Cholesterol

Got my blood test results back yesterday and everything is fine apart from my bad cholesterol, overall cholesterol is fine but the ratio of bad to good has been steadily increasing over the last year, do any of you have any tips on keeping this in check?
I have read winstrol can have a major effect on raising bad cholesterol but I am preparing for a show soon and winstrol has always been a staple part of my prep so I don't want to drop it.

Do you run nolva?

Perhaps ask the doctor about some cholesterol lowering medication if iut does not improve at least while you're doing contest prep.

No don't run nolva I use Liqui-fem and sometimes arimidex as my anti-e's. It;s not high enough to warrant any meds yet he said its just gradually increasing over time so he was warning me. Does nolva have a positive effect on it?

Reduce your total fat intake, eliminate your saturated fat, and increase your soluable fiber

You obviously exercize regularly, so that's good. You don't smoke do you?

No I don't smoke diet is low in saturated fat, fibre is probably lacking a bit, I eat a diet very high in EFA's.

Bro, the gear will lower the good cholesterol and increase the bad. So if you are in the game, you need to figure out how to manage this.

The BEST thing for cutting your cholesterol is a statin drug (Crestor and Lipitor are the top two in terms of bang.) Some folks (a very, very small percentage) have probems with muscle pain. It can also be hard on some folks livers, so get your values tested. But you want to monitor it anyway, so it isn't a big deal.

Diet (no trans fats, but get your EFAs especially fish oil) can help, as can some supplements (Niacin, but that is hard on your liver) and fiber (metamucil will lower it by about 7%). But it sounds like yours is tied to gear.

My guess is that the biggest risk that folks have from using gear is that it screws with their lipid profile, increasing their chance of getting a heart attack. However, this is a long term risk that lotsa folks ignore.

Get some Crestor, eat clean and get your EFAs and you should be much better. Cardio will also help with your ratio of good to bad.

My last cholesterol test showed a high ratio of bad to good cholesterol, but the total cholesterol was under the lower limit of 130 (I suppose I have naturallly low cholesterol levels). Should I be worried at all? The nurse doing the test said that though the total level is below the normal limit, I should try to increase my good cholesterol. She then said I could do that by exercising/weight lifting! LOL! I had a short-sleeve shirt on, and I don't think anyone could mistake that I am a bb'er. I don't think she was really paying attention to me.

Cardio, a diet high in omega 3 oils (suppliment), flax seed oil, olive oil. Nolva may help improve lipid profiles but I have not read any studies confirming this. THis is an issue that concerns me as well. I was also tinking along the lines of adding crestor or lipitor if things got out of hand. let us know how you make out.
Tonykemp, I would def try to increase HDL's. Many consider the ratio to be far more important that the overall number. I once had mine measured at 240, had a cbc done after and they found my good cholesterol to be in the 90+ range, they listed me as "low risk" due to the high % of HDL. Not sure if this was a compliment but the Doc said the only time he ever saw lipids profiles similar to mine was for women.

Guess I'll have to start eating oatmeal in the morning again. Thanks for the advice.

i've heard the supplement red rice yeast helps raise good cholesterol

tonykemp said:

My last cholesterol test showed a high ratio of bad to good cholesterol, but the total cholesterol was under the lower limit of 130 (I suppose I have naturallly low cholesterol levels). Should I be worried at all? The nurse doing the test said that though the total level is below the normal limit, I should try to increase my good cholesterol. She then said I could do that by exercising/weight lifting! LOL! I had a short-sleeve shirt on, and I don't think anyone could mistake that I am a bb'er. I don't think she was really paying attention to me.

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My problem is the same TK my total cholesterol is very good I have been told my ratio is really bad, think I will have to up my cardio as I do everything else suggested already, apart from the cholesterol meds but my doc said he doesn't want to use those yet he wants to try and get it down naturally

Finephysique - I have the exact same thing going on, and I trace it back to the gear. (Actually, mine has always been high, but now the ratio is really screwed up.)

You can't fix this naturally, if you are injecting supra human levels of AAS into your body. Some anti-estrogens can screw with it even more.

I agree with you (and your doc) that you should try diet and cardio, but that probably won't do much for you (I hope it does, but it didn't do anything for me). Don't let your doctor screw around too long about this before you start a statin drug. Just tell him(her?) that you are eating right and exercising and it is still bad and you want to get on a statin drug. It is not like you are trying to get an RX for exstacy; your doc should give it to you.

