My LDL is way high. Does anyone know how to get it down quickly?
Will a good stiff round of ABX help? I understand that this occurs with long-term, low-level(?) inflammation. I wonder if the anti-inflammatory properties of ceftriaxone would take it down.
The cardiologist is taking pitty on me because of the awful side effects of the cholesterol lower drugs and my current condition. He is giving me a stay of execution for 3 months.
Any ideas would be appreciated.
I've already found:
Niacin(B-3/Nicotinic Acid)-aspirin 1/2 hour before can prevent flushing, beware liver issues, though more common w/sustained release form
unpasteurized Miso & unpast. Tamari (salty though, which is right up my alley, but not so good for those w/high BP)
Apples Bananas Grapefruit (watch med interactions) Carrots/carrot juice Beets/beet juice Sea Vegetables
Cold-water Fish
Lentils Beans
Barley Brown Rice Oat Bran Nuts & Seeds(ie: sunflower)
Onions Garlic
Glucomanan (???) Guar Gum
I've also read that the size of the smaller, more dense LDL particles makes them more dangerous and that they (I believe recently) found that eggs (without over-heated yolk or becomes bad instead), believe it or not- BUTTER and Niacin are beneficial to fluff them up.
Any other ideas???
Posted by emla999/Lyme (Member # 12606) on :
According to researchers at UCLA taking 2.4 grams of Red Yeast Rice will lower your LDL cholesterol levels as good if not better than the Statin drugs and with fewer side effects.
Just measuring the total LDL cholesterol levels is not enough.
Posted by AliG (Member # 9734) on :
Thanks emla-
Yes I was aware of the Red Yeast Rice, but it does have naturally occurring statins and has the same effect and dangers as the statin drugs.
My dad had a big problem with it ( very scary), so I hesitate to go that route myself. I feel the need to find a better route.
Though I do think that I'd prefer the naturally occurring route first, before an isolated statin drug.
Thanks for the info! Ali
Posted by AliG (Member # 9734) on :
I have also been reading that vegetable oils oxidize and become bad when heated to high temperatures.
I've also read that steamed salmon is actually not as good as salmon that has been pan-fried in butter, and actually may be worse than fast-cooked red meat, because of the more lengthy cooking time.
Lengthy cooking breaks down the good fats into bad.
It really stinks to find out that things that I think are healthier are actually quite the contrary. Posted by Angelica (Member # 15601) on :
Medicinal Asian mushrooms can help lower cholesterol. They also can help with immune issues too.
Skip the soy products they can whack the thyroid and cause other problems.
Posted by AliG (Member # 9734) on :
Thanks, that's good to know. I have the 'shrooms, so I'll take them.
I was also planning to start packing some tofu into my diet, so that's a good warning for me!
Ali
Posted by emla999/Lyme (Member # 12606) on :
Hey AliG,
You might want to have your cholesterol LDL particle size measured or more specifically your particle number measured. The lower the LDL particle number, the larger the LDL particle size.
The LDL particle number is a SIGNIFICANT predictor for Cardiovascular Disease.
You want your total LDL particle number to be low which would indicate a large LDL particle size.
Your particle number should be under 1000 according to the LipoProfile test.
Also, there are several doctors and scientists that believe that having high blood levels of LDL cholesterol is not all that important of a risk factor in developing CVD.
The LDL particle number seems to be a much more important risk factor in developing CVD.
Posted by AliG (Member # 9734) on :
I know that trans-fatty acids can significantly decrease the particle size of LDL and I avoid them like the plague.
I think I would request that the cardiologist test my VLDL before I would agree to take a statin.
Posted by Angelica (Member # 15601) on :
High levels of phytic acid in soy reduce assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc.
Phytic acid in soy is not neutralized by ordinary preparation methods such as soaking, sprouting and long, slow cooking. High phytate diets have caused growth problems in children.
Trypsin inhibitors in soy interfere with protein digestion and may cause pancreatic orders. In test animals soy containing trypsin inhibitors caused stunted growth._
Soy phytoestrogens disrupt endocrine function and have the potential to cause infertility and to promote breast cancer in adult women.
Soy phytoestrogens are potent antithyroid agents that cause hypothyroidism and may cause thyroid cancer. In infants, consumption of soy formula has been linked to autoimmune thyroid disease
Vitamin B12 analogs in soy are not absorbed and actually increase the body's requirement for B12._
Soy foods increase the body's requirement for vitamin D._
Fragile proteins are denatured during high temperature processing to make soy protein isolate and textured vegetable protein._
Processing of soy protein results in the formation of toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines.
Free glutamic acid or MSG, a potent neurotoxin, is formed during soy food processing and added to many soy foods.
Soy foods contain high levels of aluminum which is toxic to the nervous system and the kidneys.
