[loyst]

Hi. I have just started on cholesterol pills to try and bring down my cholesterol levels. I come from a family of heart disease, diabetes and osteoporosis. I walk a lot, try and watch what I eat. I've tried many diets in the past and quit doing the diet thing about 6 years ago. I am
4 feet 11 1/2 inches and about 175 lbs. I really want to get my cholesterol down and reverse my osteopenia in my back. I would really like some imput on what type of eating lifestyle I should follow.

[aleka]

For a number of years I have been on Lipitor for my cholesterol. My cholesterol was over 200, and it now runs between 180 & 190. What worked for me was eating a low-carb diet. I gave up eating FAT-FREE anything, as it is loaded with sugar. I now mainly eat reduced fat, and occasionally the real thing, but I make sure the 1st or 2nd ingredient is either olive oil or canola oil. I also stopped eating white pasta and rice, I now eat whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, and whole-wheat (make sure the 1st ingredient says whole-wheat), rye, or pumpernickel bread. Anything that has hydrogenated oil in it I put back on the shelf. I used to eat the way the "experts" told us to eat, but never could get my numbers down. As soon as I started doing things just the opposite, my numbers went way down. Plus I do not eat anything that has more than 5 gm of sugar. This way of eating may not help you at all, some have had their cholesterol rise even higher. What does your Dr. recommend? If your Dr. has given you an eating plan to follow, I would follow that and see what happens when you have blood work again. I wish you the best of luck.

[loyst]

Thanks for your reply. My doctors has put me on Zocor samples to try. She also said to cut as much fat out of my diet as possible. I also have had problems with my blood sugar count previously so I am trying harder to cut out sweets and check labels better at the store. I also was told by my employer
(radiologist) not to have any processed foods anymore. One step at a time I guess. I am starting to do a lot of reading about low cholesterol diets, etc. A change can be a good thing!!!!

[aleka]

There is a book out, The Glucose Revolution, that has a glycemic index for different types of foods, as to what spikes your insulin levels very fast, and what doesn't. This might interest you because of your blood sugars. That's the best way to make life long changes is one step at a time. In addition to high cholesterol I also have high triglycerides and when I stopped eating FAT FREE they also went down.

[loyst]

Thank you. I've decided to do some in depth reading on lowering cholesterol and start planning what to cut out of my diet and what to include more of. I'll check on-line at my library for the book you have recommended and check it out.