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LarryUK

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Just a few questions.

I'm 52. A bit overweight( 5'10" and 16st).

I've just had a bad weekend. I thought I'd had a heart attack. I went to hospital etc and they kept me in for tests.

The conclusion was I'd got Angina.

I came out Monday evening. But since then I've had terrible stomach pains at breastbone height plus various other problems.

I've seen my doc today and he say's it's an ulcer and I've got cholesterol of 8.7.

So, he's treating me for that.

My qustions are..

He and the hospital want me to take statins (80mg).

Are they safe? I've read terrible things about them.

Is there a 'natural' way to get it down?

Any other hints would help.

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You can reduce your bad cholesterol though diet and life styles changes. Here are your top foods

 

1. Oatmeal. Not the sugar or HFC laden instant stuff. Get some quick cooking oats and eat a bowl EVERY MORNING. This will help drop your cholesterol like a rock.

 

2. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Want a snack? Eat an apple or orange instead something processed. Leafy greens are your friend: spinach, kale, and baby lettuces.

 

3. If you are going to eat fat, make it the good stuff. Only cook with extra virgin olive oil or rape seed oil. Avocados are a great cheese substitute.

 

Get some exercise. Go for a mile walk in the morning and after dinner.

 

These are my tricks.

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You can reduce your bad cholesterol though diet and life styles changes. Here are your top foods

 

1. Oatmeal. Not the sugar or HFC laden instant stuff. Get some quick cooking oats and eat a bowl EVERY MORNING. This will help drop your cholesterol like a rock.

 

2. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Want a snack? Eat an apple or orange instead something processed. Leafy greens are your friend: spinach, kale, and baby lettuces.

 

3. If you are going to eat fat, make it the good stuff. Only cook with extra virgin olive oil or rape seed oil. Avocados are a great cheese substitute.

 

Get some exercise. Go for a mile walk in the morning and after dinner.

 

These are my tricks.

Do you mean things like Quakers oats or porrige?

I do the walking already.

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You can reduce your bad cholesterol though diet and life styles changes. Here are your top foods

 

1. Oatmeal. Not the sugar or HFC laden instant stuff. Get some quick cooking oats and eat a bowl EVERY MORNING. This will help drop your cholesterol like a rock.

 

2. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Want a snack? Eat an apple or orange instead something processed. Leafy greens are your friend: spinach, kale, and baby lettuces.

 

3. If you are going to eat fat, make it the good stuff. Only cook with extra virgin olive oil or rape seed oil. Avocados are a great cheese substitute.

 

Get some exercise. Go for a mile walk in the morning and after dinner.

 

These are my tricks.

 

Please tell me you mean grape...

 

On the serious side, I'm working on losing weight myself.

 

Cut down on snacks, water, fruits and veggies are good. Just make good decisions and exercise. It works wonders

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Please tell me you mean grape...

 

On the serious side, I'm working on losing weight myself.

 

Cut down on snacks, water, fruits and veggies are good. Just make good decisions and exercise. It works wonders

 

I was being uk friendly. They call it rape seed oil over there. We call it canola.

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Statins - if you've got a competent medical team, they would be monitoring your chemistry to make sure you have no adverse side effects. If you notice any physical symptoms, stop taking the drug and call your doctor. I've been on statins for a few years (diabetic) - no problems.

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If you can do it without the statins - don't take them. While they do lower your cholesterol, the side effects are just too much particularly the ones that are minimalized on the warning sheets. I've been on 3 different ones (Lipitor, Crestor, and Zocor) and had problems on all of them. I have several friends that have also had similar problems. The physical ones are easy for your doctor to spot it's the mental ones that are difficult. They make you lethargic to the point were you really don't care about anything. They cause memory loss, and at least two studies have shown IQ losses in the range of 10 - 15 points. Try diet and exercise and lose a few pounds - any weight loss helps. Look up the Body Mass Index (BMI) and figure out how much you need to lose. If that doesn't work then - try the statins and make sure you (and your spouse/partner and friends) watch for the side effects.

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Limit carbohydrate intake to fresh vegetables and avoid starch and sugars, especially processed.

Drink dry wine

Exercise

 

The last 2 will increase your HDL (good) cholesterol tremendously. The first will help with your LDL or bad cholesterol.

