cholesterol story

[volusia40]

I'm a fifty yr old male,used to be a serious lifter now due to aches and pains I''m lifting for maintenance. Here are my stats
5'10"
198
bench 295
cholesterol 223

Any way, my cardiologist says my cholesterol is too high and wants to put me on lipitor. I refuse and attempt to lower my cholesterol without drugs. So in addition to lifting I added cardio to my training, usually 3 or 4 times per week 25 minutes on the treadmill. Along with this change in routine I've eliminated deserts and sweets completely and included the following supplements:

flax oil
fish oil
beta sitosterol 300 mgs - from the vitamin shoppe
policosanol 10 mgs - from the vitamin shoppe

The beta sitosterol and policosanol are highly touted cholesterol reducing supplements. I followed this routine without failure for 4 months with the following results:

My weight dropped eleven pounds down to 187 and I feel more energetic, but my cholesterol jumped from 223 to 244.

I was in total shock,

I lose weight, do the cardio, take cholesterol supps and my cholesterol jumps up 21 points.

WTF?

Apparently these supposed cholesterol supps are worthless crap. Last night I reluctantly started with Lipitor.

Any suggestions?

 

[Rhyalus]

The beta sitosterol and policosanol are highly touted cholesterol reducing supplements. I followed this routine without failure for 4 months with the following results:

My weight dropped eleven pounds down to 187 and I feel more energetic, but my cholesterol jumped from 223 to 244.

I was in total shock,

I lose weight, do the cardio, take cholesterol supps and my cholesterol jumps up 21 points.
Apparently these supposed cholesterol supps are worthless crap. Last night I reluctantly started with Lipitor.

Any suggestions?

Hello there - I am not familiar with the beta sitosterol. The policosonol is getting some good press, but I don't think that anyone considers it the cure all at this point.

Many people use Red Yeast Rice, which is really a naturally occurring statin, which is the drug in Lipitor.

You did not mention your diet. It is good to lose weight, but what you eat may have an effect as well. You also did not mention your HDL / LDL ratio. Furthermore, you may have other health issues that can contribute to this - are you being treated for hypothyroidism at all?

BTW, with Lipitor (or any statin), you need Co-Q10. The statin inhibits cholesterol, but it also does a job on Co-Q10. Do a search on the web for lipitor and Co-Q10 and be ready to be amazed. I think it is Merck that actually has a patent on a combo drug that they never released with the two components.


Good luck,
R

 

[william3162]

Your total cholesterol count is not that bad. The LDL/HDL ratio is a better indicator of cardiovascular risk than the total cholesterol count. I would advise you the following supplements/habits that have given me impressive results:

1. Cardio - Perform cardio at least three times a week. Consistency is the key.

2. Fiber - Increase fiber intake. Oatmeal is perfect! You have to love it.

3. Fish oil - I usually take 6g/day. In case I eat fattening stuff which is very rare, I might be increasing my intake by 2-4 g for that day.

4.protein- Avoid saturated fats. Eat lean beef in small amounts, chicken breasts and, salmon and tuna.

5. Coffee - If you are a coffee drinker, make sure you drink filtered coffee. Unfiltered coffee contains significant amounts of cafestol which is know to increase cholesterol.

6. Fats - Avoid or reduce significantly saturated fats (usually come from meat, dairy and eggs although there are some of them plant-derived like coconut oil). Avoid cookies, cakes, donuts, fries, etc. They contain partially hydrogenated oil which is a real devil for cholesterol. You should be looking at nutrition facts on every food you buy to make sure you reduce the consumption of these fats. Use monounsaturated fats suchs olive oil and canola for cooking or salad dressing. These are your friends since they will help lowering your LDL while mantaining you HDL. Consume cold water fish (salmon and tuna) since they are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids.

7. Use non-stick cooking spray when frying.

8. Limit your intake of sweets. This will also help lowering your triglyderides significantly.

9.Consume fruits and vegetables. These one contain flavanoids, sterols and stanols which lower cholesterol and some of them are powerful antioxidants.

10. If you are still going to use margarine, there are numerous brands that contain plant stanols such as Take Control and Benecol.

11.Use skim milk or 1% fat milk.

12.Be careful with snacks. Stick to nuts, fruits, cottage cheese and yogurt to name a few instead of sweets, donuts, cakes and any other high glycemic food.

 

[bioman]

All good recommendations. My cholesterol what at about 220 a few years back. With fish oil, lowered sugar intake, psyllium husks every night and no-flush niacin, I have brought it down to about 178.

I really think the fiber and niacin helped the most.

 

[Beau]

I would strongly suggest reading a book titled "The New 8 Week Cholesterol Cure". It is a great read and helped me substantially.

 

[glg]

Have some of the same issues plus an angioplasty/stent placement back in Dec. Hae to take Plavix and was on Caduet then Lipitor. First in the caduet then on the lipitor got bad tingle in arms & neck took me a while to convince my cardioligist to take me off for a while to see if I was sensitive to statins.

Things got a little better so now on Vytorin.

Just remember that most of our meds came from natural botanical msources. RYR, Milk Th, etc. I was told very emphatically that since I was on heart and cholesterol meds to "AVOID" adding these types of supp's into my diet as there are the source and could jack up my labs big time.

It's kind'a costly but when adding these, along with PH's, AAS etc you really need before, during, and after labs.

And as ststed above look at the entire panel - LDL, HDL, Tri's the other thing I was told is that there are 2 primary types of LDL & HDL - large and small particle. You want both to be more of the large particles as the LDL will not attach/slip into to the vessel walls as easily (causing build up/blockages/etc) and the large HDL will each sweep up more LDL particles per particle.

WE NEED A 50+ thread!!!

The 35+ is nice but there are a lot of us returning or just plain turning (LOL) in the 50s.

