Diet May Be Enough For Cholesterol Problems; Avoid Statin Side Effects

Medical News Today ^ | 08/24/11 | Sy Kraft

[TennesseeGirl]

New research demonstrates that a diet based around plants, nuts and high-fiber grains lowered "bad" cholesterol more than a low-saturated-fat diet that was also vegetarian, meaning that one's dietary changes could be an alternative to statin medications for many people saving persons from some devastating side effects of the medications.

After six months, people on the low-saturated-fat diet saw a drop in LDL cholesterol of 8 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), on average, according to findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (excerpted)

[brytlea]

Interesting. And not surprising. If you can tweak the numbers and get new customers it pays off. It makes sense to shop for doctors who see you as more than a meal ticket, which can be tough. And of course to do your own research and take your own health into your own hands. Too many people don’t know anything about their own *machine*.

[bravo whiskey]

“Yep. I get that reaction from every statin on the market.

Guess what? Niacin works.”

me too. i started niacin and red rice yeast and it was slowly dropping. in march went on SPARKPEOPLE, really watched how much i ate (and snacked) and got at least 5 hours of biking, racquetball, walking, and/or yoga. i cook so i ate well but watched portions and did a lot of seafood and chicken and very little bread (because i didn’t want to waste my calories there). lost 22 pounds today amd my total dropped from 210 to 170 everything else went down a lot, hdl is in the 70s and i have a new way of eating that isn’t a diet and easy to sustain. shooting for 190 by thanksgiviing.

[rockvillem]

Guess what? Niacin works.

Another niacin user in the house. I never had the flushing problem that deters a lot from niacin. I did develop the muscle pain from a statin.

[evets]

Beer Aids in Lowering Cholesterol Story here

[SIRTRIS]

>>> Over the last 10 years of experimentation, I have found only one thing that makes a real difference....Statins. I think for many people, they are the best “solution”, that is, if you consider your cholesterol to be a problem. We simply make more in our bodies than others do. It is genetic, and runs in families.

The pendulum swings from genetic to environmental(ie food intake)… statins are like a life-saver for those who have no other recourse to genetic predisposition. My Point, I agree with you fully.

[null and void]

I use a “no flush” timed release niacin.

Got lots of experience with the flushes during the Purification Rundown back in my misspent Scientology days.

[djf]

Niacin comes in a couple forms. The only one that causes flushing is the nicotinic acid form. This is the one that is most effective lowering cholesterol.

If you take that form, BE CAREFUL!
I ran out and drove to the health food store to get more. After I got back in the car, I took 1/2 a tab (abt 250 mg).

Dropped my blood pressure so fast I almost passed out, good thing I wasn’t driving yet!

[Billthedrill]

Beer. Is there anything it can't do?

I will say, though, that pix like that don't do a thing for my blood pressure. I don't think it's the beer.

[traderrob6]

Try Krill oil, it’s wonderful.

[ctdonath2]

I pop 4 of those a day and my cholesterol is still high.

Went on a near-no-saturated-fat diet. Lost 20 lbs fairly fast. THEN, after having my gall bladder yanked, found out rapid weight loss often causes serious gallstones.

[steve86]

Very common that a sufficient dose of CoQ10 will put a stop to the myalgias and myopathies, as long as the muscle involvement doesn’t involve Rhabdomyolysis (very serious).

For me 100 mg/day of Coenzyme Q10 does the trick. Prior to taking the CoQ10 (which is actually a vitamin), I had the arm pain also. Once during that time I foolishly tried to throw my kids a softball. I ended up down on the grass in intense pain — arm and shoulder. However, taking CoQ10 has completely eliminated that even though I have gone up in statin dosage.

Veggies-related dietary changes for me are pretty much out of the question (unless confined to a padded room!) because I have always been a fast food kid and still am.

Cholesterol and triglycerides well under control with statin and fish oil.

[Keith in Iowa]

>>>I just got out of the hospital yesterday “diverticulitis attack” first one ever,kinda scary, I now have to focus on a high fiber diet..

Been there, had that... most unpleasant. FiberONE cereal with a carton of sugar free fat free yogurt dumped on the cereal can get you fiber with some variety of flavor.

