Most cholesterol in our blood does not come from dietary sources, and a diet aimed at eliminating cholesterol will only reduce it by ten percent. Instead, cholesterol is produced by the body itself. In fact, a deficiency in cholesterol is associated with a higher risk for cancer and immune disorders, including AIDS. This is because the role of cholesterol is a protective one, binding (chelating) toxic mycotoxins in the blood.

The model that "high cholesterol lead to high risk of heart disease" is flawed. It doesn't explain the fact that people with high, low, and everything in-between cholesterol levels die of heart disease.

A better model seems to be measuring the size of the LDL/HDL. People with large LDL seem to have lower risk of heart disease. People with small LDL have higher risk of heart disease. This model explains how people with high cholesterol can end up having low risk of heart disease, and vice versa.

Further, it appears that high carb diet leads to small LDL. Low carb diet to large LDL. That suggests that a low carb diet is heart healthy, though we just don't have any long-term studies that have examined that question.

Believe it or not, one cause of elevated triglycerides is a diet heavy on carbs.

Look up "Krauss carbohydrates" in google and you can see the studies.

Your case could of course be different, but it's something to look into.

Good luck!

I am a nurse but I am not sure of what Lipicard is: is this a combination med? It is important to watch all aspects of your diet in order to manage your cholesterol levels. Watch your saturated fats - reduce or eliminate trans fat - reduce your carbs and Increase the "soluble fiber" in your diet. Soluble fiber is recommended to lower the LDL - eat foods with whole grains - fruits - veges - nuts like walnuts or almonds are great - legumes etc are all great sources of soluble fiber. Exercise is the Best way to raise your HDL. Increase your exercise program with a goal of 30 minutes most days of the week - also including weight training with an aerobic program will produce even more benefit for you. Making lifestyle changes can almost always help reduce cholesterol levels naturally. Hope this is helpful

exercise and a controlled diet didnt work for me.
i have a family history of high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

i would love to take herbs instead of meds. but i would be afraid to stop taking my meds.

Same here. Exercise and diet control did not work for me either. My case is also hereditary. Recently, fish oil is very much in the news regarding cholesterol. Anyone know of any visible effects?

We need cholesterol in our bodies to make different chemicals, we also need omega3 & 6 oils in our bodies as good fats that help balance the good & bad cholesterol. Cholesterol melts at 149 degF add lecithin & the melting point is 84 degF add omega 3 & melting point is 0 degF. Flax oil is a good source of amega 3,6,9 oils as a salad dressing or on your toast & lecithin granules can be sprinkled on your food as well, most powdered milk has lecithin in it & this makes a coffee creamier than fresh milk. also vit d3 is also a crucial thing for the correct metabolism & function of the body & by far the best way to get vitD is to spend some time in the sun untill your skin goes flush pink (not burn pink) the more you can expose to the sun the better you will absorb vit D. do not do this behind glass as glass blocks uvb rays & without uvb we subject our skin to a cancer risk, this may also be the case in heavily polluted cities as smog may block uvb. to sum up if you get the right (good) fats in your diet you probably will have victory over your chloesterol problems but you must have cholesterol in our system if it is too low i understand we are at possible risk of stroke or related illnesses.

I am writing this so I may help someone else who has high cholesterol. I am a 45 year old male who had moderatly high cholesterol 214 with LDL of 152 HDL 43 and tryglycerides of 100.

I watched everything in my diet and only ate heart healthy foods and was suprised to see these numbers come back from the lab as I considered myself in shape at 195lbs 5'11" I took a natural fiber supplement every day and only ate lean
poultry and fish with dark green salads. I also took a fish oil supplement.

After changing a few simple things in my diet for 6 months I was almost shocked to
see my blood work just yesterday. Total cholesterol 159 LDL 102 HDL 43 and tryglycerides 79. I believe that the couple of adjustments I made to my diet made a big difference and would help everyone who puts forward the effort.

The first thing I want to say is that you have to put your best foot forward in trying to lower cholesterol, this is a lifelong commitment and whether you have to use statins or not may depend upon how motivated and commited you are to see if you can do it a natural way first.

First thing is to get your eating under control. Try to keep a weight that is
more like you high school weight. When you eat food your body has to digest everything you eat which means the more you eat the more cholesterol your body is going to make. One wise doctor told me a long time ago "only eat what your body needs". You should begin to see your weight drop to a more ideal level. I was 195lbs and after 6 months I now weight 172lbs and can get into clothes I still have from high school.

