I Will Lose My Job if I Don't Lower My Cholesterol

Posted By Bama (Bama) on 02/08/2016

My job requires a wellness check and it says my cholesterol is too high. I can lose my job if I don't get it down and my dr will let me try my way for 6 months, so I'm stuck with getting it down myself or taking medications because I can't do without my job. So, please make recommendations for how to get it down. I'm particularly interested in what Timh thinks, I've followed his suggestions before with success. I'm 58, post-menopausal, weight & bp is good. I've been doing the lecithin but it's not good enough. Thanks.
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Replied by Timh (Ky) on 02/09/2016

Metabolism slows with aging, so do take at least a good & basic Multivitamin/Mineral Supplement. There are good and not-so-good brands. For basics, availability, and affordability I like Nature Made brand. The multi will increase the amount of energy your cells produce in response to the food you eat. Also to improve metabolism supplement Coconut Oil, Kelp or Iodine for the Thyroid. ACV is also good for metabolism.

Cholesterol synthesis is the work of the liver so at least some basic liver support is important. Artichoke Leaf is a good one for improving liver function & increasing bile (which helps fat digestion). Red Yeast Rice is a natural statin that helps lower bad cholesterol produced by the liver.

For improving cholesterol or fat metabolism Lecithin may need the help of other companion nutrients like Choline/Inositol or Methionine/B-12/Folic Acid. Any of the Niacin nutrients is standard for reducing LDL.

High fiber diet is also important as it significantly decreases the work-load of the liver on excessive fats in the diet. Speaking of fats, it is very important to increase EFA's or Omega 3 FA's by taking a Flax or Fish Oil supplement, or increasing diet of Salmon, Mackerel, and Sardines.

Hoping to hear good news from you, Bama!

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Replied by Mama To Many (Tennessee) on 02/09/2016

Dear Bama,

Just a couple of dietary ideas to go along with TImh's great suggestions.

Eating oatmeal often is good to lower cholesterol.

My mother-in-law kept off cholesterol medication by eating raw carrots and salsa for a snack every day.

~Mama to Many~

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Replied by Green Augustine (Mold, Denbighshire) on 02/09/2016

Hello Bama,

Recently someone posted here that they'd taken Diamataceoust Earth in water every day for 60 days and it really brought their cholesterol down Big time. Also herbs like nettle and dandelion which are bitter should help as they stimulate the liver As well as Swedish Bitters which ar said to help. However, you may like to consider the experiment discussed in various books on the great ' Cholesterol Con' in which they monitored several thousand women at the university of Paris for 3-4 years. All the women were between 55-75 years old and from similar backgrounds. To their surprise they discovered that for these post menopausal women( though not necessarily older men), those with the highest cholesterol, good or bad, survived chronic heart attacks whereas those with the lowest cholesterol did not survive! When I asked the Heart consultant at my nearby hospital what she thought of the research, she said it was very good and she believed the results were valid. She still wanted me to take statins though and got mad when I said no. Researchers like Dr Uffe RAVNSKOV in his various books gives a very clear explanation of the fallacy and possible dangers behind the cholesterol/ heart disease 'connectIon'. And there are others worth reading so at least you'd have a more balanced view of the pros and cons of the various arguments. Humans have lived for 1000s of years with cholesterol coursing through their veins without any trouble and we need it for many bodily functions from hormones etc. I understand your concern about losing your job, and I'm horrified to hear its legal/ethical to put you under such pressure for surely what should be a personal decision. would they not listen to alternative arguments and scientific research not funded by one of the Big Pharmas? However if you have no alternative, and I'm sure Timh will give you some very sound advice, and you may want to research Barley grass juice powder, magnesium deficiency and under active thyroid connection to cholesterol. I wish you the very best of luck.

