What's your TOTAL cholesterol?

S

soflsun

New Member
Now the ratio is probably more important.  I have low cholesterol now, used to be high...but my HDL stays low as well.

Total - 124
HDL - 43
LDL - 71
VLDL - 10

My triglycerides  are <100 as well.

*My numbers used to be OFF the chart...but with quitting smoking, alcohol, and working out everything has gotten pretty good.  

Also, with supplementation of Red Yeast Extract, the stuff truly works like a miracle (it's a mix of monocolins - the stuff that statins were derived from) mt numbers went from about 207 to 112 in just the first 2 months!!  I had to drop the dosage though because it kept my HDL too low as well.
 
Your numbers are excellent, Soflson! If you want to try to boost your HDL taking Niacin is about the only over the counter supplement that will help. Yours looks fine, though.
 
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(leegee38 @ Oct. 07 2007,22:45)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">
If you want to try to boost your HDL taking Niacin is about the only over the counter supplement that will help.

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Agreed, but Niacin can (and frequently does) cause uncomfortable hot flashes. I've tried it and concluded it wasn't worth it...
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(TunnelRat @ Oct. 08 2007,12:20)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Agreed, but Niacin can (and frequently does) cause uncomfortable hot flashes. I've tried it and concluded it wasn't worth it...  
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There are two possibilities:

1. You can take a baby aspirin about 30 minutes before taking the Niacin. It tends to calm the flushing reaction down tremendously.

2. You can take Inositol Hexanicotinate as Niacin. It does not cause the flushing sensation but seems to have the same impact on cholesterol. It might require a slightly higher dosage is all. To my knowledge IH is the only non-flush version of Niacin that actually works aside from prescription versions like Niaspan.
 
I thought some of the unhydrogenated oils were supposed to rasie HDL also...I've heard that raw almonds, olive, fish, and flax oil specifically are supposed to help. Any experience with those?
 
Just got my blood work done in May.

Total Cholestol: 123 (125-200)
HDL: 40 (&gt;40)
LDL: 73 (&lt;130)
Triglycerides: 50 (&lt;150)
Blood Sugar: 77 (65-99)
Liver Function: Normal
Thyroid Function: Normal
Blood Count: Normal
Pulse: 58bpm
Pressure: 110/59

I take 6g standard dose enteric coated fish oil caps daily. HDL bugs me a little bit, but from what I understand its the ratio of HDL to LDL that is important.

Edit: I also eat 1-2oz of mixed nuts a day. I also added more stuff above.
 
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(soflsun @ Oct. 08 2007,18:58)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I thought some of the unhydrogenated oils were supposed to rasie HDL also...I've heard that raw almonds, olive, fish, and flax oil specifically are supposed to help. Any experience with those?</div>
Unsaturated fat intake will lower your bad cholesterol.

I think that's a major problem with these fat blockers such as Alli.
 
<div>
(soflsun @ Oct. 08 2007,18:58)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I thought some of the unhydrogenated oils were supposed to rasie HDL also...I've heard that raw almonds, olive, fish, and flax oil specifically are supposed to help.  Any experience with those?</div>
Those are all healthy fats to take, but no real positive impact on HDL levels in my experience. I have used all of them and continue to take fish oil and almonds.
 
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(soflsun @ Oct. 09 2007,12:58)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I thought some of the unhydrogenated oils were supposed to rasie HDL also...I've heard that raw almonds, olive, fish, and flax oil specifically are supposed to help. Any experience with those?</div>
unhydrogenated oils make up a lot of different fatty acids.

oleic acid will typically have a small to no effect on HDL. n-3 lipids, such as ALA, EPA, DHA can have a skizoid effect on hdl.

Small doses can have no effet, high doses can raise or lower it. Same with n-6 fats.

Some of the saturated fats will raise HDL, but also raise LDL to a small, or large extent.
 
My cholesterol was high last time I had blood work done. It was 204. I don't remember the ratios, but they weren't good either. This was over a year ago and I wasn't working out or eating well. I should have it checked again to see if diet and exercise have improved my numbers. I've never been below 190, though. High cholesterol runs in my family, on both sides.
 
My last couple readings were terrible. One was 250 and then I blew the machine up at 280, lol. Beginning to think it was genetics so I decided to put it to the test. Here is what I did:

Got deeper into my current HST cycle.
Getting my tabata frequency in.
On a cut and have lost about 7lbs.
Added more oatmeal to my diet
Added more green tea
Leaned up my diet
Added plant sterols to my diet
got my total fiber in line
cut back on the drinking
started back on creatine
cut eggs out of the diet

Might be a few other things I have thrown at it but drawing a blank right now. Figured I would try everything I have read that makes a difference without actually taking cholesterol drugs.

Went back to get the total # checked a little less than a month later. The nurse gave me a hard time telling me I was wasting my money, etc. for coming in only a month later. She says that I won't notice a difference that soon. It's only $5 and I wanted to see if I was going in the right direction.

Well I proved her wrong! The results came back and my total # was 190. I was very pleased with that. A 90 point drop in less than a month. I will keep it up for the rest of this cycle and go get the entire profile done.

Keystone
 
sol,

I am interested this red yeast extract. I will search around but what kind of dose and name brand do you take?

Keystone
 
key,

I use a red yeast product from Hi-tech pharmaceuticals.  I chose it because I saw several articles mentioning that the active compounds (monocolins) were not standardized in most extracts, and some didn't even have ANY of the active ingredients.  This brand is not only standardized, but it is really potent (4x as much monocolins as many other brands).  Anyway, all I can say is it worked like a miracle for me.  The doctor TOLD me I had to go on Zocor, but I took this instead and after 2 months he said just continue with the treatment!  I didn't ever tell him I didn't take the Zocor (actually generic simvastatin).  Do some research and you will see the studies, they are pretty easy to find online.  Here's a link to the one I swear by. Originally I took one in the morning and two at night, but now I just take 1 and 1 and everything has stayed down.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/ht/red.html
 
soflsun,

Thanks the link. I see two of the red yeast products on the site have warnings about taking the supplement if you are taking statins, have liver disease or consume more than a couple alcoholic drinks a day. All of the other products (including the one you recommended) didn't have such a warning. Interesting.

Keystone
 
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