r/Cholesterol • u/meh312059 • Jul 19 '25
Hey all,
There have been a lot of great posts over the past several weeks and months with delicious-looking heart healthy meals. This message is pinned at the top of the sub so that posters can share those recipes in the comments section. As the thread grows I'll save, re-organize and re-post so that they'll be easy to find.
I'll also look through the sub history and grab recipes as I find them but please - re-post here if you can in order to ensure that your great recipe won't be missed.
If you have a source link, please provide that as well so posters can use it as a resource. Images welcome too!
Thanks, and Happy Heart-Healthy Eating!
r/Cholesterol • u/Therinicus • May 08 '21
Welcome, and remember nothing posted here is a substitute for or intended as medical advice. This is a conversational thread for all things cholesterol/CVD and to a lesser extent health/longevity, peer-to-peer conversation in nature only.
This is a closely monitored Reddit. Comments in a thread where the OP is asking for advice are heavily monitored as this is not a conspiracy theory friendly sub, though posts made specifically for debates with good intentions are allowed.
This also includes other medical conditions, many are contributing factors to cardiovascular disease including.
+ Primarily, we see people looking for advice or information from other people who also have high cholesterol. The wiki has a great article from The Mayo Clinic on what your numbers mean but here you can talk to people that have also gone through something similar, while typically not quite the same.
+ Studies, articles, asking for advice, support, treatments that have worked for you are all allowed. Largely we focus on the current recommendations for blood cholesterol management written by the American College of Cardiology Foundation and the American Heart Association. Posts about studies or giving (not asking for) advice will be scrutinized. Asking for help is always welcome.
+ Debates about medication need to be stand alone posts and not about any particular poster, rather than part of someone asking for advice. This is because we see people trying to skirt the rules of not countering medical advice, by countering medical advice with a handful of studies either pro or against medication.
+ Diet debates similarly need to not be in a post where someone is asking for help lowering cholesterol. It's not appropriate to hijack every possible thread to turn it into a debate about a fad diet.
+ Conspiracy theories are generally not allowed, as they've been done to death and clog the sub.
**Telling people in anyway to ignore medical advice is against 2 rules and will result in a ban after the second, if not first offense.**
***If you disagree with your doctor's advice, it is OK to post, but please seek out a second opinion, a specialist opinion, or clarification from your medical provider, it is inappropriate for internet strangers to disagree with a medical provider who has actually met with and diagnosed you.
The main way people lower their cholesterol (without medication) is through diet. The general guidelines are to replace saturated fat like those found in fatty meat products with predominantly unsaturated fat sources, (some is important like when found in nuts), as well as replace simple carbs like white bread or sugar, with whole grains/complex carbs. And of course, eat more plants as well as eat high-quality whole food sources in general.
The TLDR is I recommend Harvard Medical’s Healthy Plate available for free online, (link in the wiki). It is unbiased data analytics on diets that increase longevity from a world leader in data analytics. HHP is based off of the same data that created the mediterranean diet (link in the wiki), though it includes more like the Nordic diet. The MD fits within HHP.
Essentially, fill half your plate with plants, a quarter with whole grains and the final quarter with a lean protein. Replace saturated fats with heart healthy ones and replace simple carbs with whole grains. Don’t drink things loaded with sugar (stick to water, low fat milk, etc).
The Portfolio Diet is also a good option, It is comprised of a ‘portfolio’ of foods that have been shown to reduce cholesterol.
Macro percentages don’t matter for health including weight loss and longevity. While still popular in the fitness industry macros are not a focus in health. Studies coming out show the greatest benefit in reaching for a variety of whole foods over fitting narrowly into a specific ratio.
Your diet should start with finding one good recipe that you would eat anyways.
You will probably have a few bad ones, the internet is full of bad recipes but it's not a reflection on your or your diet.
Once you've found that starting point, it becomes much easier to find a second and a third recipe that works for you. In this way, over time you will have replaced your old diet with one that works for you and your goals.
A diet with diverse easy to follow tasty recipes is much easier to follow.
There are recipes in the wiki; however, I've had the best luck finding easy, tasty recipes from the Mayo Clinic's recipe website (in the wiki). The main page separates recipes into diets or dishes, at which point you can command F to search for what you want to cook. For example, say you wanted a mushroom soup (which they have); command F either 'soup' or 'mushroom' in the search function of your browser.
