Lowering LDL and raising HDL

[Lullabytreehugger]

Have you looked into adipotide or cardarine? Just started reading about them

Cardarine was initially developed in 1992 by Ligand Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as a metabolic agent with potential anti-cancer, anti-obesity and cardiovascular applications. Phase I trials of cardarine for the treatment of hyperlipidaemia began in 2000 followed by phase I/II in 2002. Further development of cardarine was abandoned in 2007 for safety reasons when preclinical toxicology showed that it caused various cancers

 

[Thewitchonpeppies]

Cardarine was initially developed in 1992 by Ligand Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as a metabolic agent with potential anti-cancer, anti-obesity and cardiovascular applications. Phase I trials of cardarine for the treatment of hyperlipidaemia began in 2000 followed by phase I/II in 2002. Further development of cardarine was abandoned in 2007 for safety reasons when preclinical toxicology showed that it caused various cancers

I think the cancer claims were in mice tho

 

[Lullabytreehugger]

I think the cancer claims were in mice tho

Have u tried it?

 

[hotdog!]

Anecdotally, someone's dad would eat a big bowl of oatmeal daily for a couple weeks before his blood tests and it meaningfully lowered his cholesterol so his doctor wouldn't bitch at him. And there is some proof that oatmeal lowers cholesterol, as any box of Cheerios will boast.

For me, my total cholesterol was at 245, then statins lowered it to 217. Tirz lowered it to 149.

LDL started at 159, statins 136, after tirz it was 64. I thought surely they must have gotten my sample mixed up with someone else's.

My HDL had a modest increase: started at 63, after statins 65, after tirz 67.

 

[Dee X]

Anecdotally, someone's dad would eat a big bowl of oatmeal daily for a couple weeks before his blood tests and it meaningfully lowered his cholesterol so his doctor wouldn't bitch at him. And there is some proof that oatmeal lowers cholesterol, as any box of Cheerios will boast.

For me, my total cholesterol was at 245, then statins lowered it to 217. Tirz lowered it to 149.

LDL started at 159, statins 136, after tirz it was 64. I thought surely they must have gotten my sample mixed up with someone else's.

My HDL had a modest increase: started at 63, after statins 65, after tirz 67.

Not bad for a hot dog.

 

[Sunflower]

I did some research a few years back and made this plan for a partner, which did lower his LDL after a few months. It’s not a clinically-tested comprehensive regimen, but all parts are based loosely on academic studies.

Habits for Cholesterol Health:

A. Supplements

1. Omega 3 (2g total)

• 1/2 T cod liver oil = 1.5g

• 2 Krill oil caps = 0.25g

• 2 Fish oil caps = 0.6g

• Total = 2.35g

*I prefer more krill and less fish oil caps, but he had Costco fish oil at home

2. Flushing Niacin (2g)

3. Psyllium grounds (2T/10g)

B. Nutrition

1. 6 servings of fish per week (ideally salmon/ sardine/ mackerel)

2. 5 salads with 3+ avocados per week

*salads aren’t essential but he preferred the ease of throwing the fish, eggs, avo, into a big salad for OMAD

3. 12-18 eggs per week

C. Workouts (Weekly)

1. 150-300bmin Zone 2 cardio

2. Bonus: 3-5hr strength training

**Update 1: steel cut oatmeal may help, and you can easily throw the psyllium husk powder into this.

***Update 2: Berberine may help to supplement, but I’m not sure the impact if you’re established on GLP-1s and living insulin controlled?

 

[glpfun]

Salmon salad with avocado sounds delish

 

[195michael 3510]

I had a conversation with Chat GPT and a lot of these questions can be asked, but you should make it more personal...

Give the Chatbot some context about you...

- what types of foods you like and lifestyle you live

- and then give it a scenario if the chat bot was a highly trained and respected dietician, cardiologist, and men's health expert that is also an excellent trained chef

the ask the question... what types of meals would you recommend or advice would you have for me to lower LDL and increase HDL and improve my lifestyle, heatlh, and energy.

 

[zpped]

I had a conversation with Chat GPT and a lot of these questions can be asked, but you should make it more personal...

Give the Chatbot some context about you...

- what types of foods you like and lifestyle you live

- and then give it a scenario if the chat bot was a highly trained and respected dietician, cardiologist, and men's health expert that is also an excellent trained chef

the ask the question... what types of meals would you recommend or advice would you have for me to lower LDL and increase HDL and improve my lifestyle, heatlh, and energy.

Don't ask AI important questions. It just flat makes things up.

 

[195michael 3510]

Don't ask AI important questions. It just flat makes things up.

- AI thinks that you just flat makes things up.

Also, gathering information from multiple sources is usually a good strategy.

 

[zpped]

- AI thinks that you just flat makes things up.

Also, gathering information from multiple sources is usually a good strategy.

AI isn't a source. If you actually check all its sources you'll find some of them don't even exist as it tends to hallucinate them.

 

[hexagonal]

AI isn't a source. If you actually check all its sources you'll find some of them don't even exist as it tends to hallucinate them.

Yep. Or misinterpret them.

It's not necessarily a bad first pass, but you need to make it cite it's sources and verify that they agree with what it is claiming to say.

 

[Liber_Pater]

Red yeast rice is effectively a statin - it's the same active ingredient ( monacolin K ) as in some statins. Except now you're taking something that isn't regulated by the FDA. At that point, I'd probably just take a statin.

Nattokinase has some mixed study results on improving LDL/HDL levels. If it's beneficial, it looks like it's better at higher doses (8000 or so IU). Similarly, some interesting results in reversing atherosclerosis at these higher levels as well. Talk to your doctor if you're on blood thinners or have health risks around blood thinning.