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Replied by Mary (Ga, Georgia) on 02/09/2016

My son had very high cholesterol when he was 16 years old. I changed all our oils to coconut oil. He also ate oatmeal for breakfast. His next doctor visit was normal. His cholesterol level went to normal range. I don't remember what it was since it was over 8 years ago. He is still fine.
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Replied by Katzie (Calgary) on 02/09/2016

My Hormone Dr put me on Red Yeast Rice to lower my cholesterol. It worked like a charm with no nasty side effects either! . I couldn't find it at any local stores, so I ordered it online; it's not very expensive. Good luck.
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Replied by Bama (Bama) on 02/10/2016

I've been eating oatmeal every day for years, only use coconut oil and add lecithin daily to my oatmeal. I tried red rice yeast, but it had the same side effects as zocor--muscle pain, brain fog. I still have muscle pain, years later. I have ordered niacin, should arrive today so I'll start it tonight. I have a family history of thyroid issues, but my test came back okay. Should I push for a more sensitive test? Also, I use mag oil twice daily and use maybe 2 tsp each time. Also, I take vit code multi, D3, ubiquinol, astaxanthin daily. So, I'm gathering that I need to do liver supplements? What about lugols? I have that on hand. Thanks for all the suggestions. It irks me to no end how they cut our lunch time and then tell us to walk 10000 steps/day--like when? I leave my house at 6:30 and don't get home til 6. I work my butt off every day and the guy in the next office sleeps at his desk without comment from the boss.
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Replied by Mary (Illinois) on 02/09/2016

I'm assuming you're a truck driver and their wonderful check up's .. and truck stops don't have the best of foods to choose from and eating healthy may be difficult, all the above are also great, but you maybe stuck on vitamins if you're on the road a lot. Niacin (which is also found in vitamin b complex) may lower total cholesterol and ldl cholesterol, vitamin c raises levels of protective hdl (citrus fruits, tomatoes, potatoes, strawberries, spinach) also vitamin e and calcium, again like the above if you are able to do your own cooking switch to olive oil, try to limit the amount of eggs that you eat (preferably to 3 eggs a week these are high in cholesterol, eat more beans (kidney, pinto, lima, soybeans, black eyed peas and try to eat more fruit if possible grapefruit, apple, orange, carrots, oatmeal, skim milk is also good , . good luck buddy, get well soon, we need you :)
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Replied by Alexandra (Cheshire, Uk) on 02/09/2016

You might find the following presentations very interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDsA8kRYdqo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvXRBvugyIQ (54:40 mins:secs)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE63ztAyp2Q

Basically they say get sugar and carbs consumption down. Check labels for amounts of sugar in product.

I would also suggest looking into the following;

juicing of vegetables (only add a little fruit just to help taste) eat fruits whole. See Joe Cross's "Fat, sick and nearly dead".

fish oil

vitamin D

probiotics

Reduce vegetable oils, except for a little virgin olive oil in dressings, cook with small amounts of coconut oil or butter.

I reduced my cholesterol numbers to avoid going on statins. But I believe cholesterol is important for brain function and every cell in your body, so you would not want numbers to go too low.

Good luck with your numbers. Let us know what you decide to do and the results you get.

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Replied by Alexandra (Cheshire, Uk) on 02/09/2016

Just wanted to add the time frame 1:11:30 to the following

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE63ztAyp2Q

Just in case you do not want to lower your cholesterol permanently (because cholesterol is supposed to help you live longer), but want to see lower numbers from the doctor in order to keep your job and avoid medication.

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Replied by Bama (Bama) on 02/10/2016

No, Mary, I'm not a truck driver. I drive a desk 8 hours a day. The only thing I know of that I absolutely must correct is my carbs (triglycerides). I eat mainly carbs because my tummy doesn't handle raw/high fiber very well. Carbs are easy to digest. I've been researching and will try lentil curry for my lunches. Meals at home are oatmeal for breakfast and then mostly vegs for supper, with a little chicken or fish. I don't really exercise, so began yesterday walking the stairs at work for 15 minutes (only get 30 for lunch). My niacin should come today, so I'll start it tonight. And I'll make lentil curry for my lunch so that will be complex carbs for lunch. Today's lunch was leftover chicken and rice, a banana and a v8. Thanks for all the input
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Replied by Mama To Many (Tennessee) on 02/10/2016

Dear Bama,

Just today I was reading an abstract of a book by Dr. Thomas Levy. It made me think of your situation.

He believes that heart disease is caused by scurvy (vitamin C deficiency.) It appears that he believes that high cholesterol is the body's response to toxins in the body. (Toxins that would not be there if Vitamin C were available to remove them.)

Many people benefit from vitamin C supplements. It might be one to consider. The author suggests 3-9 grams a day. (3,000-9,000 mg)

It is interesting to note that cayenne pepper and hawthorn (two commonly suggested heart herbs) have a good bit of vitamin C. I think cayenne pepper is also on lists of remedies for lowering cholesterol.