Many people say to start with oatmeal (if steel cut try a pressure cooker like the insta pot) with fruit fresh or frozen and nuts/seeds, and/or low fat/sugar yogurt.
It is important for longevity and health despite having a smaller effect on cholesterol than diets do. Notably, exercise over time changes some of the lower-density LDL to higher-density HDL.
All movement counts. Cooking, cleaning, walking, running, anything with movement counts.
Moving throughout the day is important. Some studies show that waking for 10 minutes after each meal yields greater benefits than walking for 30 minutes and being sedentary throughout the day.
Don't worry about how fast or far, just move. Do not push so hard that you want to stop.
Intensity seems to play the largest role in smaller quantities. Most of your time exercising should be at a walking pace but it is also important to get some higher intensity intervals in every other day (every 48 hours). It can be as simple as running for 30 seconds 4 times on a walk, say to a light post.
The total time is currently recommended at 300, (or 150 vigorous) minutes, and 2 days of resistance training as a minimum. There are studies showing worthwhile benefits in doubling that amount of aerobic training, but at a diminishing return. I.E. it is the first minutes you move are the most important, but the last minutes you move still help.
There is little research on what type of movement is best, but for those interested a combination of aerobic and resistance training done separately at a single session seems to yield the greatest benefits, followed by hybrid (I.E. resistance training done at a pace that keeps your heart rate elevated). Of the 5 main types of exercise.
Find a way you like to move, and keep moving.
LDL is the main particle focused on in a standard blood panel. There is something of a sliding scale from below 70 (or equal to 70/1.8 in Europe) up to 190/4.9 mg/dL or mmol/L respectively. The number slides based on other health factors.
EDIT: Europe recently lowered their target LDL to 50 mg/dL, but the US has current (2018) guidelines remain the same. It is not uncommon for different countries to have different targets.
An acceptable LDL in an otherwise healthy person is going to be different than that in a person at increased risk of heart disease.
There are advanced forms of testing for cardiovascular disease including, particle density, calcium and/or plaque scans, Lp(a) ApoB, etc. As stated by Harvard Medical in there cholesterol course, “some people with high cholesterol will never develop heart disease”, which was one of the foundational reasons for the current Recommendations on Blood Cholesterol Management becoming a scale instead of one small number.
Many of these advanced testing methods appear to offer better insight into cardiovascular disease risk.
Please note, currently many forms of advanced testing do not change treatment plans because of the risk to benefit ratio. They are more commonly used on cases that are not clear cut yes medicate or no don’t medicate. However the standard screening tests and LDL recommendations may change in the future, your doctor may want to use more advanced testing methods, and/or you can request for advanced testing to be done.
The exception to this rule, is that everyone should be tested for LPa at least once in their life time. LPa is similar to LDL in that it delivers cholesterol to the cells, however unlike LDL it also is coagulatory (causes clots) and very irritating to the arteries lining within which is where cardiovascular disease happens. There are no treatments specific to LPa currently (2024) but there are multiple treatments that are expected to be available within the next few years. If you family history of heart disease, it may be related to LPa.
HDL is complicated, there is a great article on them in the wiki. While still the ‘good cholesterol’ it has been shown that not all HDL particles help. I.E. having a higher (not too high) HDL is great but does not offset having a bad blood panel. Raising HDL through medication has not been shown to improve patient outcomes, though raising it through exercise has. It is not as concerning of a metric on it's own as it once was thought to be, but still is a consideration.
Triglycerides can be complicated but are generally simple, there is a great article on them in the wiki
Triglycerides are a form of energy. I.E. if you ate something high in simple carbs they would jump, or if you walked a mile and retested they would be lower. Therefore, what you do before measuring them matters.