SOY INFANT FORMULA -- BIRTH CONTROL PILLS FOR BABIES
Babies fed soy-based formula have 13,000 to 22,000 times more estrogen compounds in their blood than babies fed milk-based formula._
Infants exclusively fed soy formula receive the estrogenic equivalent of at least five birth control pills per day._
Male infants undergo a ``testosterone surge'' during the first few months of life, when testosterone levels may be as high as those of an adult male.
During this period, baby boys are programmed to express male characteristics after puberty, not only in the development of their sexual organs and other masculine physical traits, but also in setting patterns in the brain characteristic of male behavior.
Pediatricians are noticing greater numbers of boys whose physical maturation is delayed, or does not occur at all, including lack of development of the sexual organs.
Learning disabilities, especially in male children, have reached epidemic proportions.
Soy infant feeding--which floods the bloodstream with female hormones that inhibit testosterone--cannot be ignored as a possible cause for these tragic developments.
In animals, soy feeding indicates that phytoestrogens in soy are powerful endocrine disrupters.
Almost 15 percent of white girls and 50 percent of African-American girls show signs of puberty such as breast development and pubic hair, before the age of eight.
Some girls are showing sexual development before the age of three. Premature development of girls has been linked to the use of soy formula and exposure to environmental estrogens such as PCBs and DDE.
Posted by AliG (Member # 9734) on :
Posted by emla999/Lyme (Member # 12606) on :
AliG,
If Red Yeast Rice isn't an option for you then you could try Curcumin or even Niacin instead.
Apparently, there are quite a few doctors that believe that having high blood LDL cholesterol levels means very little.
If I understand correctly, some doctors believe that the cholesterol particle number and particle size are a more important predictor in developing heart disease.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
If you have too many free radicals (lone oxygen) this will cause LDL to become "rancid" and it will combine with Ca to form plaques that line the arteries.
LDL and HDL are lipo PROTEINS that are needed to carry cholesterol.
Our own cell membranes are made up of nearly 1/2 cholesterol.
Hsia J, Otvos JD, Rossouw JE, Wu L, Wassertheil-Smoller S, Hendrix SL, Robinson JG, Lund B, Kuller LH; for the Women's Health Initiative Research Group.
OBJECTIVE:
The Women's Health Initiative randomized hormone trials unexpectedly demonstrated an increase in early coronary events. In an effort to explain this finding, we examined lipoprotein particle concentrations and their interactions with hormone therapy in a case-control substudy.
METHODS AND RESULTS:
We randomized 16 608 postmenopausal women with intact uterus to conjugated estrogens 0.625 mg with medroxyprogesterone acetate 2.5 mg daily or to placebo, and 10 739 women with prior hysterectomy to conjugated estrogens 0.625 mg daily or placebo,
and measured lipoprotein subclasses by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy at baseline and year 1 in 354 women with early coronary events and matched controls.
Postmenopausal hormone therapy raised high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and particle concentration and reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C; all P less than 0.001 versus placebo).
In contrast, neither unopposed estrogen nor estrogen with progestin lowered low-density lipoprotein particle concentration (LDL-P).
CONCLUSIONS:
Postmenopausal hormone therapy-induced reductions in LDL-C were not paralleled by favorable effects on LDL-P.
This finding may account for the absence of coronary protection conferred by estrogen in the randomized hormone trials.
Very interesting, Spooky! I'll have to read up on Bilberry. I also share your other issues. Have you noticed any benefits from taking it?
Thanks for all the info everyone! Ali
Posted by Nobody (Member # 16041) on :
First of all, forgive my ignorance, AliG, but are you a man or a woman?
I ask this because:
1) men usually have more cholesterol problems from my experience.
and
2) what I would suggest to you would differ depending on whether you are a man or a woman.
(I'm new and don't know all the folks here yet)
Posted by spookydew (Member # 8432) on :
Alig, Thanks for the list!
I researched Hawthorne berry and it's also good for anxiety. Lowers body fat and weight in animals. I think I'll try it.
Must be careful not to take too much d/t cardiac effects.
I just started Bilberry, so we'll see.
Posted by Nobody (Member # 16041) on :
Ok, sorry, no offense. I have a middle-eastern male friend with a similar name...
Testosterone boosting herbs are OUT then.
Flaxseed oil and ground flaxseed, as mentioned before. Fiber helps remove LDL.
Exercise. I'm sure its been mentioned before.
Red wine is iffy - it can increase your HDL, but also your triglycerides. Are those high? If so, cut out alcohol and SUGAR. That will lower your triglycerides and hopefully bring the LDL down with it.
I agree with Angelica that boy + soy = no joy. Males, especially non-adults should avoid it.
Oh, and how is your thyroid? Do you know your basal temp? Sluggish thyroid = elevated cholesterol. Maybe some armour thyroid or at least iodine needed then.