By the way, Garlic, Red Rice Yeast, and most of the other stuff recommended won't do shit, so save your money.

doctorwill said:

Finephysique - I have the exact same thing going on, and I trace it back to the gear. (Actually, mine has always been high, but now the ratio is really screwed up.)

You can't fix this naturally, if you are injecting supra human levels of AAS into your body. Some anti-estrogens can screw with it even more.

I agree with you (and your doc) that you should try diet and cardio, but that probably won't do much for you (I hope it does, but it didn't do anything for me). Don't let your doctor screw around too long about this before you start a statin drug. Just tell him(her?) that you are eating right and exercising and it is still bad and you want to get on a statin drug. It is not like you are trying to get an RX for exstacy; your doc should give it to you.

By the way, Garlic, Red Rice Yeast, and most of the other stuff recommended won't do shit, so save your money.

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Its not at a dangerous or unhealthy level yet, its just slowly creeping up from a starting position where my bad cholesterol was very low so there is some cause for concern, my doc is a bodybuilder who knows his stuff, and knows my diet training and gear regimen so I am going to take his advice for now, if it goes anywhere close to unhealthy levels I know he will put me on the necessary medication.

nice read on niacin


Current guidelines for the prevention of CAD (coronary artery disease) focus on lowering LDL-C levels, although recently there has been a lot of interest in HDL-C as a secondary target of therapy. High levels of LDL-C appear to be strongly correlated to an increased risk of CAD because LDLs are intimately linked to oxidative and inflammatory processes in the arterial wall. Raising HDL-C levels might also afford opportunities to lower this risk, especially in patients with pre-existent atherosclerosis. HDL-C is protective against atherosclerosis, largely due to its function of reverse cholesterol transport as well as its role in fibrinolysis, antioxidant functions and reduction of platelet aggregability (clumping).

Niacin (nicotinic acid) is the most potent HDL-C raising agent currently on the market, followed by fibrates. Niacin can be purchased over the counter. Niacin lowers the levels of all three atherosclerotic lipoproteins--VLDL, LDL and Lp(a), and in addition it raises HDL-C more than any other pharmacologic agent presently available. It inhibits fat-mobilizing lipolysis in adipose tissue, leading to a lowering of free fatty acids, which has many metabolic implications. Recently, a nicotinic acid receptor has been identified, and the drug has been found to stimulate the expression of the ABCA 1 membrane cholesterol transporter. Lipid-modifying monotherapy with the use of pharmacologic agents known as statins (which help to lower LDL-C) may be potentiated by the use of niacin as well.

niacin, taken at the dosage necessary for these benefits should be taken only under the supervision of a Doc. the amount in an otc suppliment won't do didly unless you take multiple times the recommended dosage. And you can OD on niacin

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i know there is a time released pill that is attained by script only...has to be taken at night...i'm thinking about trying it for 2 months to see what may happen to my levels..

You can get a time-release 500mg dosage of niacin OTC. The thing I hate is that when I take it at night, I will suddenly wake up in the middle of the night all flushed and hot (kind of a prickly heat). I've heard that niacin can't be flush-free if you want it to do any good.

Tony, what is flush free????
Also I have don a lot of research on the subject of aas and its effects on lipid profiles. will post results once I have digested and summerized all of it. I think its going to require a bit of lab work on myself (any other volenteers?).

bilter said:

Tony, what is flush free????
Also I have don a lot of research on the subject of aas and its effects on lipid profiles. will post results once I have digested and summerized all of it. I think its going to require a bit of lab work on myself (any other volenteers?).

Click to expand...

If you post a method I will give it a whirl, will be getting tested in 2 months again so if I can lower my cholesterol without meds that would be great

When I was on pro/fina my cholesterol was thru the roof, Doctor gave me script for lipitor. Doc stated that it was very toxic and needed to have blood work done on a regular basis. I found a natural alternative to reduce choesterol. Puritan Pride carries Policanosol a natural derivative fron sugar cane. After 2 months I had my blood checked again and the doc asked if I was still on lipitor because my levels dropped 40 points. He was shocked when I told him I found a natural alternative to the toxic script.

Give this a try, its natural and works.