High Cholesterol

[rpm]

I didn't want to hijack Hawklore's thread about his Dad, but thought this might be interesting on it's own.

RPM... Is there a history of intervention in your family? High cholesterol isn't the "dead certain" marker although it is can be closely associated with it.If your family has a "clean" history, you may dodge the bullet.

Also, Dr. Cooper the aerobic's guy has some good tips that are working for me and my family. His inexpensive paperback is called "How to Lower Cholesterol the Natural Way".


The short version is:

Dr. Cooper's recommendations on how to naturally lower your cholesterol:

Lose Weight. For every five pounds of weight loss you will lower your cholesterol by 8-10 points. Also remember, for every 1% you can lower your cholesterol, you will lower your risk of heart attack by 2-4%.


Exercise, especially aerobic (endurance) exercise. Both aerobic exercise and strength training will help with weight control. Aerobic exercise will help increase your HDL, or good, cholesterol.


Reduce the amount of saturated fat in your diet. The Cooper Clinic recommends the standard American Heart Association Diet or Weight Watchers. For more information refer to, "The Cooper Clinic Solution to the Diet Revolution, " by Georgia Kostas.

Take advantage of foods that impact cholesterol (nutraceuticals). For instance, the soluble fiber in oatmeal has been shown to help lower cholesterol. Try replacing your butter or margarine with Benecol spread. If used twice a day, the stanol esters in Benecol help lower cholesterol by up to 10% and the LDL cholesterol by as much as 14%. Benecol can be found in most grocery stores or" visit http://www.benecol.com.

Vitamin B3 (niacin) will help lower your cholesterol but you should always consult your physician about its use. It's also very important to increase your consumption of fiber. That can be done by simply increasing your consumption of fruits and vegetables. Our motto regarding servings of fruits and vegetables per day: Five is fine, but nine is divine! (edit: Metamucil will also lower your overall cholesterol significantly, on the order of 7% if taken as directed on the jar. It's all in the book.)
Toad

Well my family history is a bit shaky on Heart Disease, my Dad had lots of problems. Smoking 2 packs of Camels and killing a quart of W.L. Weller a day were the cause. I have been fighting High Blood pressure for 20 or so years but keep it under control with meds. My cholesterol count runs close to 650 (so high they can't get accurate LDL/HDL readings). I am on Lipitor and use homeopathic remedies such as Garlic, Milk Thistle and Fish Oil but it refuses to lower. I eat healthy, no butter, salt or fatty foods and lots of fiber. Notice I didn't include any exercise, I live in the country and every day is a workout. The way I look at it, I'm being pro-active about it and whatever happens, happens.

[john9001]

take 1000 mg of vit C each day, along with exercise, diet, etc.

[Hawklore]

Thanks RPM

[rpm]

np

[Tumor]

How do you drink a quart of whiskey a day and get up the next morning.

I can barely get outta bed after half a pint a spent 8 hours drinking!

[rc51]

Getting laid will lower it by 10 points:D

[Yeager]

The way I see it death always occurs prematurely.  Always....

Eat well, drink good booze, smoke em if you got em, get a good workout everyday (sex) and just live full.  Screw the rest of it.

[capt. apathy]

How do you drink a quart of whiskey a day and get up the next morning.

from the guys I know who do it, the trick seems to be daily practice

[Leslie]

I've heard that smoking causes a different type of cholesterol, than that of food.  Makes your blood sticky and causes clots.  Responsible for heart attacks more often than what you eat.


Whisky is also hard on the heart.  It's actually poisonous, contains fusil oil.


Ya gotta give up something.  If you wanna keep smoking, you gotta give up fattening food.  Substitute red wine for whisky and don't eat steaks or hamburgers, pizza, chocolate shakes or ice cream, etc...    No fried chicken or french fries.  Limit soft drinks, like Dr Pepper.

Or...give up smoking, exercise, and eat all those things in moderation...and you should be OK.

My cholesterol is high too.  But that probably comes from not having a real job for 25 years.  I sit at a desk, and hardly get up to do anything.  Work on my own time, do what I want, whenever I want.  Don't make much money, but am hopeing to change that soon.  You see, I am an artist...an a Bohemian one at that.



Les:D

[Toad]

Well, what's the ratio of Total to HDL cholesterol? Can they get anything on that at all?

You're off the chart high overall, no doubt about that. However, that isn't the whole story. I have a neighbor that runs about 390 overall but his HDL (the "good" cholesterol") is so high that is ratio is about 2.5 to 1. They tell him not to worry about it.

With regard to exercise, it's about heart rate. If you're not getting the beats up into the exercise "zone" (~60-80% of your "max" for age) it's not the kind of exercise they say you need.

Genetics is still probably key though. How many males on either side of your family died of heart attack before age 50? How many before 55?

My brother-in-law had six generations of males who all died before age 51; clear back to the Civil War era. He lived on tuna packed in water and ran every day. He died at age 48, of a heart attack.

[rpm]

Toad, they could not give me a breakdown on it. Any reading over 600 is off the scale. I prefer to think it is high on the "Good" cholesterol side. Just a note, MY DAD drank a quart of Weller a day not me, and yes he had at least 50 years of daily practice. He died at 68.

[Toad]

OK.

Now, how about Uncles, Grandfathers (and their brothers) and Great Grandfather's (and their brothers) on both sides? Any of them early death heart attacks? Sometimes it skips generations.

I have a good friend, retired cardiologist, that is doing research on the genetic aspect. He's running with some fast horses in the cardiology field and he says they're coming to the conclusion that it's 95%+ genetics.

Cheerful thought if you've got good genes but, OTOH....  

[Tumor]

Originally posted by Toad
OK.

Now, how about Uncles, Grandfathers (and their brothers) and Great Grandfather's (and their brothers) on both sides? Any of them early death heart attacks? Sometimes it skips generations.

I have a good friend, retired cardiologist, that is doing research on the genetic aspect. He's running with some fast horses in the cardiology field and he says they're coming to the conclusion that it's 95%+ genetics.

Cheerful thought if you've got good genes but, OTOH....  

Thats scary...  Mom's side of the family has lots of cancer (her brother, most of her 9 Uncles, save the one who died of a heart attack and another in a car accident.... and 7 Aunts, except the one Diabetes got).

  Nobody on Dad's side of the family ever even gets sick....(including me)

Guess I gotta 50/50 chance of about anything lol.

[StSanta]

"You only have one life, but if you live it well, it's enough" - paraphrasing someone.

Don't know what else you can but what you're doing. Toad makes an excellent point about good vs bad cholesterol ratio.

Having said that, there's another positive aspect of being reminded of one's mortality; one begins to live in the present and one gets more outta life.

One goes when one goes. It's best to pack as much good stuff you can while you're alive, even if it means unpopular/uncomfortable decisions or even risking yer life.

Best of luck to you. Wouldn't worry too much, as you're doing what you can and that greatly increases your chances.

[Toad]

Yeah, death will find you where it finds you. Won't be nothing you can do about it.

So, best thing I can figure is to spend most of your time where you WANT it to find you.

Like between the sheets with a hot-blooded red-head or something.