 

I'm 51 and an MD. I am avoiding statins for myself as long as possible (I won't advise you, you have to do what you and your doctor decide you should do).

 

Best regards,

Phil

 

EDIT: oh yea. Don't smoke. Helps with both cholesterols.

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Limit carbohydrate intake to fresh vegetables and avoid starch and sugars, especially processed.

Drink dry wine

Exercise

 

The last 2 will increase your HDL (good) cholesterol tremendously. The first will help with your LDL or bad cholesterol.

 

I'm 51 and an MD. I am avoiding statins for myself as long as possible (I don't want to advise you, you have to do what you and your doctor decide you should do).

 

Best regards,

Phil

 

Yeah, I'm diabetic (Type 2), and have to do that, anyway. In some ways, it's the best

thing, that could have happened, to me. "Having" to alter my diet, that is. It's hard,

at first, but after you get used to it, it's actually hard to go back. You don't realize,

until you've stopped, how much it was effecting your health, and even just the way you feel,

day to day. There are a lot of good products, out there, for folks needing to watch their

intake of starch and sugar. But, the BEST, is "mother nature," in the raw. Processed food,

is a major contributor, to our unhealthy lives. Still, one has to be vigilant, when it comes

to even low sugar stuff. Some of it, has a lot of "fat," in it...no-sugar cookies, for example.

Veggies and fruit (in moderation) are the best. White Flour, and it's products, is another "killer!"

 

CB

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Yeah, I'm diabetic (Type 2), and have to do that, anyway. In some ways, it's the best

thing, that could have happened, to me. "Having" to alter my diet, that is. It's hard,

at first, but after you get used to it, it's actually hard to go back. You don't realize,

until you've stopped, how much it was effecting your health, and even just the way you feel,

day to day. There are a lot of good products, out there, for folks needing to watch their

intake of starch and sugar. But, the BEST, is "mother nature," in the raw. Processed food,

is a major contributor, to our unhealthy lives. Still, one has to be vigilant, when it comes

to even low sugar stuff. Some of it, has a lot of "fat," in it...no-sugar cookies, for example.

Veggies and fruit (in moderation) are the best. White Flour, and it's products, is another "killer!"

 

CB

 

CB couldn't agree more. I taught myself all about it when I realized I was pre diabetic. I had lunch with my 94 French grand mother and started criticizing her for eating steak and she looked at me square in the eye and said "I'm 94 and you're going to tell me how to eat?" (read- fatboy big shot doctor). She had a point. I did some research, altered my diet to avoid sugars and starches and quickly lost 35 pounds and my cholesterol ratio normalized. I wrote a book on the subject I got so into it.

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I wouldn't take any advice from anyone here, whether to take it or not, about a medicine your doctor has already prescribed you. Not sure why you asked here either.

 

I asked here as you can't believe what you're told or what you read on all websites.

I've been reading up on statins and they worry me.

Don't forget. statins are the biggest selling drug in the world now. Do you think that he drug companies want any problems published?

You say why ask here? Why would I ask what pedal to buy or what guitar to buy? Do you trust the dealers?

Forums are one of the best 'truth' finders out there.

I know I can't take everthing as gospel I read here. But it helps make an informed decision.

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Some good practical advice here from day to day experience...

 

As ever, knowledge is power...

 

Garlic and onions have been shown to have some benefits in circulatory issues

 

Moderate alcohol consumption seems to be ok

 

Fish and white meat in preference to red meat....fresh rather than processed

 

Moderate salt intake, possible potassium substitute

 

Some cultural diets worth learning about

 

Chinese etc very good

 

Italian ok without too much cheese and meat content

 

Indian...sometimes too fatty

 

Carribean...very good...rice, beans, fish....

 

V

 

:-({|=

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i read the above post..still, i have 2 questions:

 

why would you ask health questions to a group of online gibson freaks? do we strike you as a particularly healthy crowd?

 

why would an englishman ask health questions to a site that has mostly americans? you are hip that we are top of the health problems list of civilized societies, right?

ok, read the answers you got. notice anything? see a trend here? for most of us here in the u.s., if we had a checkup like yours we would consider that to be healthy and would be celebrating our good results.

