cable626's cholesterol problems.

[cable626]

looks like I have high cholesterol guys :aargh:

Age now: 19

5/04:
HDL: 48
LDL: 119
Triglycerides: 100

11/05:
HDL:47
LDL: 137
Triglycerides: 63

Right now I'm on PowerFULL but that wouldn't skew my cholesterol numbers, especially because they were high last year also before I started any supps.

There is a history of high cholesterol in my family.I don't take any ph/aas, but I eat a lot of eggs (that only started a few months ago though). First of all, I'm going to start cutting down on the eggs, now I eat about 4 yolks per day.

I'm thinking about what supps I can take to help lower my cholesterol.
So far I know of Policosanol, Hawthorne Berry, RYR+Coq10. I dont really know if I can take all of them at once. I use about 6 grams of fish oil a day, and cook only with olive oil.

Hopefully I will update accordingly and turn this into a log. I don't really know if I can lower my cholesterol, considering this isn't a result of ph's or aas.

I need to get this under control now. Any suggestions would be appreciated guys.

 

[jonny21]

Cut out the Saturated Fat. Talk with your MD. Little you can do about high cholesterol if it is genetic other than clean diet for damage control and pharmacotherapy. Supps might help to lower LDL.

 

[Sir Savage]

Consider taking SesaThin. It has very beneficial effects on cholesterol.

 

[ersatz]

...

Hopefully I will update accordingly and turn this into a log. I don't really know if I can lower my cholesterol, considering this isn't a result of ph's or aas.

I need to get this under control now. Any suggestions would be appreciated guys.

Most of the studies done with the aforementioned supps were conducted on people whose levels weren't affected by any AAS usage. Therefore, I don't see any reason why those supps wouldn't be of benefit to you as well.

 

[cable626]

I've started taking 1 gram (2 doses) of sesathin a day, going to add in some policosanol to help lower LDL.
I've also heard that niacin helps to raise HDL, so I'm going to add that in also. I'll make an order at nutraplanet and hopefully start it up within a week.

Eggs were my favorite food, guess it's egg whites for me from now on :whiner:

 

[SJA]

I've started taking 1 gram (2 doses) of sesathin a day, going to add in some policosanol to help lower LDL.
I've also heard that niacin helps to raise HDL, so I'm going to add that in also. I'll make an order at nutraplanet and hopefully start it up within a week.

Eggs were my favorite food, guess it's egg whites for me from now on :whiner:

Policosanol and niacin will make a dramatic difference. I've suggested this to a few different people who had high cholesterol and did not use any AAS. The drop in total and LDL was very significant.

Also check the diet, bring in soluable fiber and good fats.

 

[-2z-]

take the egg whites and mix with "eggbeaters" or something like that.

 

[Redeemer]

4 yolks per day may be a bit high but you do not have to cut them out completely. Get your omega 3's and be aware of hidden sources of transfat such as that found in non dairy creamers and alot of other fat free crap.

 

[CEDeoudes59]

your cholesterol isn't bad..

 

[cable626]

maybe it's not bad compared to you deo! :nutkick:

thanks for the suggestions guys, i've started the policosanol and niacin a few days ago, and have definitely been watching the trans fat and saturated fat intake. I'm curious to see if I will be able to really lower my cholesterol.

I have been using 10mg Policosanol in the morning and 1g niacin (500mg morning and 500mg at night).

I'm going to run this for ~90 days and then get my numbers tested again. I will post back up and we'll see how much they've changed. Then I'm going to use some RYR+CoQ10 and see if I can bring it down even lower.

 

[CEDeoudes59]

nah mines not bad at all... only post Oral AAS cycle.
I will mention that red yeast rice lowered it 80points in 40days.

 

[pcn]

"hidden sources of transfat such as that found in non dairy creamers and alot of other fat free crap."

Wouldn't fat free products not inlcude fat?

 

[yeahright]

There are two additonal things I would suggest:

Psyllium (get metamucil pills). Start taking one a day and work your way up to six a day. The soluble fiber in them literally absorbs LDL right out of the bloodstream.

A product called Cholestoff by Nature Made. Cholestoff contains a combination of plant compounds (sterols and stanols) which block the cholesterol receptors in the intestine and prevent your body from absorbing cholesterol from your diet (you take them 30 minutes before eating).

The combo here is to prevent your body from absorbing cholesterol from your diet and to remove from your blood that cholesterol made by your liver.

