Lowering Cholesterol Without Prescription Drugs |
8 Comments |
Last week I mentioned that my wife’s cholesterol was off the charts in a very bad way. This is despite her healthy eating habits and exercising 4-5 times a week.
A reader, Kitty, sent us this Heart Attack calculator from the American Heart Association. When my wife took it her risk was actually 1% despite the high cholestrol. I don’t know if that invovled some rounding, but even 1% is a little high. This is very comforting at least until we can schedule a follow-up meeting with her doctor.
Here are some changes that we are looking into:
- Garlic - We don’t eat a lot of garlic, but one of it’s benefits is lowering cholesterol. I’ll try to sneak some more into her diet.
- More Salads - Last Thursday, I surprised her with salad night for dinner. It was simply a huge salad. I can’t remember the last time we had a vegetarian meal.
- Enteric Coated Baby Aspirin - With my wife being a pharmacist she’s already got an informed opinion on this. We plan to talk with the doctor about this as aspirin regimen can cause adverse side effects (like ulcers for instance). However, if the doctor agrees this may be a wise plan before she undergoes rigorous exercise. If you couldn’t tell, we are going to be cautious with this.
- Supplements - Again, I’ll check with the doctor, but I’m a believer of some herbal medicines. When I read Fantastic Voyage
supplements (within limits) made sense to me. Every recommendation was backed up with one or more scientific studies. I have looked into these studies a little more and some seem promising. They sell a Cholesterol Therapy product that combines niacinamide, policosanol, gugulipid, plant sterols, and garlic. The dosage is a little low compared to what the book recommends, but I think it could still be helpful. I’d also pick up Phosphatidylcholine (PtC), which was referenced in the book as helping cholesterol.
Would you do any of things? What would you add, if anything?
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Propeller8 Responses to “Lowering Cholesterol Without Prescription Drugs”
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February 28th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
I would add in the classic- moderate, daily or every other day, exercise (such as 20 min walks).
March 1st, 2008 at 8:33 am
I would only do the salads. There is no evidence for any of those being effective at lowering cholesterol. There IS evidence for soluble fiber (psyllium, oats), walnuts (though high in calories), fish oil, and red yeast rice, to mention a few. Agree with exercise.
March 4th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Suggestions from Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol/CL00002 — walnuts/almonds; outmeal/oatbran, fish
In terms of AHA calculator and heart attack risk. Maybe you’ve already done it, but an interesting exercise would be to play with numbers a bit to see the effect different numbers have on the risk: e.g. substitute lower cholesterol numbers and see how it affects the risk. It’ll help to see the impact; also it’ll help to figure out how they round it up: if the result always shows 1%, then it’d mean they round anything under 1% to 1%. If it’ll shows the effect, you’ll see what it is. Just a suggestion.
Additionally, be a bit careful with aspirin: 1) it isn’t as effective in women for heart attack prevention as in men, at least according to this large randomized controlled study: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/352/13/1293 2) assuming it is effective, you have to compare the probability your wife will benefit from aspirin vs probability of serious side effects like serious bleeding. E.g. if the relative risk reduction is 10% (not statistically significant, but let’s just use it as example), this would be absolute risk reduction of .1 percentage point i.e. the probability a person taking it would benefit is 1/1000. When the probability of benefit is small, even small risk is significant.
At any rate, talk to your doctor.
March 4th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Sorry for another post. The letter to the editor regarding that study http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/352/26/2751 and the authors’ reply is interesting too.
March 5th, 2008 at 8:20 am
From reading your post, I can tell side effects are an important consideration for you when choosing treatment options. I thought you might be interested in a campaign we are working on.
Drug companies often fail to clearly present the benefits and risks of the products they advertise, and it often isn’t until a drug is on the market and taken by millions of patients that safety problems emerge. The easier it is for us to report side effects, the earlier the FDA will be able to detect safety hazards with medications and take action. That’s why Consumers Union supports including a 1-800 number and web address in all TV drug ads, so consumers can easily report side effects. Think this is a good idea? Go to http://www.PrescriptionForChange.org and add your name to the petition in support.
March 27th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Add oatmeal, beans, apples, berries. Make sure you cut out all transfats. We lowered my husband’s cholesterol by 40% by shifting the diet.
Google portfolio diet
May 18th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
in a hurry so I hope it’s ok to put a link…did a snippet on this recently:
http://mizfitonline.com/?p=136
(if it isnt ok—just delete!!)
August 21st, 2008 at 11:09 pm
I was recently diagnosed with slightly elevated levels of bad cholesterol - no need to use cholesterol medication, but had to see a dietician. Recommendations:
* eat 0,5 cups of beans daily.
* use wholewheat/sead bread int
* use palm fruit oil instead of olive oil or canola oil
* Exercise daily