LDL cholesterol lowering supplements

danielvp

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Hello everyone, I am interested in what cholesterol reducing supplements have worked for you.

2 weeks ago I got bloods and my total cholesterol came back at 396. This week I went in for a physical and everything checked out except my cholesterol was 355, and liver enzymes are at the top of the range.

My doc wants to retest in 4-6 months, and if LDL is still elevated start a statin. I would like to avoid statins because of their deleterious effect on Coenzyme Q10.

Let me know what has worked for you guys (with dosages please), I remember @Hyde mentioning citrus bergamot several times, I just ordered the jarrows brand and will be starting 500 mg 2x per day.

Background info on me: no AAS the last 18 months, but I have been using GH and/or MK-677 for 11 of the past 12 months. I eat very clean, lift 5+ days per week, and do 60+ minutes of LISS per day.
 

CroLifter

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How is your diet? Eating lots of animal saturated fats (red meat, fatty meat, full fat cheese...)?

I did bloods roughly 10 days post last injection of 500 test 200 mast per week and all cholesterol parameters were within the normal range, total was right in the middle, but hdl was near the low end and ldl was pretty near top of the range.

but at the time i wasnt really trying hard to avoid saturated fat. Since then i have cut down on my meat intake significantly, eat no cheese (other than cottage cheese), eggs really scarcely (however now that i am off "trt" i may start introducing them more often) and most importanntly, i force myself to eats lots of veggies and fish (which i dont like) here and there.

been looking into krill oil supplement for hdl.

Also heard good things about red yeast rice, Dr George Touliatos recommends it.
 
Hyde

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Dante says you can take 2g of the citrus bergamot if you want. Also recommends krill or high quality Fishoil 2-4g daily, and 4-6g ground flaxseed (this is tough but prioritize it). Everything split over two doses in a day.

Also lower dietary fat intake for now. You can have a clean diet of whole foods and still be eating too much fat for a favorable lipid profile.

Chris Tuttle says whenever he has clients who come to him needing to pass health exams and have cholesterol problems he puts them on a low-carb diet with low-fat proteins like chicken breast, white fish, egg whites, etc and adds in only healthy fats like olive oil, avocado, coconut, almonds, salmon for all of the fat. And lots of veggies. He is big on cucumber, tomatoes, wilted spinach, mushrooms, basically anything that is easily digested and will allow you to be compliant. Any carbs should be coming strictly from sweet potatoes, whole grain, and fruits with fiber (fiber lowers the amount of dietary cholesterol you can absorb). He would be serious resource if you need coaching.

What’s your height, weight, rough bf %, are you taking any drugs (rec, otc, script) routinely?

Also, letrozole and anastrazole have documented effects on lipids.
 
Hyde

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Dante says you can take 2g of the citrus bergamot if you want. Also recommends krill or high quality Fishoil 2-4g daily, and 4-6g ground flaxseed (this is tough but prioritize it). Everything split over two doses in a day.

Also lower dietary fat intake for now. You can have a clean diet of whole foods and still be eating too much fat for a favorable lipid profile.

Chris Tuttle says whenever he has clients who come to him needing to pass health exams and have cholesterol problems he puts them on a low-carb diet with low-fat proteins like chicken breast, white fish, egg whites, etc and adds in only healthy fats like olive oil, avocado, coconut, almonds, salmon for all of the fat. And lots of veggies. He is big on cucumber, tomatoes, wilted spinach, mushrooms, basically anything that is easily digested and will allow you to be compliant. Any carbs should be coming strictly from sweet potatoes, whole grain, and fruits with fiber (fiber lowers the amount of dietary cholesterol you can absorb). He would be serious resource if you need coaching.

What’s your height, weight, rough bf %, are you taking any drugs (rec, otc, script) routinely?

Also, letrozole and anastrazole have documented effects on lipids.
 

CroLifter

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I love some mashed potatoes/sweet potatoes, with mangel and (surprisingly this time i am fine with fish) sea bream.
 

danielvp

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How is your diet? Eating lots of animal saturated fats (red meat, fatty meat, full fat cheese...)?

I did bloods roughly 10 days post last injection of 500 test 200 mast per week and all cholesterol parameters were within the normal range, total was right in the middle, but hdl was near the low end and ldl was pretty near top of the range.

but at the time i wasnt really trying hard to avoid saturated fat. Since then i have cut down on my meat intake significantly, eat no cheese (other than cottage cheese), eggs really scarcely (however now that i am off "trt" i may start introducing them more often) and most importanntly, i force myself to eats lots of veggies and fish (which i dont like) here and there.

been looking into krill oil supplement for hdl.