With these two and niacin I knocked 74 points off my LDL in 6 months,

 

[CEDeoudes59]

^^^ bump on that suggestion. Fiber works wonders.

 

[bioman]

I was diagnosed hyperlipidemic after several years of numbers in the 220's. i don't veiw that as really bad so I refused statin drugs. There is a history of high cholesterol in my family.

I bumped up my fish oil intake to two tablespoons of Carlson's per day, added niacin and I take psyllium at night in my PM shake.

My numbers are now in the 170's to 180's.

 

[cable626]

how much psyllium husk would you guys recommend? one tablespoon of metamucil has 3.4g

 

[Tahq]

Your numbers are not that really 'out of whack', but there is always room to improve. I go with fish oil caps and 20mg policosanol daily and had a 1:1 hdl to ldl ration on my last check.

 

[Grunt76]

The average person needs 2 GRAMS of cholesterol a day. That's total metabolic requirement, which is much higher in a young, growing athlete. Note, this is NOT DIETARY requirement, as the body will synthesize cholesterol depending on needs, offsetting the amount it feels it needs from what is taken in from dietary sources.

IOW, say you ingest 1.5g ED of cholesterol, your body would make 0.5g to fulfill the metabolic need for cholesterol. Now if you eat only 100 mg, your body will synthesize 1900 mg instead.

Cholesterolemia is *NOT* affected in ANY significant manner by dietary cholesterol unless the amounts eaten are by themselves HIGHER than the body's ~2g requirement which, in your case, is very probably closer to 3g. That's 15 large eggs. Studies, look them up if you need to, correlate dietary intake of cholesterol with bloodstream levels by a measly 5%. IOW if you were to lower your dietary cholesterol by 20%, expect your cholesterolemia to lower by 1%.

Stress, pressure, are now known to be the most important factors of high cholesterol and not dietary intake, which is insignificant.

I suggest taking up meditation. Weights and cardio are also of course great. Guggulsterones might also help.

Seriously man. Sorry if this sounds wacky but if you do LOTS of research, you will find out this is spot-on right.

 

[yeahright]

how much psyllium husk would you guys recommend? one tablespoon of metamucil has 3.4g

I'd do the metamucil pills. I take two pills three times a day to spread out the cholesterol lowering effect throughout the day....but if you want to use powder, right on the label it gives dosijng recommendations (one for irregularity issues and the other for cholesterol reduction).

 

[Sputnik]

Cable,

I had extremely high cholesterol levels, due to genetics reasons. My mother, her sisters and my grandmother all have the same, despite being otherwise healthy and pretty lean, and having a mediterranean diet high in olive oil (i'm originally from Spain).I was told to watch my diet and to only eat one egg per week, otherwise I'd be on medication. So I began taking Flax Seed of my own accord. Result? Cholesterol levels fell dramatically to normal levels after a year or less. I stopped taking flax for a time, and since have used Sesathin (not as a replacement to Flax though) and levels still remain normal. And now I eat how many eggs I want.

Flax seed and Sesathin would be a powerful combination to combat cholesterol.

 

[logan]

bump on the fiber. I eat rolled oats like crazy and my cholesterol is better than what is considered good for my age.
That's the one thing in my diet that I have been eating consistently for at leat 3 years now.

bump on the sesamin as well, great product.

 

[BigVrunga]

Yeah bro dont forget your oatmeal - great source of carbs and lowers LDL cholesterol too.

 

[cable626]

Yeah bro dont forget your oatmeal - great source of carbs and lowers LDL cholesterol too.

:food: 2 cups a day of oatmeal for me!
But i've been doing this for the past 6 months.

 

[llb4]

ckd diet

your body produces 3-4 times more cholesterol than you eat. production will increase when input is little and decrease when you eat alot. eating a low fat diet will most likley ONLY lower cholesterol a couple points.

 

[BigVrunga]

Yeah, Ive read the CKD diet will knock your cholesterol levels right down. It definitely works for fat loss, although I wont stay on CKD for longer than 8 weeks or so.

 

[llb4]

I wont stay on CKD for longer than 8 weeks or so.

yeah, 6 weeks for me.

 

[Grunt76]

I've loved muh CKD. Been on it twice for more than 10 months and a few other times for short bouts. I would've stayed on for longer, but I undergo some toxicity. When I'm full of $ I'll go for a year of CKD on all-organic stuff. That'll be kick-ass.

