statins

A low carb/ high fat diet leads to low Total cholesterol in most people.
Hana

I agree with hanadr. Speaking for myself, a high fat/low carb diet has resulted in an excellent overall lipid profile.

I now know 4 medical professionals who will not prescribe statins except as the last possible resort.

Have a read around on here and make up your own mind - lots of discussion on this subject. They can't force you to take them :wink:

Viv 8)

In addition to a bit more exercise and an overall more 'healthy' diet (few refined carbs, lower carbs in general, more fish, greens etc) cholesterol lowering yoghurt drinks have kept me off statins. Not that this stops my GP from promoting them at every opportunity. She should know by now where she can put them.
Whilst my diet is better than it used to be before diagnosis as T2 I might add I still consume alcohol, cream etc in moderation but then I dont put on weight easily.
If you want to try these yoghurt drinks most of the supermarkets now have their own brands without the need for the expensive Benecol range. Unfortunately, in their wisdom they dont seem to think they can sell them to people without the need for added sugar so you would have too see what effect that has on you. Tesco do a 'reduced sugar' one (lol). You could try that one first.
btw there are also spreads that contain sterols or stanols same as these yoghurts however the increased cost is nothing less than extortion. This also encourages you to slap it on bread which is something I try to limit.

There is no evidence to prove that the 'cholesterol lowering' margarines and drinks do anything but put money in the pockets of the makers. And when they were questioned they could come up with no stats.
Eating normal food is the way to go. Nothing with more than one ingredient.

dawnmc said:

There is no evidence to prove that the 'cholesterol lowering' margarines and drinks do anything but put money in the pockets of the makers. And when they were questioned they could come up with no stats.
Eating normal food is the way to go. Nothing with more than one ingredient.

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Rubbish.

The manufacturers dont need to come up with any stats. Independent scientific evidence has already shown that plant sterols lower blood cholesterol. These are the same plant sterols contained in your so called 'normal' food (whatever that is).

Quite frankly, whatever 'evidence' there may or may not be, I tested the effect of these drinks on my own cholesterol before and after starting them and the improvement was enough to convince ME they worked enough to make a marked difference over and above the change in diet I had already made. So I'm quite happy to put money in the pockets of the makers on this occasion.

bopper said:

what would be the way to lower choestrel without statins
thank u

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There are some foods that will help lower cholesterol, oats, beans, nuts and oily fish as well as sterols. The sterols will bring a maximum of 10% reduction in cholesterol.

Oats are a problem for some diabetics but you could add some to stews, casseroles and soups. Beans can be cooked and added to salads or soups and casseroles. Nuts are a good snack and oily fish like salmon, mackerel are a good thing to eat.

I'm not good at posting links. Google Dr Briffa. He has a good record of challenging the powers that be. On his latest blog he challenges them. Even NICE don't recommend the use of sterols and stanols. And funnily enough Flora is a corporate partner to the British Heart foundation.

Since coming off statins I have experimented with firstly daily Benecol drink - bought it down by 1% - and daily garlic (1 clove finely chopped) which also bought it down by > 1%.
I now take both and along with a low-carb and high-fat diet I have slashed my cholesterol levels.

high fat low carb is working foe me 6.3 to 4.3 in 6 months and im still learning things, olive oil turning to trans fats when cooking on a high heat was this weeks lesson so with knowledge like this I would hope to be even lower next time, I have started taking my statins this last couple of weeks but that was out of fear with some other result, not because I wasn't happy with my cholesterol direction

I lowered mine from 5 to 4 within 6 weeks by eating a handfull of raw baby spinach everynight. 15 mins of cardio training each day and eating 30 grams special k mixed with a bottle of Benecol for breakfast each day.

I lowered my total cholesterol in three months, increased the good HDL and decreased the LDL and triglycerides by including fatty fish such as Salmon, mackeral and sardines in my diet twice to three times a week, oat bran on things like cereal and yoghurt, and having porridge for breakfast. I cut down on the amount of coffee I drink as that can apparently trigger adrenaline levels which in turn can affect blood sugars. I found the book The Essential Guide To Foods That Heal by Suzannah Oliver a nutritional therapist very useful, as it explains what foods are likely to help a range of conditions including Diabetes. Hope that helps.

I forgot to mention in my earlier post that statins actually lower levels of co enzyme q10 in the body, a substance which drops the older you get, and co enzyme q10 is known as anti ageing , and necessary for heart health.... even more important for people with diabetes. I would look into the idea of supplementing with co enzyme q10. Diabetone also have a multivitamin tablet which is formulated to help protect diabetics against complications, which you might want to look up.