Can't believe it, my Mom who is 83 just called me long distance and said her cholestrol is down from 257 to 168 after taking Omega 3 fish oil (1000mgs) 3 times a day for 6 months. Her triglycerides were way too high six months ago and are way way down in safe zone. All that in 6 months and she didn't really change her diet.

I was told to go on the fish oil by my doctor 5 months ago and go for my 6 month check end of this month. Can't wait to see how much I've improved. My triglycerides were good but my cholestrol was a tick too high. I've been doing 2 1200mgs twice a day (total 4,800).

Congratulations on such a positive number. However, for someone 83 years old, the most important test is Homocysteine. I'm 66 years old and I insisted on it in June. This test is a much better indicator if someone is at high risk for stroke or heart attack. It should be below 11.4 according to the Blood Lab. I came in at 12.0. I read several articles that say it should be below 7.0. I'm now taking a Homocysteine Formula which has high levels of folic acid, B12, B6 & TMG. I plan to be tested again for Homocysteine in June 2007. Medicare will cover this test. Have your mother insist on this test.

Mike,

Homocysteine is a risk factor as you say and, if your insurance company will pay for it, it is definitely worth getting tested.
It is probably not the MOST important factor in heart disease and the test, if you must pay for it out of pocket, it costs a FORTUNE! :D
Your level of 12 is considered in the normal range by some prominent sources.

What is the Folic Acid content of the vitamin complex you are taking? Something like 1 mg. of folic acid should give you an appreciable lowering.

The original connection with heart disease was made with people who suffer genetic homocysteinuria, a condititon where vast amounts of the animal protein methionine was converted to homocysteine giving blood values of 10-20 times normal.

From JAMA last month:
Conclusions:
Folic acid supplementation has not been shown to reduce risk of cardiovascular diseases or all-cause mortality among participants with prior history of vascular disease

The whole report:
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/296/22/2720

New research is focusing on independant risk factors for CV disease and one of those factors is homocysteine levels. It is thought that one day, homocysteine screening may be as common as cholesterol screening. For now though, it may not be reimbursed by your insurance.
High levels of homocysteine are toxic to the endothelial lining of arterial walls and can lead to plaque formation. There are many factors and conditions that can lead to increased homocysteine levels including hypothyroidism, pernicious anemia and certain medications.
A normal homocysteine level is between 4 and 17 micromole/liter for fasting samples but can vary according to age, sex and body mass.
Consuming adequate amounts of vitamins B6 and B12 and folic acid though diet and vitamin supplements has favourable results of lowering high levels of homocysteine.

Lenin: Thanks for your reply. Medicare did cover the test. Doctor felt it should be below 10. I read two articles that said it should below 8. Some blood testing centers are using a range of 5 to 15. The Homocysteine formular I'm using has Folic Acid 800 mcg, Vit B6 25mg, Vita B12 1,000 mcg, TMG 1g, grape seed extract 50mg & red wine extract 50mg. Life Extension strongly recommends Homocysteine Test which is how I learned of this test. At 66, I felt strongly about this test which surprised the Doctor when I requested it. Doctor didn't feel Medicare would reimburse but they did. If not, I was more than willing to pay for the test. I plan to be retested for Homocysteine in June 2007.

Mike,


Life Extension (ala Dirk Pearson and Sandy Shaw) has but one goal in life and that is to sell pricey Life Extension vitamins and moronic Life Extension books.

As an informed source, they are...lacking (to be kind)!

"Life Extension" was a great book! It was written back in 1980, and I've still got it. Durk pearson and Sandy Shaw are two pioneers who were well ahead of the times! Lots of good information in that book! It taught me a lot! I guess you can say that it served as sort of a springboard for me into the field of dietary supplements.

I have hypothyroidism underactive thyroid , this scares me!! I have real bad health anxitey my cholestrol was 5.2 should be below 5.

The doctor said its ok, I am 41 years old and am in the menopause so this is also not good for the heart...

I gave up smoking 2 years ago on the 3nd feb this year , and all that I can say is I have never been so ill, I didnt have a thyroid problem or anything before... Mandy

Oh yeah the doctor said my bad cholestrol is good what that mean???

from Arizona: you can say that it served as sort of a springboard for me into the field of dietary supplements.

:D :D :D I'll bet it DID...after all, that's what it was FOR!:jester:

Did you eat the many, MANY grams of arginine and ornithine that they guaranteed would make you live virtually forever by squirting out all that Human Growth Hormone. Yes, of course, they SOLD the stuff at a huge markup!
They were certainly the two CLOWNS of the vitamin MEGA-business.

I have hypothyroidism underactive thyroid , this scares me!! I have real bad health anxitey my cholestrol was 5.2 should be below 5.

The doctor said its ok, I am 41 years old and am in the menopause so this is also not good for the heart...

I gave up smoking 2 years ago on the 3nd feb this year , and all that I can say is I have never been so ill, I didnt have a thyroid problem or anything before... Mandy

Oh yeah the doctor said my bad cholestrol is good what that mean???

I would be more concerned about my hypothyroidism than anything. It CAN cause heart problems. Low metabolism has a definite link to CAD. You need to have a complete throid panel including a FREE T3. If you don't have a freeT3 you are wasting your time. Many times T4 doesn't convert to t3 as it is supposed to. If you are taking only synthroid, it does not help the T3. You might consider Armour Thyroid (a prescription). If you doctor says you don't need a FreeT3 test, get a new doctor. FreeT3 is the active part of the thyroid hormone. Just for fun what was you TSH and are you on any thyroid medication. Thyroid problems should always first be treated before considering treating cholesterol.

:D :D :D I'll bet it DID...after all, that's what it was FOR!:jester:

Did you eat the many, MANY grams of arginine and ornithine that they guaranteed would make you live virtually forever by squirting out all that Human Growth Hormone. Yes, of course, they SOLD the stuff at a huge markup!
They were certainly the two CLOWNS of the vitamin MEGA-business.

Well Lenin, as you know, that book covered a very wide range of topics. Some you may agree with, and some you won't. Certainly many bodybuilders today are taking arginine and ornithine! Overall, I would say that it was a very informative book, full of a lot of good, usefull information. No, I don't think they are clowns. They are two very intelligent people.