I am new to this board,but am finding it very informative. I am 50 yrs old and have always had high cholesterol around 220 to 240. It runs in my family. my dr. said if i watch my diet and exercize he would think of postponing taking statins. Well i do all the right things and have started taking garlinaise 4000. Reasearched it and thought it would be good to help lower my count. Took my last blood test after being on it for 3 months and my dr. called me and said my counts went up to 280 and i have to take a statin now. he questioned what was going on--why the change? I understand that the garlic can actually elevate the levels initially. the company told me it takes 16 weeks at least to see changes. Should i stop the garlinais? or take lipitor? :wave:

Lady,
I guess garlic for 3 months didn't work for you. This should not surprise you. At least you can be reasonably sure it didn't hurt you. Unless the "garlinase" is a radical departure from plain old garlic.
I get mine in PASTA ALIA e OLIO.
I take Lipitor, too.:D and you must make your own decision about that but what you HAVE discovered is that the garlinase, whatever that is, belongs in the toilet! You can take the statin or work your way though the hundreds of supplements that claim cholesterol control. Don't be surprised, though, if they are all a crock.
There is one exception: nicotinic acid (niacin) in several grams a day dosage has been PROVEN to improve blood lipid numbers, especially HDL.
Do you have your last breakdown (LDL HDL and triglycerides?)

Lady,

THere are a few on this site (Lenin being one) who are radically opposed to all supplements (except Niacin) - so don't be conned into Statins based on one person's subjective opinion.

Many have been helped by statins, but many (I suspect far more than we have been told) have been seriously harmed by them.

Read some of the past posts on this site, and do some independent research on your own.

Do you want to be on a prescription medicine for the rest of your life? - because that is exactly what will happen if you go on statins.

Try some lifestyle changes before taking any cholesterol meds (reduce intake of saturated fat, anything with the word 'Hydrogenated' in the ingredient list, get more exercise, maintain a normal weight, cut back on sweets and alcohol, and eat more fruits and veggies. Concentrate on carbs that have a low glycemic index. And EXERCISE if you don't already. Avoid margarine and butter, use Olive Oil. Some useful supplements are: Omega-3 Fish Oil, Niacin (you may need time to get used to it -start off slow), NATURAL vitamin-E, folic acid, CoQ10...

HubbleRules
:cool:

LadyD392,

Can you please provide your HDL, LDL, and triglycerides? A total cholesterol number alone doesn't say very much.

Garlic may or may not lower total cholesterol. Certainly it shouldn't raise it. If it raises anything, it should be your HDL. I've found that a garlic supplement which has been standardized for at least 4000mcg allicin has helped boost my HDL. I believe that Garlinase is also standardized for allicin, and is one of the better known garlic supplements.

Regardless of whether or not it lowers your total cholesterol, garlic is still beneficial in other respects. A study in Germany showed that taking garlic supplements increases the flexibility of the aorta, the main artery carrying blood from your heart to the rest of your body. The aorta naturally stiffens with age, but the aorta of the garlic-takers in the German study was on average 15 percent more elastic than that of other men in the same age group. Another German study suggests that garlic not only prevents the buildup of plaque in arteries but may even reduce it. Patients who took garlic supplements markedly slowed their rate of plaque buildup compared to the control group.

If you are looking for supplements then there have been studies done by the USDA indicating that taking small cinnamon capsules (1 gram) once a day can lower levels from like 15-30 percent . Also lowers blood glucose levels by almost as much. this is right off the the USDA site . Google on cinnamon ,cholesterol levels and you'll find a lot of hits . Just started this a little while ago and haven't had a test yet but i'll let you know once I get a test .

Have any of you guys coinsidered eating FOOD to provide these things? Unless I miss my guess, the world provided garlic and cinnamon LONG before the vitamin shoppes conned everyone into taking them in capsule form at a 10,000% markup.
What's next, protein in a pill...oh, wait, that's already being peddled.

Like I said, Lady, the choice whether to take the statin is yours. In the meantime you could spend a LIFETIME working tyour way through the vitamin store...I'm sure there are no shortages of encapsulated things that claim cholsterol benefits...enough for many decades. Don't be surprised if all are as good as the "garlinase."

