Thanks all for your replies, useful info. Further tests more complicated than the panels offered here as well as useful conversation with a knowledgeable English speaking doctor would need travel and planning, probably on several occasions, so will look into that if numbers don't get better within a few months. Diet is far from junk at the moment but fat quality could be improved and simple carbs reduced (this depends also on the amount of other food available at home...). Still hoping to put on weight after losing quite a bit during a sciatica induced lifting break, as long as it doesn't mess too much with health, around 218lbs now. I had given up all cardio for at least 18 months, and started again early August (swimming mostly, a bad knee will let me squat but impede a lot of activities). Blood pressure already looking good, hopefully swimming helps HDL/LDL as well, again no idea how they were a couple of month ago, and whether it has started improving. But already taking Coq 10, Celery and just started Astaxanthin, all supposed to help BP. Supplements for LDL/HDL don't look such an easy go. As mentioned by Goalkeeper Kid Niacin is showing controversial results, considering lowered Insuline resistance is a rather common side effect, and something I need to be careful about, it doesn't look good. Wondering about your feedback on Red Yeast Rice Extract, it seems to be mostly helpful thanks to Monacolin K, which is found in statin drugs, and is removed from RYRE sold in the US, so not sure how helpful RYRE without Monacolin K would be. Plenty of US Ryre products sold online here, but RYRE with Monacolin K should also be found in chinese medicine pharmacies, not sure how safe they would be, especially considering the following (and even than it is not clear taking Monacolin K is advisable) : Make sure that any red yeast rice you consume has the potentially toxic by-product "citrinin" REMOVED from the fermentation process. Cardarin seems quite helpful, i'd actually be keen on trying, but need to find a good source (some are sold online, but not sure what they are worth) Those are the 3 supplements that seemed the most promising, but noticed longer lists in some internet threads, will have another look.
I would consider eating more eggs. Anecdotal i know (but i think there is research on this, if u want i will dig it up), I had a blood test last month, my overall cholesterol levels has increased very slightly but the amount of HDL has shot through the roof and the LDL stuff has come down somewhat...one of the changes i've made was eating 3-5 eggs most days of the week.
Thanks Visaria, that would be dietetary change pleasant to jump on. Just read a few links, it seems many studies were funded by the egg industry and they mostly found larger egg consumption didn't hurt. A minority of people respond more cholesterol-wise, you are possibly one of those, HDL going through the roof while LDL goes down doesn't seem standard at all. I'm not having much fun with my diet these days, and it feels like i might be on the way to lose rather than gain weight, so will add some eggs anyway for a while. Still working on swimming longer and several times a week, just sucks the pool here is about to close for 10 days.
http://www.dresselstyn.com/site/study05/ At 12 years, their mean cholesterol level was 145 mg/dL!! nobody ever died of a heart attack where their cholesterol level remained under 150 for a lifetime.
Yes, but can you really handle Esselstyn's diet? It's healthy but most people don't want to eat that way: vegan, without any oils, not even olive oil. They only get fat from food (nuts, avocados, and such). The diet is a good idea, but I don't know whether it will raise your HDL, which is the main issue from a health perspective. Exercise is what will raise your HDL, and it sounds like the OP is already doing that.
Indeed, going vegan looks drastic, but i suspect after one had a couple of heart problems and feels on the brink of death it looks like a better option, the results from the link sure look impressive, not sure how scientific the experiment is. Noted the diet in that experiment is coupled with cholesterol lowering drugs, any of you has input on the following, already posted above : Wondering about your feedback on Red Yeast Rice Extract, it seems to be mostly helpful thanks to Monacolin K, which is found in statin drugs, and is removed from RYRE sold in the US, so not sure how helpful RYRE without Monacolin K would be. Plenty of US Ryre products sold online here, but RYRE with Monacolin K should also be found in chinese medicine pharmacies, which are not exactly ahrd to find around here, but not sure how safe they would be, especially considering the following (and even than it is not clear taking Monacolin K is advisable) : Make sure that any red yeast rice you consume has the potentially toxic by-product "citrinin" REMOVED from the fermentation process.
You can't measure the doses of stuff in your food. That's one of the reasons why FDA does not regulate herbs and such. You might get a big dose today and a small one tomorrow. I'm not picking on red rice yeast, this applies to everything. There are carrots with loads of beta carotene in them and carrots with almost none. What is in food or herbs or vitamins may not be uniform. I would like to think there are reputable sources of supplements and so forth, but the truth is there is no way to know. No one is policing them. My understanding may be incomplete but I believe that at a cellular level, the red yeast stuff works the same way as statins. So you might as well take the statins because at least you know what you are getting and its manufacture is regulated. Yes, Esselstyn is respected and BTW he is not a purist (he does condone use of statins for people who need them). The best thing to do with any of these serious vascular or metabolic medical problems (hyperlipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, etc) is get it under control NOW, with drugs if necessary. While people are fussing around for months and years trying to do things naturally, damage is silently being done to the body (destruction of heart, brain, vessels, kidneys, eyes). Don't like drugs? That's fine, then attempt to wean yourself off them as you work toward veganism or whatever you choose to do instead (find a practitioner who will work with you on this). But until you get your natural methods to work, don't leave yourself uncovered.
Thanks again for your input Drcha. About Red Rice Yeast Extract, at least the most effective ones, they seem to work thanks to a statin indeed, so it would make sense to go the drug indeed. Yet it seems to be very popular in the US but the RYRE sold there has Monacolin K (statin afaik) removed, wondering whether such a RYRE is any helpful cholesterol wise. Besides I don't mind medication per se, but can't say the info available about statins and niacin make them particularly attractive. Esselstyn in the link above repeats several times the diet works best along cholesterol lowering drugs, if not statin, do you know which drug he advises ? Besides I'd completely stopped cardio for a good 18months, will check again how it looks after a few months swimming. I suspect it won't be enough but will give it a chance anyway.
I have to respectfully disagree. What is the basis for being confident that statins are properly regulated and are effective? The side effects for many are dopcument in some cases are quite severe. Dest suggests tkaing CoQ10 to counter these side effects so that may be the answer. As discussed, you cannot necessarily reverse hardened arteries but if your cholesterol is high then diet can be more effective at reducing cholesterol levels to prevent more damage if you feel there truly is a 100% link between total cholesterol and coronary heart disease. There is a small subset of those with past coronary events and elevated risks that are recommended to take statins due to them falling into a high risk category and severe action needed. I liken them to severe obese being recommended for lap band (sp?) surgery. As already proven the total cholesterol number is not indicative unless you go down to HDL/LDL and then break down LDL even further. The studies supporting statin FDA approval never considered that or had a control group that simply attacked the problem with diet. Why would there be one since you cannot patent a diet. I do not agree that one should take the drug blindly simply because the FDA approved if the science does not support a link between what the drug accomplishes and lowering the risk of coronary events.