Also heard good things about red yeast rice, Dr George Touliatos recommends it.
I was eating 4-6 eggs a day with a Tbsp of grass fed butter but discontinued that after the first high cholesterol score. For protein I mostly eat boiled shredded chicken breast, but I do have grass fed beef 4-5 times a week (usually drain the fat). As far as full fat cheese I keep that to a minimum, but do have a cheat meal once a week that is usually a small pizza.

Fish and fruit consumption is very low I need to improve there, but I eat a lot of veggies. I eat a lot of almond butter and almonds but that shouldn't effect LDL cholesterol right?
 

danielvp

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Dante says you can take 2g of the citrus bergamot if you want. Also recommends krill or high quality Fishoil 2-4g daily, and 4-6g ground flaxseed (this is tough but prioritize it). Everything split over two doses in a day.

Also lower dietary fat intake for now. You can have a clean diet of whole foods and still be eating too much fat for a favorable lipid profile.

Chris Tuttle says whenever he has clients who come to him needing to pass health exams and have cholesterol problems he puts them on a low-carb diet with low-fat proteins like chicken breast, white fish, egg whites, etc and adds in only healthy fats like olive oil, avocado, coconut, almonds, salmon for all of the fat. And lots of veggies. He is big on cucumber, tomatoes, wilted spinach, mushrooms, basically anything that is easily digested and will allow you to be compliant. Any carbs should be coming strictly from sweet potatoes, whole grain, and fruits with fiber (fiber lowers the amount of dietary cholesterol you can absorb). He would be serious resource if you need coaching.

What’s your height, weight, rough bf %, are you taking any drugs (rec, otc, script) routinely?

Also, letrozole and anastrazole have documented effects on lipids.
Wow, great response, thank you.

I do eat a lot of fat overall, thought I was making good choices though with cage free eggs, lean grass fed beef, coconut oil, almond butter and almonds.

I think I could actually follow that diet, only problem I see with it is I'm not sure how I would get enough calories. I need 3000+ calories per day to not lose weight.

As far stats/drugs I am 184 lbs at 6', 14% bf. I rarely drink, no rec drugs other than marijuana. I have used anastrozole in the past at up to 1 mg per week, but not in a couple years.

I was trying to bulk up until seeing my cholesterol score, was up about 8 lbs, eating 5 meals a day each having 45 grams of protein and 700-800 calories. Could that be part of the problem?
 
Hyde

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Wow, great response, thank you.

I do eat a lot of fat overall, thought I was making good choices though with cage free eggs, lean grass fed beef, coconut oil, almond butter and almonds.

I think I could actually follow that diet, only problem I see with it is I'm not sure how I would get enough calories. I need 3000+ calories per day to not lose weight.

As far stats/drugs I am 184 lbs at 6', 14% bf. I rarely drink, no rec drugs other than marijuana. I have used anastrozole in the past at up to 1 mg per week, but not in a couple years.

I was trying to bulk up until seeing my cholesterol score, was up about 8 lbs, eating 5 meals a day each having 45 grams of protein and 700-800 calories. Could that be part of the problem?
Nothing sticks out here as a likely promoter, but sometimes genetic response is the biggest thing. I would keep the almond and coconut fats, but consider trying salmon and chicken breast/tuna/whitefish with some avocado and olives, or their oils, to replace the eggs and beef for now. You should be able to make the calories work out the same with a bit of tweaking and effort.

I don’t see anything wrong with your proposed bulking plan, except I would shoot for a smaller surplus so you gain leaner slower. Getting fatter often comes with slightly worse lipids.

How are your liver numbers in bloodwork? AST, ALT, total bilirubin all in range? If you have fatty liver that can wreck lipid metabolism from my very limited understanding.
 

danielvp

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Nothing sticks out here as a likely promoter, but sometimes genetic response is the biggest thing. I would keep the almond and coconut fats, but consider trying salmon and chicken breast/tuna/whitefish with some avocado and olives, or their oils, to replace the eggs and beef for now. You should be able to make the calories work out the same with a bit of tweaking and effort.

I don’t see anything wrong with your proposed bulking plan, except I would shoot for a smaller surplus so you gain leaner slower. Getting fatter often comes with slightly worse lipids.

How are your liver numbers in bloodwork? AST, ALT, total bilirubin all in range? If you have fatty liver that can wreck lipid metabolism from my very limited understanding.
AST: 39, range: 0-40
ALT: 48, range: 0-44
Bilirubin: 0.6, range: 0-1.2

My ALT is usually a little high, 6 months ago it was 70, but I've got it down with 1200-2400 mg NAC per day.

Also I just had a really nasty infection and was on hepatoxic antibiotics ending 3 days before this test, my AST is usually mid range.

Thank you for all this info Hyde, you think MCT oil should be fine since it's made from coconuts?
 
