avoid lipitor

[carolynn]

Good Morning,
Will start by apologizing if my question has already been asked and answered.

My cholesterol is 205, tri' is 106, HDL 36, LDL 152
Cardiologist wants me to take lipitor. Been confirmed that my heart failure is not due to blocked arteries. I am on predinsone (other condition) for year and will remain indefinitely. Web research indicates that predinsone increases cholesterol.

In addition to strict adherence to McD diet plan, do you know of another way to positively affect cholesterol? Flax seed? Psyllum? I make up capsules to take the psyllum, better to just stir it into liquid?

Feeling overwhelmed by shear number of meds, and sure don't want to give up grapefruit. Thank you.

[JeffN]

Hi Carolynn

First, let me remind you that I am not an MD and can not give out medical advice, nor would I.

Good Morning,
Will start by apologizing if my question has already been asked and answered.

My cholesterol is 205, tri' is 106, HDL 36, LDL 152
Cardiologist wants me to take lipitor. Been confirmed that my heart failure is not due to blocked arteries. I am on predinsone (other condition) for year and will remain indefinitely. Web research indicates that predinsone increases cholesterol.

In addition to strict adherence to McD diet plan, do you know of another way to positively affect cholesterol? Flax seed? Psyllum? I make up capsules to take the psyllum, better to just stir it into liquid?

Feeling overwhelmed by shear number of meds, and sure don't want to give up grapefruit. Thank you.

I am sure you are overwhelmed by what is going on. And, you seem to be asking lots of questions and perhaps mixing a few issues up.

So, first things first...

If your heart failure is not due to blocked arteries, what is it due to?

If your heart failure is not due to blocked arteries, then have you asked your MD why they are prescribing statins and how are they going to help?

Either way, the next question is, can this program help lower numbers such as the ones you have?

This program is extremely effective in lowering cholesterol, LDL, and TGs in and of itself. The greater the adherence the greater the results. If this was me, my main concern would be to either follow the program as closely as I could for 30-90 days or if I think I am following the program, to be willing to re-evaluate what I am doing as it is not producing the results that it should be.

You may want to read my comments in this thread

http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6969

If you have done this experiment and applied the program as completely as possible for 30-60 days and you were still concerned about some of your numbers, then we would take the next step and discuss other issues.

Also, I have never known a half a grapefruit a day to interfere with anyones medications.

In Health
Jeff

[JeffN]

An interaction can occur even if you eat or drink a small amount of grapefruit. However, if you like grapefruit and want to continue to enjoy it, ask your doctor if there is a different medicine for you that doesn't interact with grapefruit.

Thanks for the info.

But, I have a better idea (I think)...

...think about this for a minute

If someone is being told to avoid grapefruit because of a statin, it is usually because they are being prescribed the statin for heart disease. We also know that over 90% of heart disease is caused by poor diet and lifestyle. Now, think of all the things we know someone can consume (And is usually consuming) that would contribute to their heart disease and make their cholesterol numbers worse (i.e., dairy products, cheese, eggs, beef, chicken, etc). So, now they are being prescribed a statin and are told to avoid grapefruit as it will interfere with the effectiveness of the medication, and so they avoid it like the plague. But, in reality, what would be more important, avoiding the grapefruit, which may interfere with the medication or avoiding all the foods they are eating that are contributing to their elevated cholesterol numbers and causing their heart disease? (god forbid)

Why directly address the cause of the issue, when we can just ensure effectiveness of medication. That is crazy.

I wish people would avoid those foods that cause heart disease with the same enthusiasm and conviction that they try and avoid grapefruit with.

In Health
Jeff

[SactoBob]

I read your journal and some of your posts. You have come a long way.

I know that you have Dr. Esselstyn's book, and my only thought is that it might be time for a second reading - that did me a lot of good (so did the third and fourth).
Dr. Esselstyn's program is a bit more restrictive than the normal McDougall program. HIs reversal program is directed towards reversing heart disease and bringing cholesterol to rock bottom numbers. His is the most cholesterol reducing study of any published.

Read the part about the details, and the stories of some of the patients that had trouble getting their numbers down. Usually it was a small detail or what seemed to be a harmless habit. There is a better than excellent chance that you can get your total chol below 150 by focusing on the details per Dr. E - without Lipitor - and Dr. E says below 150 is your aim. At over 200, it is pretty likely that you are still consuming some building blocks of cholesterol.

It could be something like using regular soy milk instead of nonfat, or using nuts, or a "bit" of spray oil, or trusting a label that says "fat free" on the front. Jeff's video on label reading is a must, I think, if you are going for low on chol. Commercial interests are very clever in hiding ingredients. Another thing is to avoid flour and other refined products, which will really increase your fiber.

Have you visited Dr. E's website and seen his video and read his articles? Very informative. http://www.heartattackproof.com

In my case, I resolved that I would get below 150, and that I would take Lipitor if I had to. By carefully following Dr. E's program, I got below 150 without trouble, and I think you can too. Oh yeah, I have lost now 45 pounds, and continuing to lose, which also has helped a lot- and it is totally easy - I eat to satisfaction. Doug Lisle's book/videos are excellent in understanding this.