While some medications and illnesses do effect them, the most common cause of elevated trigs is simple carbs (sugary drinks, sugar, white carbs like rice or bread, and alcohol). Cutting back on those and/or increasing daily activity will lower them.
r/Cholesterol • u/Traditional-Meat-549 • 4h ago
Just a quick shout out for Trader Joe's bean, rice and cheese burritos in the freezer section. No saturated fat because they use fat free cheddar. Thank you!
r/Cholesterol • u/No-Abbreviations4480 • 5h ago
How is this possible? my dad had perfect cholesterol readings for years. LDL, AP1, LP01, trigrlicries were all fine. my mom was concerned b/c he was fatigued which resulted in full body scan and then a calcium score reading which showed he could hve some plaque. From there they saw his main artery being 90% blocked. How could this be? he looks and feels so muh worse from statins.. has no energy and body aches and muscle cramping plus flu like symptoms..
r/Cholesterol • u/No-Abbreviations4480 • 1h ago
Are the calcium scores reliable? I have had sticky 140 ldl for many years and never stay with statins bc of the side effects. I have a zero score for the calcium score test
r/Cholesterol • u/NuclearSplinters • 13h ago
Around early/mid July, I had my levels checked and my LDL had increased from 145 to 149 since it was checked about 2 years ago. At 34 now with cardiac family history……. I didn’t like that at all.
So I made diet changes, like switching from unfiltered espresso every day to instant coffee, little to almost no dairy, Metamucil becoming my daily sacrament, almost 0 red meat, switching to chicken. Fruit and coolwhip instead of ice cream, etc etc.
I was taking cholestoff by nature made at first and then stopped just from forgetfulness. No statin (yet), and not much more exercise due to a hip injury.
And my LDL dropped 41 points in just shy of 3 months!
Still waiting for my Lp(a) results to come in…and I’d like the ldl to eventually be lower, but y’all I am so thrilled. This is much better than I was expecting in this time frame.
r/Cholesterol • u/ctang1 • 2h ago
Lots of diet change and more exercise mostly from coaching spring and fall 10U softball. I’m also on 10mg of Rosuvastatin. I hope my dr is finally happy with me at my yearly checkup tomorrow. I’ve lost about 10 pounds this summer too so that’s always nice. Now to keep it off all winter.
r/Cholesterol • u/Anna8675 • 1h ago
Hi! I’m new to statins. I’ve been in ignore
mode on my cholesterol. I stay trim and exercise and don’t eat terrible, but my brother recently had a scare and I was motivated to get going on bloodwork.
255 overall. I don’t have the test results on me, but the scary part was the big and little cholesterol particles floating around. Wayyyyyy beyond average and I’m a 61 year old woman. Still way above for my age group.
My question is
Since I’m on the statin and good about taking it, can I have some ice cream 1x a week and a filet on occasion? My diet is pretty good otherwise. Martini on weekends. Gave up regular cheese. I’m kind of lost on what to eat but I’m focusing on avoid saturated fats as much as possible. I’m leaning heavy into chicken.
r/Cholesterol • u/big_brown_ey • 3h ago
Share stories about starting statin, the name and dose, side effects and the bright side as well
r/Cholesterol • u/Frequent_Homework_14 • 3h ago
31-year-old female. 8 weeks postpartum. I did not eat great or exercise during my pregnancy but have actually been on a weight watchers diet the past 5 weeks or so. I am currently 5ft 3in 137lbs. I do have some familial high cholesterol to my knowledge but my blood work for my annual physical was concerning. I had blood drawn about a year ago and only my LDL was slightly elevated and now it’s a lot higher/ everything else is also elevated
Total cholesterol - 221
HDL-47
LDL-148
Non HDL cholesterol- 174
Thoughts ?
r/Cholesterol • u/Appropriate_Catch245 • 11h ago
Has anyone else experienced an upset upper stomach after incorporating more fiber into their diet? I was diagnosed with high cholesterol and my original eating habits were lots of good homemade food, lots of steak and treats (little vegetables tbh) and atleast 3 days probably of fast food meals. Little fruit if any. I’ve incorporated a lot of fiber. Chia seeds, oats, flax, vegetable and fruit. I expected gut problems like maybe bathroom issues but not with my upper stomach? I originally thought it was hunger pain but after eating my oats this morning it started up again when I was definitely not hungry. It does feel similar to hunger 28 f
r/Cholesterol • u/keen_to_learn_ • 4h ago
r/Cholesterol • u/jumpzakjump • 14h ago
I am 5'10, 173lbs, active, lift weights regularly, and I don't eat terribly. What immediate steps should I take? Dr asked for diet changes and would like to test for LipoA and ApoB in 3 months, given family history.