~Mama to Many~

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Replied by Robert Henry (Ten Mile , Tn) on 02/10/2016

HI YA'LL, , , , , , , , , , , , loosing your job because of cholesterol is something I have never heard. Guess there is always a first. It has certainly gotten this site excited. I am suspect, but that's just the way I ams.

Ya'll carry on because lots of good solutions have been posted.

=========ORH==============

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Replied by Timh (KY) on 02/11/2016

Catching up on one responder mentioning high carbs or sugars in the diet increases the conversion into saturated fats like triglycerides. For this reason it has been found that adding Chromium Picolinate with Niacin very much improves this metabolic hurdle from storage of fats to energy production from sugar.

I was counting on the Multivitamin to supply at least a minimal amount of Chromium, so if you have decided to not go with the Multi, it may prove necessary to add Chromium to the Niacin, or you can buy the brand name "Chromax" with these two nutrients prebound into one supplement.

Also to help the body burn those carbs & sugars is the herb or spic Cinnamon.

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Replied by Timh (KY) on 02/11/2016

-ORH-

Looks like more agenda driven, mandatory medicine fallowing the twisted science that high LDL cholesterol is bad and statin drugs are good for health.

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Replied by Timh (KY) on 02/11/2016

MTM. We sure do owe an applause to Dr. Levy for his study & application of Vit-C, as well as the late, great Linus Pauling. Linus discovered that daily doses of Vit-C & Lysine cured artery disease. There are differing theories to this finding, but for the sake of this post I believe that Mycobacteria, like Scurvy, is at least sometimes responsible for artery damage and high LDL cholesterol.

The artery cleansing herbs like Cayenne Pepper & Garlic may also be playing a role in killing pathogens that burrow into tissues where they cause inflammation and cell damage; so then comes cholesterol to the scene to help heal the damage. Grapeseed, which is known to prevent artery disease, may work in the similar manner of Hawthorn as a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.

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Replied by Bama (Bama) on 02/11/2016

Thanks all. I take a daily multivitamin from vitamin code, 4 mg astaxanthin, ubiquinol, vit d3 and calcium aep. Last night, I started niacin & vit C. I eat oatmeal every morning and put 2 tbs lecithin into it. I tried red rice yeast but got the same muscle pain as I did from zocor years ago. I apply 2 tsp mag oil 2x/day. I will pay attention to the carbs as to the triglyceride component, that's one area I know needs improvement. I have ibs-d and carbs is pretty much the only thing I can eat safely. Today, I made a lentil curry for my lunch at work and that's going to be the plan going forward--plan ahead and prepare complex carb lunches. Supper is usually DH & I split 1 portion of meat or fish ( I raise chickens, so I know my meat is free range) and whatever veg--baked sweet potato, brocolli or similar. We eat a lot of pinto beans, they cook in a small crockpot during the day and are ready when I get home. I can't get another blood test for cholesterol for 3 months, so I hope to see improvement by April.
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Replied by Timh (Ky) on 02/12/2016

Forgot to mention that Dr Levy's original interest in Vit-C was stimulated by a visit to a dentist that found it necessary for patients in recovery from removing mercury fillings and treating gum disease like abscesses and bad root canals the leach out pathogens in the blood. Many of the patients were given I.V. Vit-C to neutralize the pathogens post surgery. And of course it's not new science that chronic infections from gum disease causes damage to the heart & arteries. So, more & more evidence pointing to pathogen induced cardiovascular disease.
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Replied by Angel (Michigan) on 02/11/2016

Hello Bama. I don't have personal experience with high cholesterol, but I know of a couple things that are supposed to help.

First is Chia seeds! They have fiber and omega 3 fatty acids, both of which should help. They also help stabilize blood sugar which can increase cholesterol. You can make a cereal with 1-2 TBS of chia with some nuts and dried fruit, and add milk or nut milk. Let it sit for a few minutes so the seeds are softened and moist. Or add to baked goods or smoothies. This may also help your IBS as they have soluble fiber.

If your diet is high in simple carbs or sugar that could be part of your issue. Complex carbs should be ok.

Also, oatmeal and soy protein are supposed to be helpful. I don't know for sure, but I eat a lot of nuts especially almonds and my LDL and HDL are excellent.

I hope they aren't looking for a severely low level, since very low cholesterol is also a cause of a lot of health problems.

Best of luck...I hope you can keep working :)

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