[f1jim]

A year ago I was at 339 TC. I am now at 108TC. I am about to make the leap off of Simvastatin. I have tried a 60 day window without the statin and my TC jumped to 121. My appointment July 5 with the cardiologist will end with him pulling me off the med or ME pulling me off the med. I just think 121 is plenty low to begin reversal and avoid the side effects of the statin. I know I could tighten my diet even further and get lower and that will probably be my next goal. My weight has dropped from 206 to 157 and my TRIGS, CRP, LPa, homocysteine, are also down big-time. This has been life-saving and life-restoring to me. Please give this program a chance to avoid the meds. It will change your life in so many other ways, as well.

f1jim

[SactoBob]

This has been life-saving and life-restoring to me. Please give this program a chance to avoid the meds. It will change your life in so many other ways, as well.

f1jim

I couldn't put it better than that, and that says it all.

Jim and I are not freaks - this is what you can expect with the program, and once out of the "pleasure trap", there is no downside. Great food and restored health.

[carolynn]

I have adhered to the program so have cause to think that the predinsone is the culprit However, this weekend I will reread Dr E and re-evaluate my food choices.

Are there 2 or 3 specific foods that are known to lower cholesterol that I could be sure to include?

Thank all of you for the ideas and reminders. I learn so much here.

[SactoBob]

and oatmeal (probably because of the fiber) will help lower cholesterol. Niacin has some side effects. But you shouldn't need any to get down well below 150. Although you are adhering to the program, I still believe, as DR. E always does, that there is some mischief somewhere in what you are eating, quite possibly without your knowledge. You just shouldn't be doing the Esselstyn program and having a tc of over 200. Are you using a lot of soy products, for example, or zero fat commercial products, or lost of refined products.

You might keep a week diary of everything you are eating, with labels if the food is not whole, and posting it to Jeff.

[f1jim]

I agree with SactoBob on the oatmeal and fiber. I start every morning with oat bran topped with 3 different berries and a sliced banana on top. I also have a large salad with lunch and dinner, topped only with a good balsamic vinegar. I avoid ALL fat-free products because that is a red flag for "highly processed" and around half a gram of fat per tiny serving! I found out most people have about two weeks worth of servings on a single salad. The salads took me from 119TC to 108TC in just a couple of months. Stick to real foods like beans, corn, rice, vegetables. Stay away from as much packaged food as you can. Your eyes will be opened to all the choices you have that you never thought about. Your arteries will thank you.

f1jim

[JeffN]

Soluble fiber is a component of food known to lower cholesterol. So increasing the amount of soluble fiber in your diet will lower your total cholesterol & LDL levels.

The foods that are highest in soluble fiber are Beans, Yams, Oats, Barley & Berries with Beans being the highest. So make sure to include those every day.

Just remember B.Y.O.B. & B.



In Health,
Jeff

[carolynn]

Thank you Jeff
That is exactly the information I was seeking.

[JeffN]

Cinamon, about a teaspoon a day, has been shown to lower Blood glucose, triglycerides and cholesterol by as much as 25% in diabetics. .

Thanks Steve

Unfortunately, the initial results were not replicated in follow up studies.

Vanschoonbeek K, Thomassen BJ, Senden JM, et al. Cinnamon supplementation does not improve glycemic control in postmenopausal type 2 diabetes patients. J Nutr. 2006;136:977-980.

In addition, A recent meta-analysis of all published evidence concluded that, thus far, cinnamon has not yet been shown to have any effect on blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.

Baker WL, Gutierrez-Williams G, White CM, Kluger J, Coleman CI.
Effect of cinnamon on glucose control and lipid parameters.
Diabetes Care. 2008 Jan;31(1):41-3.
PMID: 17909085

and

Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2007 Dec 22;151(51):2833-7 [Cinnamon: not suitable for the treatment of diabetes mellitus]

So, the evidence regarding cinnamon as a treatment for diabetes is very inconsistent, suggesting that if cinnamon does work, its benefits are minimal at best.

It does taste good on oatmeal though!

In Health
Jeff

[Steve]

Thanks Jeff. I guess the cinamon thing was too good to be true. I will stop touting its benefits. I guess my good results were do to eating a low fat whole foods vegan diet. I always wondered if the cinamon was helpful. Jeff is there any danger in eating teapsoons of cinamon? I have used cinamon instead of sugar to sweeten oatmeal for years.

[JeffN]

Thanks Jeff. I guess the cinamon thing was too good to be true. I will stop touting its benefits. I guess my good results were do to eating a low fat whole foods vegan diet. I always wondered if the cinamon was helpful. Jeff is there any danger in eating teapsoons of cinamon? I have used cinamon instead of sugar to sweeten oatmeal for years.

Hey Steve

Enjoy the cinnamon!

And there still may be some benefit to it. It is just not as conclusive as once thought.

It probably was everything else you were doing that really mattered.

In Health
Jeff