[loungitude]

.

[PA Engineer]

In my experience its not the dietary fat that’s the problem, it’s the carbs.

I agree. There are essential vitamins, minerals, fats and protein. There is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate. Look around at the success of the "gaia" diet. Epidemic Metabolic Syndrome and pre-type II diabetes. Thank you Jimmy Carter, George McGovern and Harvard. A complete revamping of the American diet without a single pier review or scientific basis. Just another great leftist experiment forcing their irrational beliefs on everyone.

Now to fix this great Fubar of government intervention we are pumping statins into everyone. You are correct about Cholesterol. Cholesterol is an indication of underlying inflammation from Glycation, resulting from the recommended high carbohydrate diets. Giving Statins to lower Cholesterol is like sending the fire department out to put out the smoke. What fire?

[Paradox]

I am in my late 40’s. The whole family deals with high cholesterol. Even our vegetarian sister has elevated cholesterol levels.

[djf]

In fact in nature, digestible carbs are rare. Potatoes have starches, fruit, when it is in season have sugars and some carbs.

But most carbs in nature are of the cellulose forms, complex long-chain polysacharides that pretty much just go right through you.

That’s why cows and termites have specialized bacteria in their gut.

[FrdmLvr]

Statins can cause memory loss, and worse, something called Transient Global Amnesia. We took our mother-in-law off her statin meds because she was experiencing dementia. She went from a state of dozin' and droolin' to being able to hold a conversation. Here is a good website by a former NASA doctor who had a bad experience with statins.

http://www.spacedoc.com/transient_global_amnesia.htm

[death2tyrants]

Beer. Is there anything it can't do?

[PA Engineer]

But most carbs in nature are of the cellulose forms, complex long-chain polysacharides that pretty much just go right through you.

Good point. I have been on low carb now for about 5 years. I stopped once I attained my desired weight for 8 months. My blood work results were very revealing. Before I was on low carb I had triglyceride levels of over 600. My HDLs were the pits. After the first round with low carb my triglycerides dropped to under 60 and HDL moved to 40. These were important measurements, since the ratio of triglycerides to HDL is the "only" real predictor of cardiac related health. The consensus forming is a ratio of under 2 is desirable. My ratio fell to 1.5.

I went off low carb and within 8 months of calorie counting and exercise proceeded to gain back 17lbs. Worse, my triglyceride levels rocketed back to over 600 with HDLs of 24. That put my ratio back into a certain future Cath. Lab visit. I immediately went back on the diet 9 months ago and pretty much have returned to my previous weight and lab ratio.

I knew it worked and felt a bit driven to find out why. I have done plenty of research and I found one very useful book by a husband and wife epidemiologist team. They were professional epidemiologists who found themselves with the same dietary issues as the majority of Americans do now. They began to research the problem and ultimately compiled enough papers to publish a very useful work. The book is "The Modern Nutritional Diseases", by Alice Ottoboni, PH.D. and Fred Ottoboni, M.P.H., Ph.D.

They do a very good job of explaining dietary physiology and metabolism. The book was a valuable adjunct to Atkin's work and helped explain the dietary paradox of fat consumption. Primarily, you can eat as much fat as you want and not gain weight as long as you restrict carbohydrate intake to very low levels. Of course if you eat multiple sticks of deep fried butter you will not lose weight either.

Another area they cover well is the ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acid and why the "heart healthy" diet is a prescription for disease and a very unhealthy heart. The only weakness I found was in their final chapter, where it looked like they rushed to get it to publication. It is a very valuable work and answers the red pill/blue pill challenge by going strait down the rabbit hole.

[rockvillem]

I use an extended release form that you can get over the counter from Endurance Products. Found it as a result of a book I read by Robert Kowalski. I had no flushing and it has kept my cholesterol in check without the side effects I was having from a statin. Worth checking out for anyone on this board who needs some cholesterol reduction but is having trouble with a statin. I’m NOT a shill! Just someone with a genetic predisposition towards high cholesterol who ran into trouble with statins and ended up getting a reduction from the very, very old school niacin. Your mileage may vary.