Cholesterol Lowering: Crestor vs Niacin

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DixieWrecked

Well-Known Member
Just went over my bloodwork with my PCP. She put me on Crestor because my cholesterol was 260. I don't know the LDL and HDL off the top of my head but I will soon when she uploads the labs into the computer. I don't plan on taking the Crestor and was leaning torwards taking Niacin. I am already super active. Do not eat sugar. 10-12% bodyfat. Basically I need some type of pharmaceutical intervention if I want my numbers to be better.

Does anyone have any success stories or guidance for me? Is my fear of Crestor justified? Does Niacin work? Any and all input is appreciated.
 
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mooseman109

Active Member
Ask for the calcium score test, pretty easy and not overly expensive.
14 months ago i had a heart attack with cholesterol scores that were in range, on the high side of normal, but in range. Even Did a exho/ stress/echo 9 months before event and it was fine. Turns out i have 6 additional small blockages in my heart. If somebody had told me to do calcium score prior to the MI or out me in crestor, maybe i miss that event! I have zero issues with the drug, some have problems. I changed diet and now my total cholesterol is under 100, ldl is around 40. Hdl is tough to bring up when on trt. Dont be afraid
 

Gman86

Member
No offense to mooseman, but anyone that purposely brings total cholesterol under 100, LDL to 40, and probably brings HDL to 20 or less I would imagine, is a certified insane person. This is one of the worst things u can possibly do to ur health that I can think of. That’s just asking for dementia/ Alzheimer’s at an early age. Cholesterol is one of the most important things for overall health. Purposely dropping cholesterol this low is an early death sentence, imo. But that’s all this is, my opinion. Everyone has to figure out what’s best for them, based off of their current knowledge and understanding on this subject. But u couldn’t pay me any amount of money to bring my total cholesterol under 100. There’s no amount of money that can give u the years back that ur going to take off of ur life doing this, and there’s no amount of money that’s going to cure the brain disease that eventually ensues. Here’s my latest lipid panel as of just a week ago. It’s one of the best panels I’ve had since being on HRT. For the last 2 months I’ve switched to mostly carnivore. Red meat 3 times per day, 9oz of red meat each meal, very small amount of ghee, 4-5 egg yolks per day, 1-2 servings of organic raw honey per day, 200-300 grams of white rice per day, and a few servings of fruit per day. Usually watermelon and apples. Only other things I eat are salmon sometimes, some lamb, beef organs, and salt. So diet is the best it’s ever been in my life. And been doing much more cardio outside now that the weather has gotten better in Mass. Obv opinions are going to vary on what an ideal lipid panel looks like, again based on their current knowledge on the subject, and where they’re getting their information, but this is pretty close to what an ideal lipid panel looks like, imo. I would just like my HDL a little higher.
 

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mooseman109

Active Member
Well folks, i knew i would get flamed. Hopefully you are never laying on the table wondering if you just saw your wife for the last time. After survivng a 100% occlusion of the LAD, and being told there are 6 additional blocks in my heart that are 20% occlusions. And a familial paternal history of MI, I am taking the crestor. I will likely be adjusting the dosage down. I also have lowered blood sugars and all things inflammatory.
To each his own and we are dull of conspiracy theorists on this forum. My advice is if your dr recommends a statin and you have no or little side effects, take it!
 

Gman86

Member
Just went over my bloodwork with my PCP. She put me on Crestor because my cholesterol was 260. I don't know the LDL and HDL off the top of my head but I will soon when she uploads the labs into the computer. I don't plan on taking the Crestor and was leaning torwards taking Niacin. I am already super active. Do not eat sugar. 10-12% bodyfat. Basically I need some type of pharmaceutical intervention if I want my numbers to be better.

Does anyone have any success stories or guidance for me? Is my fear of Crestor justified? Does Niacin work? Any and all input is appreciated.

Imo, whatever u do, don’t even think about touching a statin with a total cholesterol of 260. If u do get a coronary calcium score test, and the results aren’t good, a statin is still not the answer, with that level of total cholesterol. Even if u are concerned with ur lipid numbers, the first thing to address is ur thyroid. Optimizing thyroid will have a much more beneficial effect on lipids than a drug that’s just going to rob u of the cholesterol u need for optimal health. But in regards to a preventing a heart attack or stroke, which is what I would imagine the statin is being prescribed to prevent, the best way to prevent either is not via lowering a cholesterol level of 260. What u would need to do is improve diet. Heart disease is mostly due to inflammation. So u want to decrease inflammatory foods as much as possible. So get rid of all bad fats. Don’t cook with any fats that will oxidize and cause inflammation. So only cook with ghee, butter, coconut oil, lard, or tallow. Things with a high burn temp. Cooking with any oil that’s liquid at room temp will cause inflammation due to the oil oxidizing in the cooking process. Obv sugars are a huge inflammatory food. Everyone knows that. Processed foods are obv highly inflammatory. I would also cut out gluten, even if u don’t have celiac disease. Cut out all regular store bought dairy. Cut out all veggies, as they can be inflammatory due to the high oxalate content, and other plant defense mechanisms. And adding in fresh fatty fish into ur diet 2-3x/ week would be a good idea, for the omegas. And then just do the regular things u know to do already. Regular cardio and weight lifting sessions, assessing any vitamin/ mineral deficiencies u may have, optimizing sleep, and minimizing stress. And obv optimizing any hormone deficiencies. These are the real ways to improve the cardiovascular system, not by taking a pill that lowers much needed cholesterol, and puts u at a high risk for getting all brain and neurological diseases. And these are just some tips off the top of my head. There’s obv plenty more life style modifications u can make to improve ur cardiovascular system. A pill that lowers systemic cholesterol is not the answer, I promise u. But from ur original post, u seem to have a good understanding of this already.
 