Agree Hex. My doctor wouldn't prescribe me a statin even with ldl in the 130s so I took red yeast rice. Lowered my ldl to 70ish. Even then she said "that's great!" I tried to explain, not regulated, no idea of active ingredient contents, etc. but to no avail. Had to pay out of pocket for a CAC scan (came out with a positive score, bottom 20% for my age) for her to prescribe 10mg rosuvastatin. Took my ldl to around 50. I have since jumped on 10 mg ezetimibe and it's down to an avg of 35 now. Ezetimibe is low cost and great for folks who don't like (or simply can't take) statins. Have found a new doctor since then. All of this is just part of living healthier (cardio 5x/wk, much better diet, strength training 4x/wk, etc.).

 

[hexagonal]

Agree Hex. My doctor wouldn't prescribe me a statin even with ldl in the 130s so I took red yeast rice. Lowered my ldl to 70ish. Even then she said "that's great!" I tried to explain, not regulated, no idea of active ingredient contents, etc. but to no avail. Had to pay out of pocket for a CAC scan (came out with a positive score, bottom 20% for my age) for her to prescribe 10mg rosuvastatin. Took my ldl to around 50. I have since jumped on 10 mg ezetimibe and it's down to an avg of 35 now. Ezetimibe is low cost and great for folks who don't like (or simply can't take) statins. Have found a new doctor since then. All of this is just part of living healthier (cardio 5x/wk, much better diet, strength training 4x/wk, etc.).

Glad you were able to get on it and get a doctor willing to work with you. Sucks when they just ignore things that are important like the fact you're taking the same active ingredient in unknown quantities, purities, etc. as actual pharmaceuticals...

I've actually swapped from rosuvastatin to pitavastatin based on some additional research people have linked. It's not as good at stabilizing existing plaque, so not sure if it's a good fit for your situation, but if you are currently at a lower risk it's better at removing smaller plaque buildup vs. stabilizing it in a calcified form. Apparently doctors ignored it for some time due to the patent and expense, but it is now generic, and might be a good option for people depending on their situation.

 

[peptidepower77]

Glad you were able to get on it and get a doctor willing to work with you. Sucks when they just ignore things that are important like the fact you're taking the same active ingredient in unknown quantities, purities, etc. as actual pharmaceuticals...

I've actually swapped from rosuvastatin to pitavastatin based on some additional research people have linked. It's not as good at stabilizing existing plaque, so not sure if it's a good fit for your situation, but if you are currently at a lower risk it's better at removing smaller plaque buildup vs. stabilizing it in a calcified form. Apparently doctors ignored it for some time due to the patent and expense, but it is now generic, and might be a good option for people depending on their situation.

I did this exact change as well. I'm surprised more people aren't on pitavastatin as it's the most metabolically friendly statin of the bunch. My HbA1c went from about 4.9 to 5.3 on rosuvastatin, and I suspect it'll drop back to normal with pitavastatin. The only real downside to it is it's a bit more money, but to me it's worth it.

 

[Liber_Pater]

Glad you were able to get on it and get a doctor willing to work with you. Sucks when they just ignore things that are important like the fact you're taking the same active ingredient in unknown quantities, purities, etc. as actual pharmaceuticals...

I've actually swapped from rosuvastatin to pitavastatin based on some additional research people have linked. It's not as good at stabilizing existing plaque, so not sure if it's a good fit for your situation, but if you are currently at a lower risk it's better at removing smaller plaque buildup vs. stabilizing it in a calcified form. Apparently doctors ignored it for some time due to the patent and expense, but it is now generic, and might be a good option for people depending on their situation.

Thanks for the great info as pitavastatin isn't even on my radar! Will be doing some research for sure.

 

[Liber_Pater]

I did this exact change as well. I'm surprised more people aren't on pitavastatin as it's the most metabolically friendly statin of the bunch. My HbA1c went from about 4.9 to 5.3 on rosuvastatin, and I suspect it'll drop back to normal with pitavastatin. The only real downside to it is it's a bit more money, but to me it's worth it.

Very interesting and good to know!

 

[peptidepower77]

Very interesting and good to know!

Rosuvastatin, also known as Crestor, is known to cause worse blood sugars, increase HbA1C, and can lead to diabetes in some people. I'm honestly surprised it's still the first line treatment, as often people who are already struggling with weight are the ones to go on it. But yah, when I was researching the one that would be the easiest to lose weight on, that one came up. It also is processed differently than Crestor in the body, so it doesn't interact with as many medications in the same way as Crestor, which is a good thing.

 

[hexagonal]

I did this exact change as well. I'm surprised more people aren't on pitavastatin as it's the most metabolically friendly statin of the bunch. My HbA1c went from about 4.9 to 5.3 on rosuvastatin, and I suspect it'll drop back to normal with pitavastatin. The only real downside to it is it's a bit more money, but to me it's worth it.

Doctors in America seem to really not know too much about it, somehow. My PCP didn't even realize it existed before I mentioned it to him the first time, said he'd read up on it. Next time I saw him he told me he was now presenting it as an option for patients where they're catching the hyperlipidemia early.

 

[peptidepower77]

Doctors in America seem to really not know too much about it, somehow. My PCP didn't even realize it existed before I mentioned it to him the first time, said he'd read up on it. Next time I saw him he told me he was now presenting it as an option for patients where they're catching the hyperlipidemia early.

That's good. It's not known in Canada or Europe that much either. But the pharmacies do stock it, so some people must be using it. I pay for mine out of pocket, so $5 more a month or whatever to have lower blood sugar seems like a good deal to me.