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Supplements vs statins - which is more effective?
Hello. My name is Eliott. Over the last 5 years, I’ve been suffering from hypercholesterolemia.
As I am turning 25, my cholesterol levels seem to be relentlessly increasing. Despite the fact that I do not practice any sport, and my job requires me to sit all day long, I’ve never been overweight. To the contrary, I have always managed to maintain a healthy but not ideal or athletic body weight.
All the doctors I’ve met insisted on putting me on prescription statin drugs, which I refused because of their predictable severe side effects in the long run on bones, muscles, and joints, etc... Even though my good HDL cholesterol worth 42 points, I am kind of concerned that my LDL cholesterol has reached 292 mg/dl, according the last blood check-up which I did on mid-April 2016. Today, I am being extra careful watching my diet. Trying hard to reduce my fat intake by avoiding fried foods, sweets, bakery and everything that I've read it might badly affect my cholesterol. I drink a lot of green tea, I eat oat with some dried fruits for breakfast. I quit dairy products and substituted chicken for red meat, etc… In brief, I now feel forced to consume heart-healthy foods which have been shown to help lower bad blood cholesterol and triglycerides levels. In addition, it’s been 2 weeks since I’ve been taking 1200 mg of red yeast rice daily with a dose of 100 mg of coQ10 (later, I was shocked to discover that red yeast rice is still controversial and is not but an alternative statin. How accurate is this?). I also make sure to sparingly include in my diet supplements and whole foods such as spirulina, chlorella, rice protein, vitamins D3 and B12, grape seed extract (sometimes red wine, resveratrol or pomegranate), royal jelly, etc…
As a next step, I am seriously planning to switch to either a combination of Sytrinol, Flush-Free
niacin and apple pectin OR a garlic supplement (1800-2000 mg), cayenne (2000 mg) in addition to a certain dose of Guar Gum and/or Psyllium. But before proceeding any further, I just want to know whether or not I am doing the right thing. If not, should I give up all the supplements and switch to an individual dose of a statin? Could you please advise me on which cure will be more effective in my case? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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I quit taking statins about 5 months ago. My HDL and LDL were marginal at best, but statin side effects got the best of me. I added a teaspoon of cinnamon to my breakfast cereal and to a 10-cup pot of coffee that I share with my wife. HDL and LDL are now "in the black," as my accountant says. Give credit also to what @elio has avoided -- fried foods, sweets, bakery goods (all of which contain trans-fats), dairy products that are not nonfat, and red meat, substituting chicken (small helpings) and fish. Add a lot of walking or related exercise and you have my recipe for losing weight and cutting cholesterol levels.
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4 ReactionsMy triglycerides were over 400, cholesterol 250+ and then I quit taking all<br>statins. Everything dropped to norm. Makes you wonder?<br>
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2 ReactionsGreetings each and everyone! I just thought it would be a good idea to finally share with the astonishing results of my latest blood test checkup. After a 2 month and 1 week period of time, LDL or "bad" cholesterol dropped from 250.6 to 148.8. Total Cholesterol has plummeted by 98 points - from 334 to 236. Also, my HDL or "good" cholesterol went down from 42 to 39. However, I got a slight raise in my triglycerides levels which went up from 207 to 241. I can only attribute this improvement to a bunch of supplements I've been taking for the past 2 months, red yeast rice is among them. Although my lipid profile is still considered slightly high, I will continue what I've started and I won't give up. Thank you for all your support and encouragement 🙂
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3 Reactions@elio- Great to hear about your success with your recent lipid numbers! Way to go! I know when I first went on a statin drug that my numbers changed a bunch in only a month that I wondered how that could have made that much difference in such a short amount of time. My understanding is that regular exercise will help your triglycerides improve so consider working in some daily walks or find a gym that is nearby. It takes a solid month or so to create a good habit, but once you do you will never regret it and you will feel so much better about yourself. Keep up the good work!
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2 ReactionsI know next to nothing about hypercholesterolemia, but it's discussed in a couple books that I read after my multiple bypass experience. I won't give you the whole story, but I was shocked about 10 mos ago to find that I had close to complete blockage in five arteries, after a lifetime of low blood pressure, low bad cholesterol, high good cholesterol, many years of continuous exercise, and on a "heart-healthy" diet, as recommended by the food and medical industry. Sooooo, I decided to learn more. And I found out that a lot of what we've been told about diet is most likely wrong. However, you need to decide that for yourself. I recommend the following first two books as a start, and you'll find more referenced within them. And they'll refer you to websites that may yield additional info. These books are loaded with statistics, information, recipes, supplement necessities, and I can almost guarantee that you'll get next to none of this from the mainline medical industry. Having said all of that, your situation is indeed of concern. The info below may help you gain perspective. Combine the info below with any advice from your physician, assuming you have one who is willing to argue the salient points. Many of them find the advice below to be ill-advised. You can also join some online sources, like thedrswolfson (see first book below).
I rebelled against taking anything, but I finally gave in, with blood thinner and statin now a daily supplement. However, due to an osteopath I went to for other reasons, he also put me on vitamin supplements (after a very thorough blood test). As you say, statins have lots of undesirable side effects so if you take them, you should certainly take some supplements (like CoQ10).
Bottom line: stop all sugar (especially the high glycemic load foods, like pastas, pastries, breads, processed foods, etc; exercise (no matter how little) and reduce stress; reduce inflammation; avoid oxidation. These books help you do these things. I have changed my diet, even tho I thot it was "heart-healthy." By the way, I'm about 72, have had the bypass surgery (quintuple), and am determined to make it to 95. It's only been a few months so I don't know yet if it's making a difference. I'll be monitoring of course. Good luck.
The Paleo Cardiologist—Jack Wolfson--written by a cardiologist, with lots of info on supplements, causes, etc.
The Great Cholesterol Myth—Bowden and Sinatra (excellent—must read—tons of recipes and yet again another analysis of how we got where we are with present guidelines and what’s wrong with them)
Nourishing Traditions—Sally Fallon—excellent book—tons of recipes, but first 50 pages are an excellent summary of what’s wrong with today’s recommended foods)
The Cholesterol Myths—Uffe Ravnskov (excellent book—a good meta-analysis of how earlier studies were improperly done. Can be downloaded for FREE on his website.
Welcome to Connect @jackj. Thanks for sharing your experience with statins, supplements and diet! How long ago did you have your bypass?
Last September 21, vernal equinox. A propitious day indeed. Coming up on 10<br>months. J<br><br>
Only 10 months since your multiple bypass, eh? How's the recovery going? What level of activity are you able to do?
You've joined a great group here. Let me introduce you to @predictable @elio @thankful @gulzar @briansr @lynnkay1956 and @joem. You may also be interested in reading some of the other discussions where you'll meet these usual suspects and others as well. For example:
- Staying healthy physically (and mentally) post heart attack http://mayocl.in/29BS5ab
- After a quadruple bypass http://mayocl.in/29k9LGZ
Just a little less than 10 months.
Overall, my recovery is going well, if slowly. I work out at least 5 days a week, and I have tried to increase, continuously, my activity level. I've traveled to Europe (3 mos after surgery), and I have another trip planned in 2 months (to S.A.). I do indeed get tired every few days, and I'm learning to better understand just how much I can do, while pushing myself a little every time. Thx for the other websites.
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