Must you change your diet if statins are doing the job?

hey,

You sound pretty negative - perhaps more research on your part would have been appropriate before you began posting here?

This thread might be a good one for the moderators to close.

Support is the key offering here. Anything else we offer is based on what we have learned as individuals in our medical journey. We are not docs and docs don't participate in these posts for obvious reasons.

Im not sure if your Negative Nancy interaction is reserved for us or if that's your general way of being. Either way, my final response is to tell you to pound sand. Cya.

As I mentioned at least twice, I did research and the answers were not there. perhaps some more reading comprehension on your part would have been appropriate before you posted this comment?

Sure, I guess I could have spent many more hours at it and perhaps found the answer, but I decided to come here after giving it a whirl. Pretty standard behavior I would think when answers prove elusive.

You can call me negative if you want, but when I ask a question in a forum, I expect people to try and answer the question asked. I certainly try and do that myself when responding, not just sound off on whatever tangent pops into my head.

I have no problem with the moderators closing the thread, although that will rob you folks of the opportunity of continuing to criticize me for not suffering fools gladly.

It depends on whether your health goals are centered on the heart or the overall health of your body. Statins obviously help with the heart health but fatty foods, alcohol and all the fun foods also impact other systems, some contribute to diabetes, inflammation, depression, thyroid disease etc.
sorry, not sorry if that doesn’t answer your question.
Yes to the Mediterranean diet which is full of great tasting foods.

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I think you might be using an older understanding of arachidonic acid.
First, it does not come from "rancid seed and plant oils", but rather from poultry, animal organs and meat, fish, seafood, and eggs.
Here is a recent perspective : ... It is time to shift the arachidonic acid (ARA) paradigm from a harm-generating molecule to its status of polyunsaturated fatty acid essential for normal health. ARA is an integral constituent of biological cell membrane, conferring it with fluidity and flexibility, so necessary for the function of all cells, especially in nervous system, skeletal muscle, and immune system. Arachidonic acid is obtained from food or by desaturation and chain elongation of the plant-rich essential fatty acid, linoleic acid."(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6052655/)

How does this weigh into our discussion? A healthy diet is always better than a poor one.
There are many definitions of "healthy" but all have in common foods as close to nature as possible, limiting saturated fats and salt, and low in highly processed ingredients. Remember, many of those ingredients are what led us to need a statin in the first place - the statin is meant to help us stay as healthy as possible and limit our risk, much the same way insulin
does not replace a proper diet and exercise regimen for a person with diabetes.

Thanks, Sue. Actually, the elongated lipid that is linoleic acid is merely oxidized Omega-6, which, if oxidized, is rancid. That is why plant oils, and the seeds that carry them (flaxseed, for example) are to be kept refrigerated, and still used up within a few short weeks at most. Omega-3 is a better quality seed oil insofar as it offers utility in the production of DHA. It is alpha-linolenic acid, but it, too, has its problems, as a recent release points out.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10386285/
And:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-023-02322-6
It seems we will have to wait for the dust to settle over this, probably with more, and better, research. Meanwhile, beware the intake of any oxidized, or extended chain, fatty acids, PUFAs, for example.

Cold-pressed olive oil and organic corn and grapeseed oils are my go-to fats, along with small amounts of butter. I have never been a big user of anything else because I didn't want to wade through all the arguments. We eat very little prepared food because the lists of mystery ingredients puts me off.

Oh, and for those egg lovers out there, the two cardiologists I consulted went on and on about the dangers of all sorts of foods I love. Yet both said my daily eggs, while not ideal for those with cholesterol concerns like me, are not really that bad. They said they are very healthy in other ways, and likely more so than whatever I'd replace them with. (Froot Loops anyone??)

I realize the notion that eggs aren't the demon they were once thought to be isn't breaking news, but still nice to hear it directly from the docs.

I think this is a great question and had the same thoughts. However, I have learned that it is possible to have cholesterol good numbers and still have a buildup of plaque in the arteries.

I had a base line nuclear scan prior to taking statins also an MRI and Dopler ultrasound. After statins my cholesterol became normal. However, due to the Plaque scores 0 to 20% and location of the lesions and side effects from statins my cardiologist recommended improved diet and a switch to Repatha (pcsk9). I feel the Imaging was extremely helpful with the decision-making process. I also kept a 4-year Journal of my experience with statin side effects and dosage. I submitted a reduced version to my Cardiologist, and he appreciated it.

I have gradually switched my diet to reduce fat and sugar and it was easy. This helped with normalization of my Cholesterol. This is my journey, but each person is different, and I hope this helps. Good Luck