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Lowering Cholesterol Successfully: A Follow-Up

By Christina Mulberry

Six months ago, I wrote an article about my rising cholesterol level and how I planned to lower it without using medications. My cholesterol levels had been within acceptable range but gradually increasing over the past 8 to 10 years. In January 2010 however, I found my total cholesterol was in the neighborhood of 230, over the 200 benchmark.

Basically, I wanted to avoid medications in part, due to the expense of such drugs and the fact that they have to be taken daily, forever, which certainly makes the life time costs a significant expense. In addition, medications always have side effects, and cholesterol reducing statins have some significant ones. Thus, I felt some lifestyle changes would be the better option if it would work.

My plan was simple. Cut my high fat dairy intake by half and avoid other high fat foods. In addition, I would increase my intake of foods with cholesterol cutting properties which I had identified as those with plant sterols. I also added a bit more fiber and oat bran to my diet. Along the way, I also learned about Red Yeast Rice and began using that occasionally as well.

I did not change my activity level. I've always been fairly active and I didn't feel that was part of the problem. I get a minimum of a full hour of activity every day.

My overall goal was to make adjustments that I felt I could easily maintain overtime.

My follow-up visit was yesterday, May 6th, six months after it was discovered that my total cholesterol and "bad cholesterol" levels were too high. My tests show that my Total Cholesterol had a dramatic drop from 230 to 172 which is within acceptable parameters. My "bad cholesterol" dropped from 130 to 65, again well within acceptable range.

My starting cholesterol levels, while not acceptable, were certainly not as alarming as some, but the trend was disturbing. However, my plan appears to have been successful and has resulted in a significant improvement. At this point I merely need to maintain what I am doing and re-check each year. In my case, it appears that my body does not produce too much cholesterol on it's own, it is diet based, and therefore within my control.

This has been an interesting experience and I have learned a few things about the challenges that many people must face when trying to make lifestyle changes. What I learned, is that the hardest part of the quest was not my will power but the social pressures.

The first social pressure was to ignore the signs, to continue things just as they were, and to change nothing. I had a couple of the people closest to me say that "oh, cholesterol levels fluctuate. It doesn't mean anything". In other words, ignore the warning, ignore the physician who is the one educated in these things, and take the risk of dying. I had to ask these people if they ignore that low oil pressure light in their car? Do they just keep driving until they burn up the engine? Or, do they fill it up, and keep perking along?

Sure, it's possible I suppose for cholesterol to look significantly higher on one particular test, but it had been a gradual trend for me. In addition, why take the risk? The negative outcome is just too bad for me to choose that route. The changes I made were not painful, they just took a bit of attention to what I was putting in my mouth.

I also encountered social pressure in the form of comments about "here have a doughnut", "here have these Cheetos", "Why, not? You're going overboard!". Many people close to me minimized my efforts this way. I had to ask them at one point, "If I were an alcoholic, would you be pushing drinks at me?"

I was still eating a cheeseburger now and then, I still had pizza a couple of times, I even ate a doughnut a time or two. I think people have really lost sight of how often they eat the wrong things. That cheeseburger or doughnut that used to be a "splurge" they enjoyed every week or two became a daily thing.

With these frequent pressures I had to be creative. I had to look up the nutritional information at all fast food restaurants to find the lowest fat options, direct any fast food loving friends to those establishments, and select the roast turkey or chicken over the burger and fries. On some occasions, I merely packed a lunch when going to my mother's house so I could have a bit more control.

I suppose my lessons learned include:

- Try to get family, and perhaps friends, on board with any lifestyle changes. (But don't expect them to change)

- Be prepared. I took my lunch along when I knew choices would be poor. I researched nutritional information to be sure I made the best choices possible on a menu.

- Only make changes you can live with over time. Don't deprive yourself too much or you won't make it.

- In the case of diet changes, be sure to identify not just what you can't eat, but what you can and should eat. Find the things you enjoy.

- Talk to your doctor but don't expect him/her to provide all of the information. I found that research on my own, helped me find many more solutions that seemed to work well.

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I think cholesterol readings must be phrased differently in the US than here in the UK. I had above average cholesterol levels, and my doctor put me on statins, which have certainly reduced the levels very well, though obviously I'd rather not have to take medications. Possibly because I'm also on blood pressure medication he felt it important to watch the cholesterol levels. Well done to you on your lifestyle changes, that has to be a much better option than taking medications.

"There are two main types of cholesterol that doctors and dietitians talk about: LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol, high levels of which are linked to heart disease; and HDL or ‘good’ cholesterol, high levels of which are thought to protect against heart disease. Usually, when you have your blood cholesterol measured, your GP will look at figures for your overall or total cholesterol level, plus figures for your LDL and HDL cholesterol. Healthy levels of cholesterol are as follows:

* Total cholesterol – less than 5 mmol/L
* LDL cholesterol – less than 3 mmol/L
* HDL cholesterol – more than 1 mmol/L"

Yes, my tests looked at total cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol, Triglycerides, LDL (bad) cholesterol, etc. It was measured in mg/dL. They wanted my TC to be under 200 mg/dL, my HDL over 40, and my LDL under 70 (although mine would have been "acceptable" as high as 130 since I don't have diabetes, high blood pressure or other risk factors)

Glad the statins are working for you. (My mother takes them) For some people it's not really possible to get the results they need through dietary changes alone.

Thanks Christina. I've never had my cholesterol levels checked. I guess I should one of these days...

It's definitely a good idea to know your levels. If you don't have a family history of it, eat well, and are active you probably don't have a problem though.

Thank you for sharing this follow-up, Christina. Doing research as you suggest is very important. The average doctor is all too quick to put the patient on medication.
Lipitor is scheduled to come out in a generic form, but hasn't been released yet. Drug company politics is suspected!!
Best wishes.
Frederick

Not all Doctors are that good about knowing a great deal about any type of nutritional information anyway.

Drug companies definitely hang on to these drugs, they want their money for it!

Yes, cholesterol levels use a different measurement in the US than in the UK (and in Canada). Congrats on your success, Christina. I am dealing with genetics in my case, and lifestyle choices alone do not make a sufficient impact. I would love to be able to reduce or eliminate my cholesterol medications but that isn't possible yet.

It's different for everyone. I know my mom was unable to do it without the medications. Some people just manufacture too much cholesterol, it's not just diet in all cases.

Good for you for realizing that we have to take personal responsibility for our health care and prevent diseases rather than waiting and putting a "band aid" over them. Medical doctors may have a lot of specialized training, but most of them are reluctant to recommend anything they cannot charge for, like good nutrition and other preventative practices that can be self-regulated.

I believe in being proactive and controlling the few things I can. I think many doctors are just "ignorant" of non-medical interventions...like diet and exercise. They may tell you to do it, but they can't really advise you on the specifics. It's not how they are trained.

My cholesterol tested high so I did as you did and adjusted my diet. I cut out the eggs, sausage, gravy, and biscuits for breakfast and replaced it with oatmeal and wheat toast. I haven't gone back for follow-up yet. I miss my Southern Boy breakfast though.

It's too bad that all of the high fat stuff tastes so darn good! There are so many other great tasting things though. I think the fat thing is kind of addicting, the same way sugar is.

Thank you for writing this personal account. I am trouble free when it comes to cholesterol but my hubby, because he has been dianosed as having diabetes needs to take lipitor even though his cholesterol levels are below normal for folks without diabetes. He is doing well with diet and exercise for the diabetes now and I hope that he'll be able to come off of the lipitor soon.
Best wishes,
Laraine

Having diabetes does make it much trickier. Hope he is able to come of the Lipitor.

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