I have had that impression based on longevity in the family and the fact that while I am 85, many people guess me as in my 60s. My cholesterol hovers between 200 and 250. The doctor urged me to take statins, but they didn’t help my mother live longer, both she and my father died at age 90. My fathers father died at 98 and had 2 sisters who died at 103 and 106. I have thus rejected statins. On the other hand there is something called Red Yeast Rice, which seems useful as a healthy giving food in China for many centuries. Anyone have more information on that?
My 2 sons in their early 50s have both had polyps removed, and my brother had colon cancer surgery, and is now dying of metastatic liver cancer. It had been improving, but then he took a 4th Covid Vaccine, and immediately got much worse. I am wondering if I should take the red yeast rice I bought a while ago but never started taking.
Red yeast rice is a statin, but without a prescription.
You could take the following for cholesterol:
- Apple cider vinegar (1 Tablespoon a day in plenty of water, or in capsules to save your teeth)
- Psyllium (A tablespoon twice a day, 20 minutes before eating, with plenty of water)
- Pantethine (600 - 900 mg daily)
- Bergamot
- HMB powder (1 gram a day, 3X)
- Increase fiber and fiber sources
- More exercise
These are some to consider. You can look them up, online.
I have never tried red yeast rice, but years ago I did try policosanol, a non-prescription sugar cane extract with a similar cholesterol lowering reputation. It gave me a pain in my arm, that the doctor at work thought might be a heart attack. When I stopped taking policosanol the pain went away. My inference is that interfering with cholesterol biosynthesis, whether it is with statin drugs, policosanol, or red yeast rice, can cause problems for susceptible people, and I would never do it again. At a minimum it will inhibit coenzyme Q10 biosynthesis, so supplementing that energy molecule should be mandatory.
Mr. mm’s grandmother lived into her mid-90’s and we found a blood panel report of hers that showed her cholesterol was in the 300’s at that age.