I figured I’d try here for some advice.
I come from a line of bad genes when it comes to cholesterol and other heart related issues, but I have been doing everything I can to help it. I lift, I run, I eat right 90% of the time, I take NIASPAN now to help with my levels.
Has anyone else had to try and get their HDL levels up, their LDL levels down and get their triglycerides a bit lower? Is there more cardio/walking needed, or cut out more carbs, or take more fish oil? What worked for you?
I have a similar problem. I take resveratrol, niacin, fish oil, and consume MODERATE alcohol.
I think the big “new thing” is the realization that saturated fat isn’t necessarily the devil and that carbs can have a big impact on cholesterol. Yup, drinking a bunch of cokes and eating a bunch of sugar raises cholesterol levels.
However, where we differ is triglyceride levels. Mine have always been low, if yours are on the high side, your weight may be a significant factor. If you are overweight, slimming down should help a lot.
That’s what I’m going to be working on now for the next 3 months until my next blood test. I’m 6’4" tall, weight about 245, and do carry a belly. I really do need to lose some body fat, especially with the way guys look around this place, haha.
I’m going to cut my carbs gradually and really monitor when and what kinds I’m eating and see what that does.
[quote]h0rsepwr wrote:
I figured I’d try here for some advice.
I come from a line of bad genes when it comes to cholesterol and other heart related issues, but I have been doing everything I can to help it. I lift, I run, I eat right 90% of the time, I take NIASPAN now to help with my levels.
Has anyone else had to try and get their HDL levels up, their LDL levels down and get their triglycerides a bit lower? Is there more cardio/walking needed, or cut out more carbs, or take more fish oil? What worked for you?[/quote]
How long, and how much of the Niaspan are you taking? Any problems with it?
That’s the basics.
What are your hdl/ldl/trig numbers?
Losing the visceral fat (the beer belly) will probably help the situation a lot. Seriously.
For fish oil, I’ve seen recommendations for a LOT more than is typical. Up to 3g of actual EPA/DHA per day. that’s 10 regular fish oil pills (fewer if you’re using something concentrated like Flameout).
[quote]philipj wrote:
[quote]h0rsepwr wrote:
I figured I’d try here for some advice.
I come from a line of bad genes when it comes to cholesterol and other heart related issues, but I have been doing everything I can to help it. I lift, I run, I eat right 90% of the time, I take NIASPAN now to help with my levels.
Has anyone else had to try and get their HDL levels up, their LDL levels down and get their triglycerides a bit lower? Is there more cardio/walking needed, or cut out more carbs, or take more fish oil? What worked for you?[/quote]
How long, and how much of the Niaspan are you taking? Any problems with it?[/quote]
I was at 500mg a day, and now am at 1000mg a day. Once a week maybe I would get the intense flushing/burning feeling that would last about 15 minutes, but nothing other than that. I’ve had blood work done and no other issues have shown up.
[quote]EasyRhino wrote:
That’s the basics.
What are your hdl/ldl/trig numbers?
Losing the visceral fat (the beer belly) will probably help the situation a lot. Seriously.
For fish oil, I’ve seen recommendations for a LOT more than is typical. Up to 3g of actual EPA/DHA per day. that’s 10 regular fish oil pills (fewer if you’re using something concentrated like Flameout).
[/quote]
My results from my blood test last week were
HDL - 32 (up from 31)
LDL - 189 (up from 171)
Tri - 210 (up from 171)
I have a similar challenge on my hands. My HDL is good but my LDL is slightly high and I would like to get it down.
I can only really see it being a few things with me. To much red meat, not enough oily fish or stress. I have addressed these now, hopefully it will put things right, if not I will blame the genes.
There’s a video called “Fathead” by Tom McNaughton that raises some questions about fats, carbs, Cholesterol and heart disease.
The basic idea is we are now eating large quantities of foods we never have before (starches and vegetable oils) and we’re also routinely getting health problems that were previously uncommon (heart disease, obesity and diabetes).
Google “saturated fat” and “benefits”. You will get a lot of very interesting articles challenging our current beliefs about the “dangers” of saturated fat and cholesterol in our diets.
