I have chronically, likely congenital, high cholesterol and am unable to tolerate any of the known statins as they all cause severe and frightening muscle cramps.

My diet is a work-on-progress as I'm struggling to cut out any and all refined foods but have added a lot of fresh vegetables and pectin-rich fruits.

The most recent bloodwork showed a reduction in total cholesterol and, interestingly, the highest level of HDL that the tests have ever shown. My theory, based on zero science I hasten to add, is that pectin and fiber might 'scoop' up fats as they meander through the GI tract. And keep a lot of it unavailable for plaque-formation or arterial buildup.

I say this as I had a similar result decades ago when, coincidentally, eating a lot of fresh produce and making no other changes. So I'm motivated to continue to improve diet for health reasons and my own unofficial science experiment. [I also had a calcium score of 0 at that earlier time. The most recent calcium score was 4, five years ago. All of my deceased relatives died of 'heart attacks' or stroke, so high cholesterol was a big worry. A good echocardiogram and endopat score helped reassure me a lot.]