 

[DobermanXXL]

I may have been living under a rock, but as far as i know there hasn't been any studies to prove that eating cholestrol raises your cholestrol like eating sat. fats...

 

[cable626]

alright guys, I just went for another blood test, let me know what you guys think.
There was a problem, and it didn't calculate my LDL, but I have HDL and Non-HDL.

Nov '05
HDL:47
LDL: 137

Today, 1/21/06
HDL: 29
Non-HDL: 107



Now lets get the obvious over with: why the hell is my HDL so much lower when I have been taking supps to help! RYR+Coq10, Policosanol, and Niacin.
The doc said don't worry about it as I'm a young guy.

 

[CEDeoudes59]

I would venture to say but none of those supps dramatic raise HDL. They more lower the LDL (which seems to have occurred).
Fish Oil, Flax Oil, Fiber is more what you're looking for - and less saturated fat.

edit: might add garlic to your stack, as it should help prevent any clotting that could possibly occur, baby aspirin would have a similar effect - but let's stick with garlic.

 

[Sputnik]

Cable....I know those supps are supposed to be good for cholesterol...however if you read my earlier post in this thread, Id be surprised if u used SesaThin and flax seed (not the oil) for a cpl of months...got tested again and aren't pleased with the results....i had extremely high levels and was about to be given cholesterol-lowering meds....but since using the above, everytime i get my cholestero checked (most recently 2 months ago) my levels are good as....

 

[Sputnik]

Cable....I know those supps are supposed to be good for cholesterol...however if you read my earlier post in this thread, Id be surprised if u used SesaThin and flax seed (not the oil) for a cpl of months...got tested again and aren't pleased with the results....i had extremely high levels and was about to be given cholesterol-lowering meds....but since using the above, everytime i get my cholestero checked (most recently 2 months ago) my levels are good as....

 

[Sputnik]

Cable....I know those supps are supposed to be good for cholesterol...however if you read my earlier post in this thread, Id be surprised if u used SesaThin and flax seed (not the oil) for a cpl of months...got tested again and aren't pleased with the results....i had extremely high levels and was about to be given cholesterol-lowering meds....but since using the above, everytime i get my cholestero checked (most recently 2 months ago) my levels are good as....

 

[cable626]

Yea, I'm going to continue the sesathin, I didn't use it as often as I would like.
It's about long term health, so I'm taking this whole situation one step at a time.

I want to be around a long time, God willing, to start a family and watch my children grow. I sometimes forget that my number one reason for living the life of a bodybuilder is to be healthy.

 

[CEDeoudes59]

1fast has fish oil gels.
100gels for $3.25
great deal, I swallow them like candy

 

[cable626]

I was just checking out CNW's, its $27.99 and you get 1000.

 

[jonny21]

Polyunsaturated fats may help lower LDL but do not preserve HDL.

If you are taking niacin it is only in the nicotenic acid form that you will recieve any HDL benefit (Niaspan).

Fish Oil caps may be beneficial for cardiovascular health due to anti-inflammatory properties but they won't raise your HDL.

 

[yeahright]

alright guys, I just went for another blood test, let me know what you guys think.
There was a problem, and it didn't calculate my LDL, but I have HDL and Non-HDL.

Nov '05
HDL:47
LDL: 137

Today, 1/21/06
HDL: 29
Non-HDL: 107



Now lets get the obvious over with: why the hell is my HDL so much lower when I have been taking supps to help! RYR+Coq10, Policosanol, and Niacin.
The doc said don't worry about it as I'm a young guy.

For a man, any HDL below 40 is something to worry about. However, it could just be a fluke (Ex. your liver was busy dealing with the effects of a virus you never knew you had or something). If your HDL stays low, then you should worry.

The Mayo Clinic has a wonderful online resource which grades supplements for their effectiveness for various medical conditions. Look here: http://mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol/CL00006

 

[mrmoose63]

If you are taking niacin it is only in the nicotenic acid form that you will recieve any HDL benefit (Niaspan).

Anyone know a source for the nicotenic acid... or is it only available w/ a scrip?

-Moose

 

[jonny21]

Anyone know a source for the nicotenic acid... or is it only available w/ a scrip?

-Moose

Should be available OTC in most pharmacies, health food or supplement stores. When buying Niacin (B-3) make sure it is not the flush free. Look at the label or ask whether it is nicotenic acid or nicotinamide.