 

but, if you really want it, here you go:

take 2 humbuckers, a dead valuable tree, (smartwood ok) and play for 15-20 mins until calmed. be sure to balence with p-90's and fender single coils. adjust volume accordingly and use plenty of tubes.***

 

***discaimer: individual results may vary from patient to patient. avoid driving when it involves music stores and pharmacies, as this may result in adverse gas attacks. if you have an erection for more than 4 hours, call your doctor. side effect may include, but not limeted to more effects, less effects, blown speakers, new speakers, more speakers, tube failure, tube replacement, relationship issues good and bad, or a rise in relationship status. while depression and thought of suicide have not been reported, reports of inflated egos have been reported in a majority of cases, and can become serious if not treated.

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I asked here as you can't believe what you're told or what you read on all websites.

 

Asking anywhere is great, I would trust more other forums on the subject (medical ones) rather than asking for advise on a guitar one. Trying to help, dat's all.

 

I've been reading up on statins and they worry me.

Don't forget. statins are the biggest selling drug in the world now. Do you think that he drug companies want any problems published?

 

I'm sure, there are far more people elsewhere who are more familiar with that particular issue. I cannot forget anything if I wasn't knowledgeable about it in the first place. Again, it would make more sense going to "the people" who focus on medicine.

 

 

You say why ask here? Why would I ask what pedal to buy or what guitar to buy

 

Because this is a more appropriate site to ask about pedals. But it's a free country. Anyway, the issue is that you are trying to take care of yourself, and if I came across insensitively, it's because I'm not allowed to do that with the wife

[bored]. I understand getting help anywhere your can get it, and again, I was trying to steer you in a better direction. All good wishes for you, man.

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I've been on so any different statins and others, they can be bad.

I was flying off into rages, then I would get depressed to the point I didn't care. I would crank up the Hog and lock the throttle and see how tight of a turn I could make riding with no hands. I would get pains all throughout my body. I knew there was a problem, but I didn't do anything until the day I went to kick my dog. I quit taking them that day.

I told my doc what was happening, and he said it couldn't be the drugs, RIGHT. I went on the net and found a lot of reports about statins and the others. Another thing they don't tell you all that often is that if you get off of them after you've been taking them for a while, is that you could die from a sudden heart attack.

Like the others said, if you can control it through diet and exercise, do it.

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All of this is great advice, but I can suggest a couple more tricks. Niacin (aka vitamin B3) has been proven to reduce bad cholesterol and increase good. Recommended levels are around 500 mg per day. It is suggested that you ask your doctor before taking because there are possible effects on the liver, as with statins, and skin "flushing" has been reported. Also, it is possible that B3 can raise glucose levels slightly in diabetics.

 

COQ10 is a natural enzyme that is good for all types of heart disease, esp heart failure, and it is a powerful anti-oxidant, from what I've read. There have been a lot of articles and research done on COQ10, and the reports vary on how effective it is. Some reports are very positive in the areas of energizing cells in the heart and helping to repair cell damage from a heart attack. Recommended doseage is 200-400 mg per day, and there are no reported negative side effects.

 

Of course, nothing beats eating right and getting exercise. Sorry.

 

Someone mentioned that Chinese food is good. True with a couple of exceptions. Soy sauce and MSG are high in sodium- bad. And the trick to making dark sauces delicious is either brown sugar or molasses, both very high in carbs. Also, the use of thickeners like corn starch is not good. Stear clear of white rice and eat either wild or brown rice.

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This may sound half silly, but...

 

I'm convinced one's mental outlook is too often ignored.

 

Breathe deeply. Also it's way too bad that too much current martial arts training is sports oriented. In the old days the forms were the major mode of training in and past middle age, and I'm convinced that proper training and body movement and mental state can make major positive differences in one's health, even though one cannot escape one's genetics.

 

I'll admit to prejudice on that.

 

m

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Agreed m. Genetics is a very large part esp with cancer and heart disease, from what I've read. Also, insurance companies trying to make people healthier are recognizing the negative effects of stress.

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I'm type 1 diabetic and I also work as a medical examiner. Ok diet and exercise is the key. Lots of veggies and control your meat and carb intake. White meats are good :) Red meat sits in your stomach too long. Onething you should do is suggest to your doctor about seeing a dietitian, might help you .

 

My lipids were up the last time I had my blood taken and my doctor prescribed crestor, I won't take it !!! too many side effects.

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