How did diet changes work for you? That MAY work and should have been the first thing you tried; the crap at GNC certainly won't...except the niacin: one lone product on the shelves that HAS BEEN PROVEN to lower cholesterol and raise HDL.

thankyou everyone for your responses. It seems like i was not specific enough, but i will post my counts, so this might make more sense. total cholesterol is 281---tri-172---HDL-52--LDL 195. LAST YEAR MY COUNT WAS 220. Also called my gyn and she said that at my age being 50 there may be a drop in estrogen and cholesterol levels can be affected. I watch what i eat-- exercize and my weight is good. It is hereditary. I still want to use the garlinais for another month and see what happens. I also added apple pectin and soy to my already vitamin regimen. What do you think? :rolleyes:

THANKS FOR YOUR INPUT, BUT I EAT PASTA ALIO E OLIO ALL THE TIME , MY WHOLE LIFE IN FACT. hIGH CHOLESTEROL RUNS IN MY FAMILY. cAN MENOPAUSE BE A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR? THANKS

And what about people who cannot stand statins? My husband or myself cannot take them. Terrible muscle pain.

I had my cloresterol checked when I was in my 20's and it was 170. My doctor told me if it was any lower I would be dead. My, how times have changed. Anyway, I have gone through the dreaded menopause and it was 177 the last month. I honestly don't know if it is higher when you are actually going through it. I've only had it checked two or three times in my life.

Jane

I had my cloresterol checked when I was in my 20's and it was 170. My doctor told me if it was any lower I would be dead. My, how times have changed. Anyway, I have gone through the dreaded menopause and it was 177 the last month. I honestly don't know if it is higher when you are actually going through it. I've only had it checked two or three times in my life.

Jane

I have read where menopause has an effect on your numbers, but like anything, they change their minds every 6 months. Your right, now 170 they would tell U to keep it there, but before it was too low. Good grief, someone make up my mind. Half the time I really, really wonder if even they know what the heck is right or wrong. Every person is different, so what may be high for one, is fine for another. Noone has convinced me yet elevated cholesterol is as bad as they make it out to be unless it is off the wall.

Regarding the question "Can menopause be a contributing factor," here are a couple of interesting quotes, both from government sources:

From http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/health/highcol/medicine.htm

In addition, if you are a woman going through or past menopause, your doctor may talk with you about estrogens. Sometimes called Estrogen Replacement Therapy, this can lower blood cholesterol levels, and may make it unnecessary to take a cholesterol-lowering drug.

and from http://newscenter.cancer.gov/cancertopics/understandingcancer/estrogenreceptors/Slide5

The net effect of estrogen's action on liver cells is to increase the amount of HDL cholesterol and to decrease the amount of LDL cholesterol. By increasing HDL and decreasing LDL, estrogen helps to lower the risk of heart disease. As you probably know, hormone replacement therapy used to be looked upon more favorably because of the possible improvement in risk regarding CHD for postmenopausal women. Now the attitude seems to have shifted to "use only the minimum amount necessary" because of the link between HRT and breast cancer.

Regarding the questions about the garlic supplement: I can't quote a source where I read this, but I recall reading six months or a year or more ago about some study that showed a good correlation between eating garlic (the real thing) and either lowered cholesterol or lowered rates of CHD. Sorry, I can't remember which, but I think it was the former. But it showed no statistical difference between the control group and those who took a garlic supplement. Of course, it could easily depend upon the exact formulation of the supplement, so it doesn't say anything about the worth of garlinaise 4000. But I think it does show that we can't assume that just because a specific food or nutrient in food is great for a condition, that a supplement will necessarily also be good. It could easily be that there is some "magic" in the particular chemical compounds in the food that may very well be lost by taking a supplement. So in this respect, I agree with Lenin. I think we should try to get as many of these "good things" in actual food if at all possible and try to keep our reliance on supplements only to those where we just can't eat that much to get the amount we think we may need directly from food.

I know when I was on HRT my HDL was much higher, but these days they are getting so they don't want to prescribe it like before and get U off it as soon as they can.

Also agree about the supplements. Some are very good and will help, but eating the actual good foods is more beneficial. I love garlic anyway, so have no problems using it in many things. Seeing I had problems with Niacin, I looked up the best foods to eat that contain Niacin, so guess I will just have to eat more of them.