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Need help to lower high cholesterol & high triglycerides
Heart Rhythm Conditions | Last Active: Jun 21, 2022 | Replies (34)Comment receiving replies
mayofeb2020 I tried statins but couldn't tolerate them but many drugs bother my g.i. tract so do not let that stop you. My best friend's husband is a cardiologist and he has been on statins for years. And I know many people who take them.
I have been prescribed Repatha (Amgen) other name evoculomab. I give myself an injection every two weeks and it has definitely brought my cholesterol down. I am not aware of any side effects. (I am a small person who eats in a healthy way and weighs 107 lbs.) Probably hereditary.
Now diet. It definitely helps but my numbers are very very high (or were).
Here are foods that are known and proven to lower cholesterol : oats, oatmeal, nuts, soy milk, tofu, tempeh, lentils, beans, pectin rich fruits like apples and pears, eggplant, okra, olive oil, canola oil, margarines that have phytosterols in them that lower cholesterol, psyllium (which is what Metamucil is but can be purchased from in the natural foods section and mixed into smoothies), oranges (the pith is actually good for lowering cholesterol). A researcher, and doctor, Dr.David Jenkins at a major Canadian hospital (and person who created the glycemic index) came up with what he called, "The Profile Diet". Google Dr.David Jenkins. I did follow this diet for about 2 years quite strictly (although I did continue to eat fish and some chicken) and my numbers did go down. Dr.Jenkins is a vegan. However, incorporating even a few of the components of the Profile diet will be helpful. A handful of almonds a day for starters.
Good luck.
Statins are not an expensive drug, and have been around for years and widely studied. So, if I could have stayed on them I would have.
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Hello Sue, You can watch an excellent and revealing documentary on cholesterol on line but only from Canada. It is Dr. David Suzuki's The Nature of Things on Cholesterol. My husband who has had high cholesterol since his twenties and I watched it 3 times. Bottom line: scientists who have studied cholesterol in depth and are not affiliated or influenced by Big Pharma, state that the only people who need to be on statins for cholesterol are men in their forties who have had a heart attack. You certainly don't fall into that category. If you can watch it, here is the documentary: https://gem.cbc.ca/media/the-nature-of-things/season-54/episode-4/38e815a-00918890266
My 68 year old husband who walks an average of 8 - 10 kilometres per day and 15 - 20 km on weekends, eats plenty of vegetables and has excellent good cholesterol and triglycerides but very high bad cholesterol, refuses to go on statins. In the documentary it stated that statin use is particularly dangerous for seniors and does more harm than good. My husband's siblings are all on statins. Although they are normal weight, they are all now diabetic due to statin use. One sister wasted away losing all muscle mass. And who knows what damage was done to their livers. According to the statin makers themselves, statins cause memory loss.
So why do doctors continue to prescribe statins? According to many doctors who dare to be so outspoken, if they don't prescribe them to their patients and let's say one has a heart attack or blocked artery (which can happen to us all), that patient could sue the doctor, blaming the heart attack on the doctor's failure to prescribe statins. Not only are doctors afraid of litigation from patients but they are also afraid of Big Pharma that could ruin their careers. Doctors' hands are tied.
The new standard to measure heart health is no longer cholesterol but triglycerides which measure inflammation in the body.
You say that statins have been widely studied...by scientists paid by Big Pharma. There are plenty of independent studies that show how ineffective statins are and even harmful, especially in the elderly.
There are many articles showing research published by the world's leading site on medical research results called NCBI. But check WHO is doing the research. And then you have to google names of researchers to see if there is an association with the drug companies. In any case, it will show you the side effects of statins. Here is just one: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2849981/
Good luck!