Teresa, my brother tells a story of being in the waiting room waiting to have. Lipid profile drawn and someone has brought donuts into the waiting room (of a cardiologist office!). My brother loves them so had two. What he learned (and me!) is that Triglycerides are extremely reflective of what Fats you’ve eaten recently. And they were off the chart. He retested a week later and it was fine.

@hopeful33250, Thank you for that suggestion and link. I will check it out and ask my cardiologist about it. He's more open to using supplements vs. my family doctor who does not like supplements and prefers to prescribe FDA-approved drugs. I understand. He's a medical doctor, as is my cardiologist. But I am very sensitive to side effects from all the statins he's prescribed and prefer natural, alternative solutions. I don't have any blockage in my carotids and my triglycerides are normal. It's just the LDL that is high (over 250). I learned that eating more fish and drinking green tea are both natural approaches to lowering cholesterol and I have been drinking matcha green tea for more than a month now. I still have coffee from time to time, but not every day. And I get an hour of aerobic exercise in daily between the stationary bike and walking. I've also dropped 60 pounds which has helped with other aspects of my health.

How much fruit were you eating? Do you eat refined carbs?