“How can I bring down my cholesterol levels?”

As you probably know changing your diet to a more plant based diet with fish and oil for cooking is a good start. Also taking fish oil capsules can assist. Avoid large amounts of red meat. The Mediterranean Diet is an excellent starting point- good luck

I know this has probably been said before, but diet and exercise. The Mediterranean diet and also the dash diet have been proven to lower cholesterol. 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise 3 to 5 times a week. And omega 3 fish oil is good as well. Unfortunately, some people have familial hypercholesterolemia meaning it's in the genes. However this is a great question to bring up at your next doctor appointment!!

If you do not have hereditary hypercholesterolemia, I advise you look to lifestyle and environmental actions to help lower cholesterol, such as: for 90 days 1) stop eating meat 2) stop eating and drinking dairy, 3) get 7-8 hours uninterrupted sleep at night, 4) walking exercise 10,000 steps/day, 5) eat enough fiber to have 1 - 3 BMs daily, 6) eat 3-5 servings of vegetables daily, 7) eat 2 - 4 servings of fruits daily and 8) check your cholesterol levels in 90 days. If there is no significant reduction in your cholesterol, then you need a comprehensive physical exam.

Wishing you well,

Lindy Burnham, MD FAAFP

Statins can lower your cholesterol, but they do not offer much benefit to your overall health if you aren’t making other efforts like increasing your physical activity (which can itself lower cholesterol and improve outcomes) and making optimal nutritional choices. An evidence-based alternative to statins for most people is a whole food plant-based diet. Not just going vegetarian or vegan, a whole food plant-based diet provides total nutrition with cholesterol-lowering, anti-inflammatory foods that improve overall health and well-being. When it’s so easy to prescribe pills, many providers don’t have the time to educate themselves on the benefits that foods can offer, so you may need to do some research yourself. A good place to start is the free quick start guide at https://plantricianproject.org/admin/resources/tpp-quickstart-guide-fnl.pdf.