For me there are different lifting/recovery/supplementtation etc. needs than someone in the 30-40 yr old group. Things do change a lot at that magic number 50. Plus throw in meds and less than on track Dr.s and it's a different ballgame.

The HRT thread is good. Maybe put a 50+ thread inside it?

 

[jediclampet]

William3162 is right about the oatmeal. It's dose dependent. The more you eat, the lower your cholesterol will get.

Also, what about taking garlic extract (acts as hdl)?

 

[william3162]

Garlic has moderate effects lowering cholesterol. It is also good to lower blood pressure. Similar to Omega-3's, it has blood thinning effects so you should be careful if you're going to have a surgery.

 

[jonko]

I realize this is an mold thread, but a I m a curious, are you on TRT with those heart ailments?

Have some of the same issues plus an angioplasty/stent

placement back in Dec. Hae to take Plavix and was on Caduet then Lipitor. First in the caduet then on the lipitor got bad tingle in arms & neck took me a while to convince my cardioligist to take me off for a while to see if I was sensitive to statins.

Things got a little better so now on Vytorin.

Just remember that most of our meds came from natural botanical msources. RYR, Milk Th, etc. I was told very emphatically that since I was on heart and cholesterol meds to "AVOID" adding these types of supp's into my diet as there are the source and could jack up my labs big time.

It's kind'a costly but when adding these, along with PH's, AAS etc you really need before, during, and after labs.

And as ststed above look at the entire panel - LDL, HDL, Tri's the other thing I was told is that there are 2 primary types of LDL & HDL - large and small particle. You want both to be more of the large particles as the LDL will not attach/slip into to the vessel walls as easily (causing build up/blockages/etc) and the large HDL will each sweep up more LDL particles per particle.

WE NEED A 50+ thread!!!

The 35+ is nice but there are a lot of us returning or just plain turning (LOL) in the 50s.

For me there are different lifting/recovery/supplementtation etc. needs than someone in the 30-40 yr old group. Things do change a lot at that magic number 50. Plus throw in meds and less than on track Dr.s and it's a different ballgame.

The HRT thread is good. Maybe put a 50+ thread inside it?

 

[BBB]

I strongly recommend you read the book "The Cholesterol Myth".

 

[T-Bone]

Yeah this thread is from 5 years old. Super Mold.

 

[jonko]

Too bad, sounds like an interesting thread. Maybe the original is deceased by now, lol

 

[DragonRider]

I realize this is an old thread, but a I m a curious, are you on TRT with those heart ailments?

You do realize that TRT is beneficial for heart problems don't you? Please tell me that you know that TRT is almost never bad for men who NEED it.

 

[jonko]

You do realize that TRT is beneficial for heart problems don't you? Please tell me that you know that TRT is almost never bad for men who NEED it.

Well, yes and no. Iread so much and ask so many doctors and get conflicting answers. Some tell me that Androgel and TRT can enlarge my heart and make heart problems worse.

 

[DragonRider]

Well, yes and no. Iread so much and ask so many doctors and get conflicting answers. Some tell me that Androgel and TRT can enlarge my heart and make heart problems worse.

Every time you read that somewhere or a doctor tells you that, ask yourself this question.
TRT returns testosterone levels to normal.
If testosterone in normal levels enlarges the heart, why don't males who are not on TRT but have normal levels of testosterone have heart problems?

Next question. Enlarges the heart in comparison to what?
Weightlifting enlarges your heart. BUT, it enlarges because your heart is a muscle and the increased blood pump brought about by lifting causes the heart muscle to grow. So, in effect, this is healthy heart muscle growth not diseased heart muscle growth.

Statistics show that men with low testosterone are much more likely to suffer from heart disease than men with normal testosterone levels.

Testosterone is not the enemy that many ill informed doctors would have you believe.

 

[jonko]

Could it possible be because the TRT we take is not normal, or produced by our bodies, but rather synthetic?...

 

[DragonRider]

Could it possible be because the TRT we take is not normal, or produced by our bodies, but rather synthetic?...

Testosterone is testosterone. Once the ester is cleaved off, all your body sees is pure unadultered testosterone.
If it didn't, it couldn't use it.

 

[jonko]

Testosterone is testosterone. Once the ester is cleaved off, all your body sees is pure unadultered testosterone.
If it didn't, it couldn't use it.

If this is true, then who do people get reactions and side effects from T? Elevated liver enzymes, high blood pressure, increased democrat?

 

[DragonRider]

If this is true, then who do people get reactions and side effects from T? Elevated liver enzymes, high blood pressure, increased democrat?

No one gets elevated liver enzymes from the gels or injections. Elevated liver enzymes comes from orals that have been alkylated or methylated to prevent excessive degradation during first liver bypass. Gels and injections go directly to the bloodstream.

Some sides are caused in very few males due to trying to elevate their test levels too high.
Everyone is getting caught up in the numbers and wants levels in the top quartile of the acceptable range.

Problem is if a males highest testosterone levels at 20yo were 500ng/dl and he goes on TRT because his test levels have dropped to that of a healthy female, then restoring them to 500ng/dl is the best his body will be able to handle.
Most men don't have a baseline from when they were 20 though, so everyone is trying to shoot for 1100ng/dl. If your body can't handle the top of the range, then you are wasting your efforts and health raising them that high, you only need 500ng/dl.

Now, what do you believe are the statistics for males who have side effects other than elevated estrogen from TRT? Because I have to tell you, if I thought there was even a slight danger to TRT, I wouldn't do it.

 

[BBB]

I did a lot of research several years ago regarding testosterone and heart enlargement. There was a study conducted, that showed that testosterone alone did not affect heart size but that testosterone + GH caused heart enlargement if used in pharmacological doses.