Cholesterol "risk ratio" and how to drop it?

[SHRED]

We had a voluntary health screening at work and I got some not so good news.
Weird thing is I eat pretty good. Whole grains, not a lot of fat at all, avoid sugar, etc..
I am a 53 years old male, 6 foot 3 inches and 200 pounds.

My plan is to join the YMCA and enroll in cardio, flexibility, and strength training classes.
I really don't get much aerobic exercise at all.
I also will watch my diet even better.

Anyone else go through this?
Did you have success through diet and exercise?

I am going in to my main doctor for a second test to confirm these results.
Anything over a 5.0 is considered high risk. This was a fasting test.

Scary stuff.


Total cholesterol: 193 mg/dl
LDL cholesterol: 119 mg/dl
HDL cholesterol: 35 mg/dl
Risk ratio: 5.5
Triglycerides: 193 mg/dl
Glucose: 91 mg/dl


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[yellerpup]

1. 240 total cholesterol is where "high" begins.

According to my doctor, HDL should be at least 20% of the LDL number. I've never seen the Risk ratio before, but I'm chiming in because I believe that statins are over-prescribed. I lowered my total cholesterol by 60 points in 3 months by eating oatmeal every morning. Exercise is good! Wishing you good health and freedom from worry. :hi:

[SHRED]

2. What do you put on your oatmeal?

Rice milk?
Soy milk?

I have heard good things about oatmeal and cholesterol.

thanks

[yellerpup]

6. I sprinkle a little turbinado sugar or honey (scant tsp.)

and add a variety of fresh fruits such as apple, pear, figs (whatever is in season) and/or a handful of walnuts (untoasted). Because I am lactose intolerant I do not add milk and because I also have hypothyroidism, soy is kryptonite to me. I also like Kashi cereals that I eat with goat yogurt and fruit/nuts in many combinations. After maintaining this morning regimen for three years, my second colonoscopy showed a huge improvement due to all the extra natural fibers. Just be careful adding in nuts, sugars, and milk products to your oatmeal because that bumps the calorie count way up.

[SHRED]

7. thanks

[MannyGoldstein]

3. A Few Notes:

1. In large groups of people, Cholesterol levels correlate somewhat with who develops heart disease. However, in a specific individual, it's not a very good predictor. Things like genetics are more important. Docs like to fixate on cholesterol level because they like a number that they can use as a guideline for treatment, rather than something fuzzy like "one of your grandparents died at 68 from colon cancer, one died at 73 from a heart attack... ".

2. Changing your eating habits will do little to change your blood levels.

3. Statins (prescription drugs such as simvastatin) are cheap, safe, and effective at lowering LDL cholesterol and - more importantly - at increasing life expectancy. In fact, they even increase the life expectancy of people with low cholesterol, which is an interesting mystery (i.e., clearly it's not only the lowered cholesterol that's helping users).

4. Niacin, a B vitamin, will boost your HDL and thus improve your ratio. But high doses of niacin can cause uncomfortable flushing and other side effects, so be thoughtful and do some research.

Good luck! I wouldn't worry about this too much, the effects of worrying are probably worse than the effects of the cholesterol!

[Cirque du So-What]

4. Vigorous exercise may be the key

My total cholesterol has consistently been in the 150s, and I'm now 54. Back in my 30s, it was noted that my HDL/LDL ratio was not favorable, so aerobic exercise was recommended. Ever since taking that advice, that ratio is much improved.

[godai]

5. Diet and exercise worked for me.

I was in a similar situation regarding cholesterol levels and, over about 6 months, lost 20 pounds (190 to 170) and cholesterol levels became normal. I tried to minimize sugar with use of Splenda and diet sodas. Exercise was moderate...treadmill for 15 minutes maybe 4 times a week, plus quite a bit of yard work. Normal breakfast and dinner, with cereal regularly for lunch. I also cut out a lot of desserts. The more you exercise, the more you can add on treats such as desserts.

It can be done without statins but less calories and more exercise is essential.

[gblady]

8. every person is different.......

"It can be done without statins but less calories and more exercise is essential."

I stubbornly refused statins for years with a cholesterol over 300...
because I did not want to take them..side effects...don't want chemicals in body, etc.

I ate very healthy, exercised, and lost 70 pounds...all that did nothing to change my levels.

then I had a massive heart attack.....was put on statins....level dropped to normal in one month...ratio excellent now.

my cardiologist says that some peeps have a familial factor that no amount of diet and exercise can change.

Everyone is unique.

[yellerpup]

10. Everyone is unique.

Everyone should remember that. When I was put on statins (I am extremely sensitive to all medications) after the first week all I could think of was how nice it would be to walk down into the river until it flowed over me and carried me away. I broke out into crying jags that left me sobbing breathlessly a few times a day. I have been depressed before, but it was all experiential and there was nothing new in my life that would lead to this behavior except for the introduction of statins. Although depression is not indicated on the literature as a side effect, I found several stories of people who had committed suicide a short time after starting to take statin medication. I stopped taking them and all those dark thoughts disappeared in about the same time as it took them to appear. While statins may work great for a majority of people they are not for everyone. My doctor still tries to get me to try another type, but I won't on the grounds that I refuse to take medicine that makes me wish I was dead. I am glad statins worked for you.

[gblady]

12. wow....yeah....

I had a paradoxical reaction to an antidepressant once that made me suicidal.
It was the wierdest feeling. Glad you recognized it for what is was and got off the statin.

[yellerpup]

13. I have heard that about antidepressants.

But, of course the affect each person differently. Hope you didn't try to 'tough it out', and absolutely it is a weird feeling.

[safeinOhio]

9. Try a flax seed oil pill

in the morning and one a night. Then take 2 fish oil pills during the day.
I've been on statins for 12 years with no problems with them.

[Dorian Gray]

11. Through diet and exercise

i really changed my cholesterol. Exercise will really help the HDL. But it can be done.....

[flvegan]

14. Go vegan.

No, seriously.

[PADemD]

15. Cholesterol levels are higher in winter, according to

the book "Under the Weather, How the Weather and Climate Affect Our Health," by Pat Thomas.

http://www.amazon.com/Under-Weather-Climate-Affect-Health/dp/1904132308/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259543574&sr=8-2#reader_1904132308

"Levels of other components in the blood also change. The normal physiological response to cold also includes a decreased total blood volume (leading to reduced oxygen supply)43 and a rapid change in many blood components including increased cholesterol levels (raising the risk of atherosclerosis)44.

"The winter rise in blood cholesterol levels has been so well documented in the last half-century,45 that it is now beyond dispute. The relevance of higher cholesterol at this time of year, however, is less well investigated."

43-45 References are to published scientific articles.

This book was so interesting, I purchased a copy for my GP. I hope he read it.