor is thinking it is important.

cp418

dlb823 - Your post is similar to ones I've previously posted concerning cholesterol metabolism and the possible link as an alternative fuel for breast cancer.  My interest for starting this topic was for this reason - although the heart issues always are discussed as well. This is one of the reasons I've been trying to read up more about metabolism - which is unique to each patient.  I've wondered about patients with STRONG estrogen positive cancers and various cholesterol metabolism differences.  Yes, diet is a big factor but for some of us we make too much cholesterol outside of what we consume.  Some patients can make a dietary change and see improvement in their numbers.  Others see no improvement - so this is our genetic makeup.  Maybe similar to why some drugs work for some patients (Tamoxifen) and not for others - same goes for the side effects.  IMO, I feel it is something that needs to be watched (in addition to heart health) because several researchers besides Duke University are exploring it. 

abigail48

I had a friend whom I liked a lot died because of statins. (Lipitor), she was overweight.  ate pretty much everything.  Italian.  gary yesterday gave a list of several drugs which are killers.  some have been withdrawn:  Fosemax, Lipitor, nexium, aderal, concerta, ambien.  he mentioned the amount the various drug companies had made from the various drugs. & bits of info which I didn't take notes .....Viox was at the top of the list.

cp418

Yes - Viox had all the lawsuits several years ago for causing death by cardiovascular event.  Now I'm seeing law firms avertising on TV against Lipitor for causing diabetes.

abigail48

& just now on tv an ad for it mentioned muscle pain or weakness as a "side" effect.  she was at a rock concert (she was 24 years younger than I am), she fell off the stage then at home in the arms of her daughter, a friend visited & her daughter said I can't wake mommy.  her sister & her husband took the baby to the city to live & I havnt seen her since either. her dr had said if you keep taking (lipitor) you're going to have to have a liver transplant.  she said why did you give me a script for it then?

Momine

Kayb, that sounds really great. Please keep us posted on the study. I was definitely insulin-resistant at DX, albeit in the very early stages. With careful eating and regular exercise, I have managed to drop my fasting glucose a fair bit. It is now in the 80s as opposed to close to 100. My h1C is still lagging, but I am about to check it again now, and hope it is coming down some as well.

Fallleaves

Kayb, the research you are involved in sounds really interesting and valuable. Is it being done through a university or a hospital? 

zogo

I just found this post and have not read the whole thread, but I am definitely interested. 

My doctor wanted me to take statins, as well, and I refused. My next step was to find a lipidologist after doing a ton of research online. I have learned a lot about cholesterol and mainly that the total cholesterol number is not the one to be most worried about. Maybe you have had this discussion already? 

My Particle Number was "through the roof" according to my lipidologist. (It should be lower than 1000 and mine was 2388!) She also would have put me on statins and I once again declined. The only thing I have been taking is Niacin (vitamin B3) and fish oil (Carlson's liquid) as well as eating a low carb/ketogenic diet. My latest particle number test had me at 1129.... Almost there! 

Has anybody else tried this approach?

sgreenarch

Hi, 

Dlb823, I read the article you posted and then branched out to other related articles re hypercholesteremia and BC, and then got seriously depressed! And went and filled the statin prescription. I desperately don't want to start on statins yet it seems that having high cholesterol may be kind of dangerous re breast cancer, a new kind of fuel now that there's no estrogen. Thinking that I'm feeding nascent cells with a new flavor of the month has me reeling. 

When I was on tamoxifen, my body decided that I was estrogen deficient and my ovaries went into overdrive, producing sky-high estradiol levels. (Was on lupron for 6 mos and then had an oopherectomy.) Now on an AI, and maybe there's no more estrogen, but body seems to want to pick up the slack by overproducing cholesterol. I'm thinking that this isn't an SE of Femara, but rather the body's response to a lack of estrogen. It doesn't like it, so perhaps there's something in cholesterol that's filling a gap. Wish I could understand the complexities of the metabolic balancing act going on here. Are other smarter people than me thinking about this? Maybe...I hope so...

I am discouraged about using diet alone to fight this. Until I did this light reading I just thought that cholesterol was a heart issue (which was enough.) Now I'm concerned about it bringing greater risk for recurrence of BC and I am running for the damned statins. I'll do what I can to improve my diet, but not sure I want to take the chance of more months with cholesterol levels hovering near 300.