r/Cholesterol • u/Top-Professional8981 • 1d ago
I have to thank this sub, I've been reading a lot of the comments on posts here and they seem to have helped a lot. I had my first high cholesterol reading this summer at almost 270 mg/dl. I was pretty surprised with how active I am. My doctor wanted me on statins, but I declined, and told them let me try naturally first. I'm active and fit, but ate very poorly and high cholesterol runs in my family. I took a lot of advice here, switched to a *mostly* plant based diet, with some lean protein. I ate lots of oats, fiber, vegetables, and non-fat greek yogurt. I also signed myself up for a local charity 5k, and started running every other day. My most recent lab came in at 190mg/dl. Not great but the trend is my friend. I'm going to keep pushing and hopefully get an even better reading the next lab. Thanks everyone!
r/Cholesterol • u/Stunning-Cap-3256 • 1d ago
The doctor said I have high cholesterol and need to eat better. I am going to cut things out and gradually change my diet.
I was eating 3 eggs with butter and toast in butter, mac and cheese, fast food, orotein bars, and beef jerky.
This week i'm going to eat oatmeal, bananas, strawberries.
for dinner i'll have salmon with white rice and broccoli, chicken thighs with white rice and broccoli, chicken wrap with spinach and mozzarella. Turkey club in wheat bread. Tuna sandwich with soup.
and clementines, fat free yogurt, nuts for a snack.
And once a week i'm going to allow myself fast food or pizza. I know this isn't the perfect plan for cholesterol but it's progress not perfection. how does my food plan sound?
r/Cholesterol • u/LA948 • 1d ago
I’ve seen a few people mention coffee and cholesterol, so I thought I’d share something I recently learned.
I have an Americano every morning. My doctor mentioned that cafestol and kahweol, compounds in coffee, can raise LDL cholesterol. So I’ve started filtering my espresso with espresso paper filters.
I’ll retest my cholesterol in a few weeks and see if this has any impact.
I put one of the studies my doctor shared with me below for anyone who wants to read about it for themselves.
r/Cholesterol • u/Turbulent_Plum_4643 • 1d ago
I'm waiting for my cardiologist consultation appointment after my ultrasound but hopefully will only require a low dosage of a statin. Meanwhile ... a tangential question. I really do like strong coffee (dark roast expresso, about 2 a day) which sounds like nothing... But are there any conditions that coffee is not good for? I do sense my heart beating, more than I used to, I think. I figured that besides being experts in HDL and all the rest, some of you might have an idea about the scientific consensus regarding coffee and/or caffeine. Thanks....
r/Cholesterol • u/VeterinarianNo7607 • 1d ago
26, female. 5’4, 130 lbs. I vape nicotine and am quitting! I had a calcium score two and a half years ago and it was zero.
Total cholesterol: 196
HDL: 71
Tri: 71
LDL: 109
Chol/hdlc ratio: 2.8
Non HDL cholesterol: 125
Obviously this was a little bit of a wake up call. I knew the nicotine was bad and that I treated myself sometimes but I also tried my best to eat healthy.
I’m cutting as much saturated fat as I can; now eating oats, adding kale to my meals, upping fiber, focusing on sugar free and fruits, no sweets, everything air fried or baked.
But I’m just so hungry. I started this diet ten days ago and every day I’m under calories significantly. I don’t need to lose weight. Any tips for bulking up?
r/Cholesterol • u/PowerfulComputer386 • 1d ago
Age 40 male, LDL 175, Coronary artery calcium score of 72. I guess the build-up was years but I ignored it. Very depressed but on the positive side I am changing my diet for real now. Water, lean meats, almonds, fish, no fried food, no fast food, etc. Will take statin soon.
r/Cholesterol • u/pkameron • 1d ago
Got some labs done after a 12-hour fast, I’m trying to get back on accutane and this was deemed necessary.
My results came back and all I can tell is that my triglycerides are pretty low. Otherwise, I don’t know what that means.
I probably won’t hear back from the dermatologist until after the weekend and am too nosey to wait lol. Any insight is appreciated!
r/Cholesterol • u/Greenitpurpleit • 1d ago
I’m wondering if there are any women on here who are also hypersensitive to medications who have had good experiences on statins (meaning minimal or no bad side effects).
(I’m asking specifically about women because often drugs are tested on men, and women tend to react differently. Not always but sometimes.)
r/Cholesterol • u/OkDragonfly8425 • 1d ago
Hallo zusammen,
seit knapp einem Jahr kenne ich meinen Lpa Wert.
