Cholesterol Slightly Elevated?

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm having a cholesterol test next month and that will determine if I get the Dance Leadership job I want. I use Red Rice Yeast pills in addition to the Lipitor. I will start on the box of Oatmeal that I've had in my refrigerator and I will fast the day before I test. Thanks moms!

Thinness has nothing to do with cholesterol levels. I have a friend who is the size of a beanpole. He gets up at 5:00 am every day of the work week and goes to the gym, runs and works out. He eats a low cholesterol diet and STILL has high cholesterol. He has to take statins. And he still worries.

If I were you, I'd read up on high cholesterol foods and stop eating those first. No red meat. Eat meat that walks on two legs, rather than four, and the serving is the size of a deck of cards. Eat vegetables more. Drink low fat milk. Exercising will help lower your LDL.

Go back in 3 months and have your blood work done again. (Make sure you fast for 12 hours before having your blood drawn.) See if it's appreciably different. If it isn't, try statins.

If you feel bad while taking the statins, go back to the doctor and report your symptoms. Try a different one. You have to have your liver enzymes checked while taking statins - that's important.

Now is the time to get ahold of this before it clogs up your arteries.

There are some people (yes, even 37 year olds!) who have high cholesterol for genetic reasons. I suspect that they told you to eat better to see if it is genetic or bad food choices. My doctor told me that he has vegetarians with very high cholesterol so do not be surprised if eating healthy doesn't lower your numbers. If modifying your diet doesn't work, your doctor may recommend a statin. It is not the end of the world.

Some people take slo niacin to reduce their numbers but this is not a good route to go if your triglyceride numbers are high. It can also cause flushing.

I have never heard of a problem between cholesterol and pregnancy.

Did you fast for the test?

Did you only get a total cholesterol number? If so, that is useless information. You need to know how much HDL and how much LDL, and the triglycerides.
Generally, as long as your "good" cholesterol is above 50% of your "bad" cholesterol, it doesn't really matter what the total number is.

Say your total cholesterol was 220 (which is borderline high). If 70 is HDL (the good cholesterol) then you are healthier than someone who's total cholesterol is 210, if their HDL was only 35. Higher HDL is good. HDL is considered heart protective.

What were your actual numbers (total, LDL and HDL)? Due to aggressive marketing from the drug companies selling statin and other drugs, the ranges for normal reading are getting lower and lower. So your slightly elevated number might be just fine, especially if your LDL is high.

Did you know that there is actually no proof the high cholesterol causes heart disease, or that lowering cholesterol reduces the risk of heart disease? Mind blowing, isn't it? There's actually test out there that's a better predictor of heart disease called the VAP that gives a more precise look at the type of lipids in your blood. You can have one kind of lipid carrying a lot of LDL ("bad" cholesterol) that passes easily through your blood stream...like large cargo ship going through a harbor...that would look "bad" on a regular cholesterol test but wouldn't actually elevate your heart disease risk. On the other hand, you could have a lot of a smaller, sticker type of lipids that don't cumulate to an overall elevated level of cholesterol but all together, do clog your arteries - like little row boats carrying small amounts of cargo through a harbor would cause a traffic jam.

At the end of the day, cholesterol is a response to inflammation and for most people, inflammation is caused by things like sugar, simple carbs, dairy, and other foods. It never hurts to improve your diet and increase your activity level, even if you are thin, so start with being more careful with what you eat, add in some exercise and see if that moves your numbers in the right direction.

I am 38 and due to genetics, have had borderline high cholesterol since I was 13. I'm also very thin and get exercise. Did you get your HDL vs LDL? That number is important also. If the bad cholesterol is high and the good cholesterol is low, that's a problem. Vice-versa- not so much.
Basically, I have cut out red meat to 1 time per week, limited dairy (really anything with high saturated fats), and I also started drinking 4 oz of red wine with dinner. Red wine or grape juice increases good cholesterol, and red meat has tons of cholesterol as does dairy. I eat more nuts (it's what I have for breakfast!), and cook with olive oil. I also try to eat more fruits veggies than meats ,esp brussel sprouts and asparagus. I do have a hard time with chocolate though. I've made the switch to dark chocolate but it's still hard!

What did you eat for about 24 hours before the test? If it was greasy, your cholesterol could be up from that. Eat non-greasy or cholestoral-y food for a day before your next test and see what happens.

Taking Omega-3s can really help reduce it, and its good for your brain too. Or, you can eat lots of fish. I can't remember what all I did to get mine down, but I know that going whole grain and whole foods really helps. I'm sure others will have better answers for you, but this is a good start. Good luck!

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What did you eat for about 24 hours before the test? If it was greasy, your cholesterol could be up from that. Eat non-greasy or cholestoral-y food for a day before your next test and see what happens.

Taking Omega-3s can really help reduce it, and its good for your brain too. Or, you can eat lots of fish. I can't remember what all I did to get mine down, but I know that going whole grain and whole foods really helps. I'm sure others will have better answers for you, but this is a good start. Good luck!

Add oatmeal to your diet. My brother added it and got to eat oatmeal raisin cookies every day and eat regular oatmeal for breakfast every day too. He dropped his cholesterol over 30 points by only doing that.

His nutritionist said that oatmeal cookies are so healthy for you that they should never be called anything but healthy.

It could just mean that it is on the high side of normal or maybe just above that. Eating better and exercising may be all you need to bring it down and raise your good cholesterol. Being thin has nothing to do with your levels. My husband has high cholesterol but not "through the roof" and the doc wants him to exercise more and eat better before taking any meds.

Here's a good article to help you out....

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-...

The simplest answer ever: Eat more veggies and less red and processed meats.

A serving of meat is the size and thickness of your palm. A serving of veggies is as big as you like. Go easy on the butter and salt.

JB and ChristyLee nailed it. I would also suggest that if you're drinking a lot of coffee, especially if it's not filtered very well, that can elevate your bad cholesterol even if the rest of your diet is perfect.

From heart.org:

"Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, is known as "bad" cholesterol. High-density lipoprotein, or HDL, is known as "good" cholesterol. These two types of lipids, along with triglycerides and Lp(a) cholesterol, make up your total cholesterol count, which can be determined through a blood test."

That means if you're taking into consideration only the full number then you really need to break it down between LCL versus HDL.

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/Abou...