In my family everyone has high cholesterol (except my father, but he’s on rosuvastatin, so he’s a cheater… 
). Me too, though my triglycerides are normal, my LDL is quite low, and my HDL is through the roof, giving a total cholesterol slightly above the normal range (5-10%).
These were my latest results, before that I had incredibly bad blood lipid levels. I’ve made adjustments in my diet. In my “bad lipid days” I’ve only eaten lean products, used vegetable oils (linseed, pumpkin, sunflower, olive) and stayed away from everything saturated fat in it.
Now, I have 8 whole eggs per day, with lot of butter, heavy whipping cream, pork, beef, additionally 4-5 grams of fish oil, and I use ground flax seed in cakes, pastas and everything which requires flour as an ingredient.)
I have lot of saturated fat, some healthy N3-s, trying to avoid N6 FA-s, and veggie oils, I cook everything with butter and heavy cream, I eat my whole eggs and fatty meat, and my blood lipid levels are way better when I’ve “eaten the right kind of food for my heart”…
Oh, my carb intake is also a way lower. I don’t eat any kind of fruits (fear of that evil fructose, heheh), I’m having some veggies and starchy carbs only in the morning, pre-post workout. (Hmm and a shitload of simple carbs during training, I don’t know whether they’re good or not, definitely gives me incredible energy shot) and a way more fat, mostly saturated.
I suggest you a few sites to read about, if you want lower cholesterol or triglyceride levels:
I know that I don’t exactly follow their guidelines, as I have relatively high carb intake (around 100-150 or sometimes up to 200 grams per day) but their ideas about fat intake worth a hearing. I hope you’ll have success with getting better results next time 
I come from a family of bad cholesterol and heart disease. I’m going to take the 1000mg of NIASPAN, try and lose weight, cut carbs a bit and add even more fiber through veggies and see what happens. If the numbers don’t change, I’m going to try the aditional fat to the diet.
I posted elsewhere about this some time ago, but I also have screwy lipid values but have never been more than a few pounds overweight. At their worst
Cholesterol - 370
Triglycerides - 2,700
Medicine caused muscle pain and did not get them in line with what is supposedly good. Once I started eating more protein and fats and eliminated ‘simple’ carbs, my values fell dramatically. Now I take niaspan and try and keep my carbs low. Latest values are Cholesterol 210 and Triglycerides 180. Carbs definitely throw my lipids out of whack.
[quote]cirerecrem wrote:
I posted elsewhere about this some time ago, but I also have screwy lipid values but have never been more than a few pounds overweight. At their worst
Cholesterol - 370
Triglycerides - 2,700
Medicine caused muscle pain and did not get them in line with what is supposedly good. Once I started eating more protein and fats and eliminated ‘simple’ carbs, my values fell dramatically. Now I take niaspan and try and keep my carbs low. Latest values are Cholesterol 210 and Triglycerides 180. Carbs definitely throw my lipids out of whack.[/quote]
DANG IT! You beat my high score. Mine was 361 at it’s worst, but mine came from a 295 LDL level, with low triglyceride levels. I also had a similar experience with medication and sugars.
[quote]cirerecrem wrote:
I posted elsewhere about this some time ago, but I also have screwy lipid values but have never been more than a few pounds overweight. At their worst
Cholesterol - 370
Triglycerides - 2,700
Medicine caused muscle pain and did not get them in line with what is supposedly good. Once I started eating more protein and fats and eliminated ‘simple’ carbs, my values fell dramatically. Now I take niaspan and try and keep my carbs low. Latest values are Cholesterol 210 and Triglycerides 180. Carbs definitely throw my lipids out of whack.[/quote]
2700?!?! How is that possible?! Holy crap.
[quote]h0rsepwr wrote:
[2700?!?! How is that possible?! Holy crap.[/quote]
Probably not fasting.
You have to ask yourself if you still buy into the whole bad cholesterol = heart disease theory. There’s mounting evidence that isn’t true. Try googling “Linus Pauling Protocol.”
You might also consider a cardiac calcium scoring test if you’re worried. A lot of times labs will run a sale on this test, like for $75 total, without insurance.