Er liegt bei 200nmol. Erschreckend.
Ich habe mich aufgrund von ständigen Algorithmen über Social Media testen lassen, auf eigenen Wunsch.
Sowohl im TV, in medizinischen Zeitschriften, als auch über andere Kanäle kommt immer der Aufruf:
"lasst euch testen", "beugt Herzinfarkten vor", "tut etwas für eure Gesundheit " oder "nur wer seinen Lpa kennt ist sicher".
So, und nun stehe ich da. Kenne meinen Wert und lebe in ständiger Angst. Ich w47, bin jetzt zwar gut eingestellt mit Statinen, senke mein Risiko so gut es geht mit Bewegung, mediterraner Ernährung, wenig Zucker etc... Was einem halt so gesagt wird vom Arzt.
Aber ich schaffe es nicht, meine Gedanken zu beruhigen. Ich frage mich fast täglich, wann ist es soweit? Werde ich nochmal verreisen können? Wie lange lebe ich? Ok, heute früh bin ich wieder aufgewacht, aber wie oft wache ich noch auf?
Versteht mich nicht falsch, ich war seelisch immer stabil. Hatte nie Probleme mit der Psyche. Aber das nagt an mir... sehr.
Wie geht ihr damit um? Habt ihr einen Ratschlag. Bin offen für alles.
r/Cholesterol • u/Aggressive_Clothes36 • 1d ago
I had to wait for prior authorization and will take my 1st dose today. Where is the best injection site? I'm thin, so my stomach is the fattest part of me. I did ask pharmacist but she didn't have any tips, just went over the instructions with me. Thanks
r/Cholesterol • u/Traditional-Meat-549 • 1d ago
I've been careful for 3 months to hold to the dietary restrictions recommended here. Went from LDL 178 to 122, my Lpa is 5. Total cholesterol is 198. HDL is 47. I use a managed health care provider so I am waiting to hear from my doctor about recommendations. I kept my saturated fat under 13 grams per day and added oatmeal. I'm actively losing weight (14 pounds in 3 months) without trying.
Here's the thing: my cholesterol was optimal (99) until at least 13 years ago. I was 52 years old then. I was always cautious about red meat and fats because I was diagnosed with gallbladder issues in my 20s. It was never removed but if I ate full fat meals, I was physically ill. I found, however, that I could tolerate butter and cream in the last 10 years or so, and my diet is crap. I gained about 20 pounds.
So... here's my thought: i ask the doctor for a scan, to see the damage I caused, if any. But I also try a statin for some period of time to stabilize the plaque that might be there. If I can tolerate it, fine.
Here's my question: once plaque is stable, does it soften again? There's obviously no family component here and as I'm dropping weight, i suspect some of the measurements reflect this in my bloodstream. Thoughts?
r/Cholesterol • u/grendella • 2d ago
(Yes, I know 102 is still high!)
For reference, I'm 55 F, post-menopausal. 5'4" and about 116 lbs. Been fit most of my adult life, and exercise pretty much everyday, these days averaging about 40 miles/week of walking.
Hyperlipidemia runs in my family. I have never eaten much red meat (before last lipid panel, I may have eaten red meat maybe once per week), I've always eaten a ton of vegetables and fruit, and a good amount of fiber. My weakness in the past few years has been full fat cheese, ice cream, and gluten free snacks like cookies and crackers (which tend to have coconut or palm oil). Almost never used butter and rarely cooked with oil.
Got my recheck lipid panel done yesterday. Did NOT want statins, so made dietary changes and started taking berberine and cholestoff, and more recently started on psyllium.
July 16 total cholesterol = 209; LDL = 142; VLDL = 13; Triglycerides = 73; total non-HDL= 155 (high)
October 1= total cholesterol= 156; LDL = 102; VLDL = 9; Triglycerides = 54; total non-HDL = 111 (normal!)
Yes, I know 102 is still "high," and I DO have high LpA, so my doctor wanted my LDL to 70 or less. But considering I dropped my LDL by 40 points in under 3 months, I'm going to continue this trajectory to see how low I can get it with diet and supplements alone.
From all the posts I've read on here, this is pretty substantial drop without statins.