You really seem to be doing quite a bit of good stuff already. Having a genetic predisposition to "bad cholesterol" really makes it tough for some folks, me included.
Certainly, if you do find your magic bullet, let us all know.
And good luck!!
Posted by Marnie (Member # 773) on :
E2 (the bad form of estrogen) kicks in because it is our attempt to activate PKCD...which Bb is inhibiting.
" PGE2, a chief cyclooxygenase product, modulates blood pressure and fertility."
"Prostaglandins can raise or lower blood pressure, and regulate gastric secretions.
They are also are responsible for fevers and inflammations, and if these inflammations occur in the blood vessels around the brain, they result in headaches, or the visual effects and pain associated with migraine.
Other prostaglandins cause uterine contractions, and so can be deliberately administered to induce labour.
Prostaglandins are also used to inhibit the secretion of stomach acids in people with peptic ulcers, treat diabetes and atherosclerosis.
Prostaglandins relax certain muscles and are used to relieve asthma and treat high blood pressure.
Synthesis The prostaglandins are mainly made from arachidonic acid, which itself is synthesised in the liver from linoleic acid found in vegetable oils."
Bb, by virtue of activating TNF alpha and IL1 B, triggers this route:
COX-2 -> PGE-2 -> HO-2.
When in reality what we need to happen is this:
COX-1 -> PGE-1 -> HO-1.
Both of the above process arachidonic acid, but because of TNF alpha and IL 1 B...the wrong COX enzyme is "on".
Translation: TNF alpha *and* our macrophages (think of them as pac-men) trigger NO2 to destroy pathogens.
Just like H2O2 (which kills most pathogens), NO can also kill many pathogens.
Bb has ways to prevent both of these from killing it.
Bb has a protein that locks onto (cytochrome C + NO).
NO is a vasodilator....and as such, will drop our BP.
Personally...I would take one gelatin capsule at dinnertime. It contains nearly all the amino acids (not tryptophan) and is esp. high in a unique amino acid, the smallest one, glycine.
Yes...it is a double edge sword. Bb is depeleting MANY nutrients WE need. We need nutrients to fight too, to MAKE the enzymes, to MAKE the antibodies, etc.
That's what makes this so darned hard.
Posted by wrotek (Member # 5354) on :
AliG , i don't know if there are any oils in tea, but coffee definitely has a lipid fraction. It is the foam over espresso beverage. Notice that filtered coffee does not have foam, that is because paper filter removes most of the lipids.
Posted by Mommy*of*3 (Member # 11688) on :
I hope you are able to stay away from the statin drugs. IMO they are evil and create more problems than they ever solve.
What can help? Diet is so huge. I'm happy you are looking there first. Ground flax is great! You can just sprinkle it on anything and everything. I use it sprinkled on cereal. My toddler eats it sprinkled on applesauce. I use it in baking - just add a few tablespoons to everything I cook.
Oats are very good. oatmeal, homemade oatmeal cookies (add some ground flax and raisins), use whole oat flour to make bread.
Omegas and natural plant phytosterols. We love the Phytomega from Melaleuca. It works so well for helping people naturally lower their LDL and raise the HDL. If you don't use Melaleuca, you might be able to find a similar product out there.
God bless and Healthy wishes to you.
Posted by AliG (Member # 9734) on :
Thanks for all the great info!
Marnie, I was thinking of a protein drink that I have. What type of capsule are you recommending, as I'm not sure what the actual dosage would be in capsule vs drink.
Thanks, Ali
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
I was in Texas!!!! Glad to hear that you actually noticed that I was gone!!
Most mangosteen pills are worthless, but you can take them if you want to.
Xango has a new vitamin packet that contains mangosteen. THAT I would trust. But to lower cholesterol, the juice is best.
Posted by AliG (Member # 9734) on :
Thanks Tutu,
I'm so glad to hear that you were home visiting. You WERE missed! I know that you're good about keeping us worrywarts informed when things are going on, so I figured I would have seen something if you were in trouble.
What are your thoughts on this: (label info)
Mangosteen 6:1 Extract
Supplement Facts Serving Size: 2 Capsules Servings Per Container: 30
Amount Per Serving % Daily Value Mangosteen Pericarp Powder & Mangosteen Pericarp Extract (6:1) ..... 1300 mg *
![[woohoo]](graemlins/woohoo.gif)
and Niacin are beneficial to fluff them up.![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
very scary), so I hesitate to go that route myself. I feel the need to find a better route.![[group hug]](graemlins/grouphug.gif)
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
![[shake]](graemlins/shake.gif)
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I've missed you! I've been hoping you've been someplace fun. ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
I've been drinking green tea like a fiend. ![[kiss]](graemlins/kissing.gif)
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