I am a 45 y.o. female in good health except for an underactive thyroid. BP is good. Mom (age 85) and 5 siblings (age 48-62) all have high cholesterol. Two of mom's siblings had strokes when they were in their late 80s and early 90s). I first had cholesterol checked in 1993 with these numbers: Total 242, HDL 76, LDL 124, Tri 209, ratio 3.2. Numbers for this year are:

Total: 283
HDL: 75
LDL: 183
Tri: 153

Currently, I am appx. 20 lbs. overweight, but in 1993 my weight was 110 and I exercised daily. Several docs I spoke with are at odds as whether to treat seeing as my HDL is excellent. I seem most concerned about LDL level. One doc recommended Niacin, but I haven't done so. Diet & exercise don't budge numbers. Questions: do these numbers seem worthy of treating, does Niacin help, & would meds affect my good HDL? Also, how does one figure the ratio as this is no longer included in my reports. I remember a ratio of 4.5 or less to be good.

BethS:

Your current ratio is 3.8 (total cholesterol divided by HDL), so you are still within a favorable range. The fact that you appear to have longevity in your family is also in your favor. At least a few of your doctors have demonstrated that common sense hasn't totally become a thing of the past in the medical profession. HDL is important, as is your ratio, and that, coupled with the fact that longevity appears to run along your mother's bloodlines, places you at a distinct long-term advantage. Therefore, I would not even consider playing around with any statin drug. True, there ARE people out there who are at far greater risk who have had family members succumb to heart disease at relatively young ages. For these people, drug therapy may be their only viable alternative when all else fails. Statin drugs carry substantial risks, and should be prescribed with caution.

In the absence of sufficient quantities of antioxidants in your body, LDL cholesterol can become oxidized, and that is why LDL is not entirely ignored. LDL is not generally harmful until it becomes oxidized, and that is when it begins to become deposited in arteries. HDL offers protection against this, but adequate doses of antioxidants, such as vitamins E, C, beta carotene, and selenium greatly help in minimizing the degree of oxidation.

From your test results, it would appear that you would benefit most from a diet which is lower in carbohydrates, particularly starches and sugars. You may want to consume more fish, and even include fish oil supplements as part of your daily regimen. This approach should bring down your triglycerides.

Niacin is an excellent supplement to try. Generally, it is relatively safe to take up to 1000mg per day. It is still beneficial within this range, as it has a favorable impact on HDL cholesterol. You can boost your HDL up even further by including an enteric coated garlic supplement standardized for a minimum of 4000mcg allicin. Couple this with a lower carb diet, some good antioxidant supplements, and you will be affording yourself a significant level of protection. Your overall lipid profile should improve even more, and I wouldn't be surprised if your cholesterol came down some also. Good Luck, and don't worry. Believe me, you're level of risk isn't all that bad. All you need to do is a little fine-tuning, that's all.

Thanks for the helpful info. I would much rather try organic means to decrease my numbers rather than meds. At 85, my mom still does not take any prescriptions and is in great health. She's a great advocate of lots of veggies and tea. You can see I've known about my cholesterol levels for 10 yrs. and haven't jumped on the meds bandwagon. Still in the last year or so there has been a big increase in the medical profession prescribing statins almost on a prophalactic basis -- kind of like baby aspirin to ward off heart disease -- and I want to be armed with alternatives. My high HDL seems to be the key to my docs not insisting on statins, so if I can lower the other numbers I can keep them happy! Watching the carbs and sugars will be the hardest in the regimen, but the rest shouldn't be too hard. Wish me luck!