Re: high cholesterol - help

May 15, 2008

In your shoes I might try to find an ND or medical practitioner who

specializes in these situations, believes in non-statin whole foods,

and actually shows results. (I would ask to interview patient

successes for example.)

Next best - check out " Track Your Plaque. " If it's really heart

disease you're worried about, cholesterol panels are a poor predictor.

http://www.trackyourplaque.com/fo02-00whytrack.asp

Third best - if I chose to do it on my own - I would remove the

sources of that high triglyceride number (prolly sugars and starches)

and add weight training to get that HDL up. What a drop he had! very

interesting.

And I would also say to him, don't worry, there are lots of things to

try yet.

Connie

--- In , " Karin " <roundhouse208@...>

wrote:

>

> Hello,

> I've been a member of this group for many years and used to read a

lot but have been on no mail for quite a while, just because it's

hard to handle the volume of e-mail.

>

> Anyway, I've got a question about high cholesterol concerning my

husband. I'll try to make this short as I can.

>

> A bit of history. He's 43, maybe about 20 lbs. overweight but

doesn't look heavy because he's tall.

> He does have family history of heart disease from both parents.

>

> He initially had high cholesterol reading a few years ago.

> Basic numbers were Total-246, Triglyceride-194, HDL-49, LDL-165,

Chol/HDL Ratio 5.0

>

> They told him he needs to take Crestor, so he did. (against my

wishes) May 06

>

> 2 months (July 06) later another blood test showed:

> Total-134, Triclyceride-74, HDL-50, LDL-72, Chol/HDL ratio 2.7

>

> Great response, they said. Keep taking the Crestor.

> Also, his dad is a MD and regularly supplies him with Crestor for

FREE (what a deal :-/)

>

> Side effects he experienced were not being able to think or

concentrate as well. He is a programmer and needs to think clearly

for his job. He said he noticed feeling kind of like he's in a fog.

>

> He stopped taking Crestor about 4 months ago to experiment.

>

> We tried changing his diet, limiting carbs, cutting out vegetable

oil/trans fat. Read all kind of books (NT, Sharwtzbein, No-

Grain-Mercola, other low-carb books).

>

> We drink raw milk, use butter and coconut oil mostly for

cooking/eating. I try and make good, whole food for him. Problem is,

he cheats at restaurants, more than he thinks, and seems to always

reach for food that isn't the best for him. He has a lot of

weaknesses and has trouble giving up food that he knows isn't

healthy, although doesn't eat a lot of that stuff.

>

> He also drinks MonaVie every day (high antioxidant juice) to

hopefully help with high cholesterol.

>

> He got another blood test yesterday. Here are the new numbers:

> Total - 205, Triglyceride-189, HDL-27, LDL-140, Chol/HDL Ratio 7.5

>

> The nurse said he's at great risk for a heart attack.

> I also read a small bit in the Mercola book which basically said

that with numbers like my husband has, he has an imminent

cardiovascular problem. Dr. Mercola also mentions something about

familial hypercholesterolemia, and if you have this, diet alone may

not help cholesterol problems. (I'm not sure if my husband has this

condition, though)

>

> I'm about ready to give in and tell him to start taking Crestor

again. I don't want him to take that stuff but what else can he do?

>

> Can anyone offer any suggestions? He doesn't take any other

supplements right now besides MonaVie.

> Please point us in the right direction.

>

> thanks,

> Karin

>

May 15, 2008

Thanks for the suggestions Connie.

How would I go about finding a ND or doc like we need in the Phoenix, AZ area?

Karin

>In your shoes I might try to find an ND or medical practitioner who

specializes in these situations, believes in non-statin whole foods,

and actually shows results. (I would ask to interview patient

successes for example.)

And I would also say to him, don't worry, there are lots of things to

try yet.

Connie >>

May 15, 2008

Hi Karin,

> Can anyone offer any suggestions? He doesn't take any other supplements

> right now besides MonaVie.

> Please point us in the right direction.

