Lowering LDL to help bones

Please let me know how your experience with olive oil works out. I have arterial sclerosis, and worry about adding any additional fat to my system.

Thank you for your reply. I would really appreciate what you find in your late September draw.
Thank you so much.

@sbranen Hi, sbranen! I said I would get back to you, so here I am! I come bearing great news! I had a blood draw Sept. 23, 2025. Got the results today, Oct. 4, 2025. This is what happened: Aug. 31 got my first 2 bottles of EVOO from Italy (Vergeen); From Sept. 1 to Sept. 23, 2025, I consumed 4 tabsps. of EVOO per day. As of Oct. 4, 2025 my LDL had reduced from 157 to 111 - 46 pts. HDL/LDL Ratio is 3.0 : range: < 5.0. Total Cholesterol was 134: minus HDL: 66 = 68 : Range: < 130. So, it would seem that my EVOO experiment has been totally successful by lowering my LDL by 46 pts. Looks like I still have 12 pts. to scare away to get "in range" for LDL below < 100. I am ecstatic! I had to look up the date I first started taking EVOO. I couldn't believe my eyes. To be fair, though, I have lost about 4 lbs. and have been restricting my diet. Lots of salads, avacados, blueberries, strawberries, melon, regular green tea or Macha green tea, no bread to speak of (hard to do - I am a bread freak), though at first I used Crescents to mop up my EVOO, then I stopped because as delicious as Crescents are, they are loaded with the "bad" stuff. I eat only chicken and fish; once every two weeks have a sirloin burger patty, I eat spinach and broccoli and consume only 100% coca chocolate. Of course I consume a limited amount of other food items. I cook everything in EVOO sometimes adding a tiny pat of butter. With fish I pour in some Sherry. I add Balsamic Vinegar to the 4 tbsps. of EVOO each a.m. in a small glass cup, then have 2 tbsps. of it, in the a.m. on an empty stomach by Tablespoon, followed a little bit later, by a Protein drink and my vitamins. I also include almonds, walnuts, Pepitas and some peanuts in my diet. Then, with main meal about 3:30/4:00 I take another tablespoon of EVOO and Balsamic, then later with a snack I take the 4th tablespoon of EVOO. I don't know that it matters taking 4 tablespoons of EVOO all at once or broken up and taken with meals. This schedule seems to be working for me. I read that taking 4 tablespoons of EVOO could reduce Cholesterol by 50%. I didn't reach that number, but 46 pts. down from 157 is pretty descent. In any case, I am happy and will continue my regiment. Sill trying to lose some more weight 10-15 lbs. I am thrilled that I beat taking a statin! 🙂 Wishing you good luck in your endeavors to be healthy!! best, donna 🙂

@sbranen Hi, sbranen! I said I would get back to you, so here I am! I come bearing great news! I had a blood draw Sept. 23, 2025. Got the results today, Oct. 4, 2025. This is what happened: Aug. 31 got my first 2 bottles of EVOO from Italy (Vergeen); From Sept. 1 to Sept. 23, 2025, I consumed 4 tabsps. of EVOO per day. As of Oct. 4, 2025 my LDL had reduced from 157 to 111 - 46 pts. HDL/LDL Ratio is 3.0 : range: < 5.0. Total Cholesterol was 134: minus HDL: 66 = 68 : Range: < 130. So, it would seem that my EVOO experiment has been totally successful by lowering my LDL by 46 pts. Looks like I still have 12 pts. to scare away to get "in range" for LDL below < 100. I am ecstatic! I had to look up the date I first started taking EVOO. I couldn't believe my eyes. To be fair, though, I have lost about 4 lbs. and have been restricting my diet. Lots of salads, avacados, blueberries, strawberries, melon, regular green tea or Macha green tea, no bread to speak of (hard to do - I am a bread freak), though at first I used Crescents to mop up my EVOO, then I stopped because as delicious as Crescents are, they are loaded with the "bad" stuff. I eat only chicken and fish; once every two weeks have a sirloin burger patty, I eat spinach and broccoli and consume only 100% coca chocolate. Of course I consume a limited amount of other food items. I cook everything in EVOO sometimes adding a tiny pat of butter. With fish I pour in some Sherry. I add Balsamic Vinegar to the 4 tbsps. of EVOO each a.m. in a small glass cup, then have 2 tbsps. of it, in the a.m. on an empty stomach by Tablespoon, followed a little bit later, by a Protein drink and my vitamins. I also include almonds, walnuts, Pepitas and some peanuts in my diet. Then, with main meal about 3:30/4:00 I take another tablespoon of EVOO and Balsamic, then later with a snack I take the 4th tablespoon of EVOO. I don't know that it matters taking 4 tablespoons of EVOO all at once or broken up and taken with meals. This schedule seems to be working for me. I read that taking 4 tablespoons of EVOO could reduce Cholesterol by 50%. I didn't reach that number, but 46 pts. down from 157 is pretty descent. In any case, I am happy and will continue my regiment. Sill trying to lose some more weight 10-15 lbs. I am thrilled that I beat taking a statin! 🙂 Wishing you good luck in your endeavors to be healthy!! best, donna 🙂

EVOO Fux Pas -

UH, OH!!! I’ve been sabotaging myself
Using Crescents to sop up my EVOO.

Each crescent has 250 calories, but that’s
Not the worst of it. Saturated fat is 35% Oooooops!

I can’t believe I did such a stupid thing that may
have messed up an entire month of being so
careful with my diet and using EVOO (sigh).
(It sure was delicious though!!! Those crescents are
Addictive! 🙂

I took 1 tbsp. of EVOO + Balsamic Vinegar this a.m. minus the
Crescent. It was fine. I didn’t think I could do that!
Skipping all bread is really good!

6 days till blood draw – perhaps my EVOO can
overcome my mistake and save my experience in
the next 6 days. I hope so!
We’ll see. 😊

Stayed tuned for more adventures with Donna hahahahahaha!

@dskellchock isn’t that pretty expensive EVOO? I spoke with two registered dietitians and they said as long as it’s organic and coldpressed, it’s just as good as the stuff from Italy or you see on TV, TicToc, etc. I know there are tons of supplements and stuff that you see on TV-they pray on people like us with medical issues:(. I recently switched to letrozole. I have Neuro endocrine carcinoma-breast Cancer. I’ve always had issues with my triglycerides. On a low-dose Crestor I’ve managed to keep it in check. But only with one month only the lecture all my triglycerides went to 245.! This is why I was asking you about ordering the EVOO from Italy-it actually works better than what you can get here in the states. Good luck to you!

@tammyvandiver2023 please do further research. It has been proven that the majority of olive oil on the market including Italian, etc. is not pure. Despite what the label says, some of what is available, to us is a mix of low quality oil including rancid oil.

The EVOO under the Kirkland label from Costco is supposed to be the best quality. If you don’t belong to Costco, you may be able to buy it on Amazon.

Hi, Maggie25 - I am about to find out if modified diet, EVOO with Balsamic Vinegar and green tea re beneficial in lowering LDL. I go for a blood draw on Sept. 23 and will get the results Oct. 1. Will get back to this forum with the results. Fingers crossed 🙂 d.