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Hyde

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AST: 39, range: 0-40
ALT: 48, range: 0-44
Bilirubin: 0.6, range: 0-1.2

My ALT is usually a little high, 6 months ago it was 70, but I've got it down with 1200-2400 mg NAC per day.

Also I just had a really nasty infection and was on hepatoxic antibiotics ending 3 days before this test, my AST is usually mid range.

Thank you for all this info Hyde, you think MCT oil should be fine since it's made from coconuts?
Sure, as long as you digest it fine. Coconut oil is about half MCT if I recall right, but for whatever reason more than a tbsp of MCT gives me the runs, while I can handle much more coconut.

running and lifting
Did you read any of the thread?
This does bring up a great point: extra cardio really will promote better lipids and better cardiovascular system health. He’s not wrong.

I actually have a few grams, and was thinking about it, 10 mg per day or 20?
Was listening to an episode of Beast Fitness Radio this morning and Alex Kikel said his clients see about 8-16pts higher HDL per 10g of GW used daily. This obviously isn’t going to lower the overall total but will improve the good:bad ratio. 10mg daily is a pretty safe affordable amount for a great difference, IMO.

I’m no expert on any of this, just passing along stuff I’ve read I think is worth exploring. Your mileage may vary.
 

CroLifter

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Sure, as long as you digest it fine. Coconut oil is about half MCT if I recall right, but for whatever reason more than a tbsp of MCT gives me the runs, while I can handle much more coconut.





This does bring up a great point: extra cardio really will promote better lipids and better cardiovascular system health. He’s not wrong.



Was listening to an episode of Beast Fitness Radio this morning and Alex Kikel said his clients see about 8-16pts higher HDL per 10g of GW used daily. This obviously isn’t going to lower the overall total but will improve the good:bad ratio. 10mg daily is a pretty safe affordable amount for a great difference, IMO.

I’m no expert on any of this, just passing along stuff I’ve read I think is worth exploring. Your mileage may vary.
Currently looking into cardarine for my next cycle for hdl and cardio (some tren ace will probably be used towards the end).

I find it interesting that it has such a positive impact on lipids, more than any natural supplement. My sceptical mind tells me there has got to be a price to pay.
 

user567

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For 9 out of 10 people dietary cholesterol has no impact on your blood level cholesterol. That is theory is old science still being pushed by old school doctor's poisoning society with statins.

Get a good fish oil and a quality fiber supplement. Fiber is a must
 
Hyde

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For 9 out of 10 people dietary cholesterol has no impact on your blood level cholesterol. That is theory is old science still being pushed by old school doctor's poisoning society with statins.

Get a good fish oil and a quality fiber supplement. Fiber is a must
Tuttle’s theory if I understand it right is it’s the carbs actually that allow the inflammatory environment for the lipids to get skewed.

Genetics is everything.
 

danielvp

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Sure, as long as you digest it fine. Coconut oil is about half MCT if I recall right, but for whatever reason more than a tbsp of MCT gives me the runs, while I can handle much more coconut.





This does bring up a great point: extra cardio really will promote better lipids and better cardiovascular system health. He’s not wrong.



Was listening to an episode of Beast Fitness Radio this morning and Alex Kikel said his clients see about 8-16pts higher HDL per 10g of GW used daily. This obviously isn’t going to lower the overall total but will improve the good:bad ratio. 10mg daily is a pretty safe affordable amount for a great difference, IMO.

I’m no expert on any of this, just passing along stuff I’ve read I think is worth exploring. Your mileage may vary.
I was short with him, he is correct, but I am lifting 5-6 days a week and doing 60-80 minutes of moderate cardio a day already. I was under the impression that over 60 minutes of cardio a day does not offer any further health benefits, but I can add more if this is not true.

I started 6 grams flax seed, 4 grams fish oil, and acacia fiber (soluble fiber) today, and tomorrow I will start cardarine at 10 mg and citrus bergamot at 2 g per day.

I get the impression no one really knows what is going on with cholesterol, especially modern medicine. I personally believe it is the oxidation of LDL by free radicals that causes heart disease, so at the very least I need to improve my HDL/LDL cholesterol ratio, so LDL will spend less time in the blood where it can be oxidized by free radicals.
 

danielvp

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Currently looking into cardarine for my next cycle for hdl and cardio (some tren ace will probably be used towards the end).

I find it interesting that it has such a positive impact on lipids, more than any natural supplement. My sceptical mind tells me there has got to be a price to pay.
If there was a little more research on its safety, than I think it would be worth running in any cycle. I've used it at 20 mg for 4 months with no ill effects, so I'm fine using 10 mg for a few months.
 
Hyde

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If already doing that much cardio, you are covered on that aspect, no doubt.

Make sure to keep the soluable fiber supp timed away from when you dose the Fishoil, GW, or any other supps you want to get absorbed fully.
 

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