Then what would you suggest to someone that's genetically pre-disposed to heart attacks and artery clogging?

I eat extremely healthy. Lots of greens, chicken, soup, berry smoothies, yogurt, egg whites, turkey bacon and sushi are staples of my diet. I exercise quite a bit, walking at least 15 miles a week (most weeks, 20 miles) and often bike 10 miles a day on a stationary bicycle.

My cholesterol level was 294 before taking statins. My dad's was nearly 400. My grandmother has been taking statins for decades and is an active 84 years old. My mother's been taking statins for the past three years as well.

There is no way for me to lower my cholesterol by "eating right and exercising". It's genetic. Are you suggesting that I avoid taking cholesterol reducing medicine and roll the dice?

Statins are known carcinogens in animal studies. There are conflicting stories/tests/studies with regard to humans.

I am on Lipitor and have been for three years also. My total cholesterol went from 207 to 128 in about 3 months. It turns out that studies show that Lipitor has benefits that are better than its statin qualities. Such as, it reduces CRP (C reactive protein), reduces inflammation, reduces and stabalizes plaque in arteries. ALL good things for your heart. Most now studies show inflammation is one of the big culprits. The rare muscle side effect with Lipitor is seen in about 1 in 1000 patients, not bad considering aspirin, most antibiotics, acetominophen, all have much worse records than that. Dr. Oz (Iknow, but he is a cardiologist) says everyone should be taking lipitor. I for one believe the cardiologists, not guys on message boards.

wtf... lol :LOL:

A lot of that crap is just genetic.
Had mine checked a couple years ago and it was in the 20s. No joke, after verifying that it wasn't a mistake (sent me to the lab), the doctors statement was "You have the lowest cholesterol of any human being I have ever seen."

I'm out of shape, don't do much and my favorite food is anything fried. go figure.

BP is still a bit on the high side though so I'm on medication for that.

So im on Simvastatin and have been. I have been sick due to a bacterial infection i got liver test done to make sure i didnt have an infection there. Nurse calls today saying results are normal but mentioned something saying my liver enzymes are a little higher nothing to worry about now but not to drink alcohol and get an appt to chek in 2 months. I drink socially, mainly every other weekend and ill have 5-7 drinks in one night maybe more depends or maybe alot less. Just curious if anyone else on statins has had any problems with drinking socially or had a dr say to stop?

I know my cholesterol is lower since ive been on it and back to normal levels, but i still want to drink socially sometimes, im hoping cutting back to like 1 weekend a month would be ok

all the meds that i'm on say to limit alcohol intake.
i was in vegas last week. i took all meds in the morning and proceded to flush the system with the lagers after 1pm.

i didn't die (yet).

i will have 3 or 4 beers 'bout once a month on a normal basis though. been doing that for a couple years now. hopefully you can "take it".

Red wine time.

Statins deplete Coenzyme Q 10 which is responsible for the cramps. Start supplementing 150-200 mg of Coenzyme q 10 per day (available at any grocery store) and that crap will probably go away.

Cholesterol is a marker of cardiac stress but by itself it doesn't necessarily mean anything. Cholesterol levels can also be very individual. One can have seemingly high levels but the levels may be healthy for them and vice vesa The problem is Drs. look at cholesterol in isolation and are very quick to throw drugs at it when it may not be a problem. Look at your triglycerides, your blood sugar, your weight, along with your cholesterol for a more reliable holistic evaluation. In any event the best thing you can do is lose weight since excess caloric intake and adipokine signaling (inflammatory messengers released from fat cells) is largely what causes the problem in the first place. It doesn't really matter how you do it either. You're just as likely to improve your cholesterol via a high fat, high meat diet with 6 eggs per day as you are a high carb high fiber diet IF you drop weight in the process. The diet that best allows you to reduce weight will tend to be the best for you. In absence of weight loss additional fiber and healthy fats (fish oil, nuts) will help the levels, as will supplements like niacin.