Lowering "Bad" Cholesterol is only Half the Battle

LDL - "bad" cholesterol
HDL - "good" cholesterol

Ok, so my bad cholesterol level is down to 101 from 174. That's the lowest its been in at least 12 years. Woo-hoo! When I first learned I had really high cholesterol, I was 36 years old, had astronomically high blood pressure as well, was going to college, working and raising two boys under the ages of thirteen. My doctor in Springfield, Ohio put me on a restricted diet - low sodium, low cholesterol. I adhered to it religiously. Three months later, the blood tests revealed little if any change in the LDL level. I was horribly discouraged.

Since moving to NC, I've taken a variety of bad-cholesterol-lowering meds, the kind that can damage your liver over time. These weren't working because my good cholesterol didn't increase, something the meds were supposed to do and something I very much need - elevated HDL, or good cholesterol.

Over the past six months or so, I applied myself to eating better foods in an all-out effort to lower my LDL and raise my HDL: Whole grains, oatmeal, nuts, salmon, mackerel, all-white turkey and chicken, green leafy veggies and the like. I ridded the pantry of vegetable oil and margerine, mayo and salad dressing, and iodized table salt and brought in extra-virgin olive oil and sea salt. I've avoided fried foods, pizza (mmmm, pizza) and pre-processed instant side dishes in a box. All of this in hopes of lowering my LDL.

The sad news is that I will probably always have to take medication to keep my bad cholesterol - LDL - at an acceptable level (below 104 but no more). There are those of us who cannot control LDL levels with diet alone because, like the commercial says, it's inherited. Poop - I really didn't want to have to take these pills the rest of my life.

Although the LDL level has dropped significantly, the HDL level - the GOOD cholesterol - hasn't increased much and therein lies the secret to having clean arteries. According to WebMD, raising HDL is "the next frontier in heart disease prevention." (http://www.webmd.com/heart/10-ways-help-boost-your-good-cholesterol). Although I already have heart disease, CAD or Coronary Artery Disease - a 40 to 50% blockage in the left anterior artery of my heart (revealed during a catheterization three years ago) - my aim, my goal is to avoid having a heart attack for as many years as possible. And not get diabetes, either.

Future Quest: Get that HDL level up. Way up. That is a challenge I'm willing to accept.