Well, to begin with any fruit juice is going to raise his blood

lipids, not lower them. The antioxidants you want to protect LDL from

oxidation (it is only oxidized LDL that can contribute to heart

disease) are coenzyme Q10 and vitamin E. CoQ10 is dominant and

vitamin E is not effective with it. If you want to supplement with

one thing, I'd choose CoQ10, and if two things, I'd add 400 IU or so

of vitamin E as mixed tocopherols (not alpha-tocopherol). Like Connie

said, the sugars and starches are going to raise his lipid levels,

especially TG, but also LDL levels, especially anything with fructose,

such as fruit juice and anything made with table sugar.

Exercise is important, weight lifting is best, and it is important to

match carb intake to exercise level. Exercise is his excuse for

eating carbs. If he doesn't exercise, tell him he can't have any. If

he exercises a little, he can have a little, if he exercises a lot, he

can have a moderate amount. (But focus on starches to get glucose

instead of fructose).

He is not at imminent risk for a heart attack. His blood levels may

contribute to a more rapid development of atherosclerosis, but this

takes time. No one as far as I know believes that lipid levels are a

main cause of a heart attack. Rather, the rupture of the fibrous cap

on a well developed (over a long time) atherosclerotic lesion is

considered to be the main cause by mainstream scientists. So he has a

little bit of time to figure it out.

What is he doing different now that he was not doing *before* he went

on Crestor? Seems like everything is worse now (?)

Remember that it is oxidized LDL, not LDL itself, that can contribute

to heart disease, and the effect of HDL, while it might exist, is

exaggerated and HDL-modifying trials have been disappointing. It is

possible to test oxidized LDL, but I don't think the tests are usually

available for non-researchers. However, getting apoB levels tested or

getting pattern A/pattern B LDL tested is available. He should get

these tests. What he should focus on is limiting LDL oxidation, and

this means have a large particle size to his LDL. So he wants a

pattern A LDL and/or a low apoB:LDL ratio (the lower this ratio, the

higher the estimated LDL particle size). The CoQ10 should help limit

LDL oxidation, as that is the natural endogenous master antioxidant of

the LDL particle.

Hope that helps,

Chris

May 15, 2008

On 5/15/08, Masterjohn <chrismasterjohn@...> wrote:

> Well, to begin with any fruit juice is going to raise his blood

> lipids, not lower them. The antioxidants you want to protect LDL from

> oxidation (it is only oxidized LDL that can contribute to heart

> disease) are coenzyme Q10 and vitamin E. CoQ10 is dominant and

> vitamin E is not effective with it.

That should say " not effective without it. "

Chris

May 15, 2008

I forgot to mention, he should get his thyroid status checked. High

LDL is a sign of hypothyroidism.

Chris

May 15, 2008

Hi

Thanks for your reply.

Okay, I got supplement with CoQ10 and 400 IU of vit. E.

How much CoQ10 per serving/day?

>Exercise is important, weight lifting is best, and it is important to

match carb intake to exercise level. Exercise is his excuse for

eating carbs. If he doesn't exercise, tell him he can't have any. If

he exercises a little, he can have a little, if he exercises a lot, he

can have a moderate amount. (But focus on starches to get glucose

instead of fructose). >

He doesn't exercise. I do tell him that I think that's one of the main reasons

for his cholesterol problems. He doesn't have time or puts low priority on

exercise.

He thinks he gets exercise by doing a lot of walking (has to walk a lot to get

into his work) and occasional yardwork and/or hiking. I don't think this is

enough.

>What is he doing different now that he was not doing *before* he went

on Crestor? Seems like everything is worse now (?) >>

Maybe just getting a little older? Also, he's under a lot of stress, mostly job

stress. I'm not sure what else is different in his life. He's probably eating

more saturated fats. He eats an egg every day. He doesn't put high priority on

eating regularly. Sometimes he skips lunch entirely - at least a few days a

week.

>Remember that it is oxidized LDL, not LDL itself, that can contribute