Next I would recommend taking a good soluable fiber supplement, PRO FIB worked for me and has a whopping 6 grams of soluable fiber per scoop. I take 2 scoops in morning and 2 scoops at dinner time. I have noticed I am very regular after taking
this which I am sure is also good for eliminating cholesterol from your body along with losing weight.

For breakfast I eat oat bran with a handfull of walnuts (2 of the best cholesterol fighters) along with promise power shot (contains stanols). I then take 2 plant stanol tables that contain 900mg of stanols. You can buy the power shots from krogers and you can buy the caplets of stanol tablets from CVS or Costcos.

The breakfast sets up the rest of your day eating habits. You should be very full
from eating the bowl of oats and taking the PROFIB. (It may take your body time to
get use to this as this is a lot of good fiber going into your body at one time.
You may want to gradually introduce this into your system.

For lunch try to only eat something heat healthy like a green salad, beans or a meat substitue. You may not be very hundgry until around dinner after such a heaty breakfast. Remember, only eat enough to keep yourself from getting too hungry.

For Dinner I eat Bocco burgers which are soy burgers or a black bean burger. Again very heart freindly along with low carb bread, tomatoes and Smart Balance Mayo.
I also took 2 more scoops of PROFIBE.

The key here is to not over eat and take in plenty of soluable fiber and stanols.
Also do some sort of heart raising exercise if not everyday then every other day.

I know that this routine may seem a bit extreme at first but it can be done and your body will become gradually use to it and thrive on it. I also eat lean meats at dinner and lunch a couple times a week and I also eat fresh fruit at breakfast or lunch. Eat fruits and vegetable preferable raw but do not over eat.

Summary:

1) Do not over eat only eat when your body needs food. It may take time to shrink your stomach if you are use to the full filling after every meal.

2) Take PROFIB fiber drink. Soluable fibre lowers cholesterol and fills you up.

3) Take Stanols which are Heat Association recommended.

4) Get to your ideal weight.

5) Only eat heart freindly foods.

Feedback is welcome.

Let's backup for a minute and get a full understanding of cholesterol and its affect on the body. The key to fixing something is to understand it first.

The belief most people have regarding high cholesterol is that it causes, or leads, to heart disease. This is not necessarily true. In fact, it has been linked to an inflammatory issue. Over time, cholesterol becomes oxidized (charged) and begins to stick to the walls of the arteries. Eventually, this can lead to blockages and, as a result, heart attack or stroke.

Now, by taking anti-oxidants (vitamin supplements, fish oil, etc) you can reduce the charge the cholesterol carries. Less of a charge = less stickiness.

Here's an example. Let's say you have a doorway and some balloons. You rub a balloon on your head, just like when you were a kid, and you essentially rub off electrons which produces a charge. You can now stick the balloon to the doorway. If you continue grabbing balloons and sticking them to the doorway, eventually you are not going to be able to get through the doorway. The balloons represent cholesterol in your body, the doorway your arteries. The secret is to prevent those electrons from being "rubbed off" and sticking to your doorway/arteries. Taking supplements can protect your cholesterol from getting charged. And if those "balloons" aren't charged...well, then you could have a room full of "balloons" which will not stick to the "doorway".

Many of the individuals are on the right path with their suggestions. Diet is very important. And yes, fish oil is getting alot of attention nowadays. In fact, studies have shown that fish oil is actually more effective in preventing death from heart disease more than statin drugs (Lipitor, Crestor, etc). Grape seed extract is another important supplement as it is a natural anti-inflammatory. Olive oil also works well. A study was done on countries with the highest levels of olive oil consumption. The island of Crete, off the coast of Greece, had the highest consumption of olive oil and their death rate from heart disease is 40 TIMES lower than in the U.S.

I've been taking a pharmaceutical grade multi-vitamin (with an olive oil extract), fish oil, and grape seed extract and have seen my cholesterol levels drop significantly. Take a look at my profile for more info on the specific products I take and now market.

Olive oil, lots of high grade fish oil (read up on Dr. Barry Sears for more info). Also, I take a supplement called "red yeast rice extract" - which should be taken in combination with CoQ10 as well.