lower my cholesterol levels

Changed my diet and started exercising- have done this for 2 years now. Just had my cholesterol levels checked a couple weeks ago – within average normal range (down from 213!!!) 5 years ago

I’m going to ask them to run panels tomorrow if they can … and see if I’ve come down from 195 which is where I was in October. 7 years ago

have to keep it low and stay healthy! 7 years ago

Triglycerides: 70 mg/dL
LDL cholesterol: 99 mg/dL
HDL cholesterol: 43 mg/dL
Total Cholesterol: 156 mg/dL

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I could stand to have better HDL, but I am working on it. 7 years ago

Currently 195 which is lower than the dangerous 200 but I would like to get it lower if I can. I will check my levels at my next yearly exam in October. 7 years ago

Last summer my total cholesterol was 272, way too high. Since there is a history of heart disease (my dad has had several heart attacks, and a stroke that has left him disabled) I took this news very seriously. In one year I lowered it to 178 with only diet and exercise – No Medications!!

I changed my diet to one that is low in saturated fat. I check all food labels and don’t eat anything that has more than 10% total fat per serving, unless it’s full of polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats, the good ones. And I stopped eating red meat. I use Smart Balance buttery spread, which is full of the good fats, and I take supplements: Omega-3, vitamin E, vitamin C… And NO fast food restaurants.

I also increased my exercise. I work out 4-7 times a week. That gives me some flexibility in my schedule, but there is a definite commitment to exercise. I do both cardio and strength training. Walking is great, too.

During this process I have lost over 30 lbs, and I’ve had to clean out my closets and get new clothes. Everything I wore last year literally falls off of me now. I still find clothes that I haven’t had on for over a year. Every time I try one on I am amazed how HUGE it is on me.

It’s tough to make healthy changes at first, but if you stick with it, it will get easier. And I’ve made these changes for life. I don’t ever want to go back to the way I was.

Did I forget to mention I did all this while staying home full time with 2 toddlers? Anyone can do this! 7 years ago

Tuesday, April 20, 2004
THE SAGINAW NEWS

Cinnaman may have found an easy-to-swallow cure for high cholesterol.

The heart attack victim claims that a household spice, typically sprinkled over apples and oatmeal, has lowered his bad cholesterol 40 percent since July.

Cinnaman, 52, links cinnamon to reversing a cholesterol problem that nearly cost him his life two years ago.

His cardiologist calls it “spectacular.” Cinnaman calls it “the Magic.”

“His numbers went from fair to spectacular,” said Roger N. Kahn, a cardiologist at the Michigan Cardiovascular Institute. “Truly, the only change I can see is adding cinnamon to his diet.”

In medical records released to The Saginaw News, Cinnaman’s blood tests showed a 40 percent drop in low-density cholesterol since July, falling to 72 milligrams per deciliter from 120.

High-density cholesterol - the good stuff - remained consistent.

His total cholesterol also dropped over the nine-month period to 138 milligrams per deciliter from 190, a 27 percent reduction.

Cinnaman underwent quadruple bypass surgery in 2002 after a New Year’s Day heart attack. Doctors reported that his coronary arteries were 99 percent blocked.

The Saginaw man survived and began a rigorous low-fat diet to keep a health condition that claimed his father’s life from claiming his own.

The diet didn’t work.

His mother-in-law mentioned cinnamon as a possible cure, an apparent wives-tale that ended up having some basis in scientific literature.

A study of 60 diabetic patients in Peshawar, Pakistan, found that people taking 1 to 6 grams of cinnamon each day for 40 days reduced their low-density cholesterol between 7 percent and 27 percent. Their total cholesterol dropped 12 percent to 26 percent.

“I figured, ‘How is it going to hurt me?’ ” Cinnaman said. “It’s just cinnamon.”

So Cinnaman began a home remedy to high cholesterol, spicing his apples or yogurt with 1.75 teaspoons of cinnamon.

“It’s one thing to have it in a pastry,” he said. “It’s another thing to have it every day. It gets to be … well … Yuck!”

Although Kahn doubts the Pakistan study was large enough to make any far-reaching conclusions about the spice’s curing capabilities, he said he can’t justify Cinnaman’s results any other way.

During the nine-month gap between tests, Cinnaman also was using ZETIA, a cholesterol-lowering drug. Although it may have affected his cholesterol, Kahn said, it cannot explain the results.

“He made progress using ZETIA,” Kahn said, “but not to the degree that he needed.”

He said ZETIA may produce up to an 18 to 20 percent decrease in low-density cholesterol. A 40 percent drop is unrealistic, he said.

While drugs such as Lipitor, Zocor and Mevacor could have achieved the same result, Kahn said his patient’s use of cinnamon avoided any of the potential side effects, which may have included liver problems and muscle disorders.

Cinnaman’s cholesterol is now so low that it actually could reverse heart disease, Kahn said.

The cardiologist doesn’t recommend tossing traditional medications out the window. However, he said the results are significant enough that he would suggest cinnamon as a supplement to cholesterol-reducing drugs. 7 years ago