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DixieWrecked

Well-Known Member
I appreciate everyone input. I haven't watched the videos yet but I will. So why has my cholesterol gone up? It has slowly gone up over the years as I have gotten older. What is the reason for that?

I actually asked about the calcium score and my Dr said that they don't do that. This is the VA
 

Vince

Super Moderator
I appreciate everyone input. I haven't watched the videos yet but I will. So why has my cholesterol gone up? It has slowly gone up over the years as I have gotten older. What is the reason for that?

I actually asked about the calcium score and my Dr said that they don't do that. This is the VA
.Getting calcium score Is pretty inexpensive. If I were you, I would just go and get one. It’s not a big deal. It usually runs around $100, it’s affordable. I don’t believe insurance covers it anyways.

My understanding is the only reason to use a statin , is to help your plaque stabilize and less chance rupturing and causing a stroke or heart attack.
 

TestOneTwo

Active Member
No offense to mooseman, but anyone that purposely brings total cholesterol under 100, LDL to 40, and probably brings HDL to 20 or less I would imagine, is a certified insane person. This is one of the worst things u can possibly do to ur health that I can think of. That’s just asking for dementia/ Alzheimer’s at an early age. Cholesterol is one of the most important things for overall health. Purposely dropping cholesterol this low is an early death sentence, imo. But that’s all this is, my opinion. Everyone has to figure out what’s best for them, based off of their current knowledge and understanding on this subject. But u couldn’t pay me any amount of money to bring my total cholesterol under 100. There’s no amount of money that can give u the years back that ur going to take off of ur life doing this, and there’s no amount of money that’s going to cure the brain disease that eventually ensues. Here’s my latest lipid panel as of just a week ago. It’s one of the best panels I’ve had since being on HRT. For the last 2 months I’ve switched to mostly carnivore. Red meat 3 times per day, 9oz of red meat each meal, very small amount of ghee, 4-5 egg yolks per day, 1-2 servings of organic raw honey per day, 200-300 grams of white rice per day, and a few servings of fruit per day. Usually watermelon and apples. Only other things I eat are salmon sometimes, some lamb, beef organs, and salt. So diet is the best it’s ever been in my life. And been doing much more cardio outside now that the weather has gotten better in Mass. Obv opinions are going to vary on what an ideal lipid panel looks like, again based on their current knowledge on the subject, and where they’re getting their information, but this is pretty close to what an ideal lipid panel looks like, imo. I would just like my HDL a little higher.
Are you planning to go 100%? I’m currently planning to give it a 3 months shot. Both my wife and I are believers but have been pussies so far. I’m not sure yet how to deal with the large amounts of fat it would come with. Say you eat one lb of chopped meat, that’s likely in the region of 4oz pure fat. Any issues with that? Also I’d expect a much higher food bill. Does it hurt much? To any vegans reading this in shock, I’m not trying to initiate a dreaded vegan vs carnivore discussion here, I’m already sold and would just like to know the above specifics.
 
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fifty

Well-Known Member
Getting calcium score Is pretty inexpensive. If I were you, I would just go and get one. It’s not a big deal. It usually runs around $100, it’s affordable. I don’t believe insurance covers it anyways.
Do I have to go through my doctor to get this?
 

Gman86

Member
Are you planning to go 100%? I’m currently planning to give it a 3 months shot. Both my wife and I are believers but have been pussies so far. I’m not sure yet how to deal with the large amounts of fat it would come with. Say you eat one lb of chopped meat, that’s likely in the region of 4oz pure fat. Any issues with that? Also I’d expect a much higher food bill. Does it hurt much? To any vegans reading this in shock, I’m not trying to initiate a dreaded vegan vs carnivore discussion here, I’m already sold and would just like to know the above specifics.

Ya same. I’m already sold as well, but just want people to eat whichever way makes them happy/ they think is the optimal diet for health and longevity. Not trying to convert anyone.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I think I plan on eventually going full carnivore at some point. The high fat intake isn’t a problem at all. That’s where u get most of ur calories from. If u don’t eat enough fat, u may be in too big of a calorie deficit, which is good for fat loss, but eventually won’t be good for feeling ur best. Protein, especially from red meat, has a high thermic effect. Ur roughly only getting 60-70% of the calories u think ur consuming of protein, because 30-40% of those calories are being used up to just digest all that red meat. Saturated fat is healthy for u, so no need to worry at all about the high fat content of whatever meat he eating. Again, it’s necessary if ur doing full carnivore. If ur doing 100% carnivore, it would be very difficult to get enough calories from lean meat sources, and not ideal health wise. U want roughly a 1:1 ratio of protein to fat. More protein and less fat maybe if ur goals are more geared towards building lean muscle tissue.

The reason I’m not currently doing full carnivore is that I’m still trying to build more muscle. 100% carnivore doesn’t seem to be an optimal way to put on a decent amount of muscle. It seems like it’s more for maintaining a really healthy amount of lean muscle tissue, and losing fat, while maintaining all that lean muscle tissue. I’ve heard that u can still build muscle, by just eating in a calorie surplus, but I haven’t seen too many examples of this. So not sure how easy it is to build muscle on full carnivore. Plus, I think it would probably get a little expensive.

Speaking of expenses, it can get a little expensive. What I’ve learned to do is every week, I check about 5-6 different local grocery stores and butcher shops for their weekly flyers, that have all their sale items. I’ll check the meats on sale for each one of them, and then plan out my shopping for the week. If there’s some really good deals on some meats that I really enjoy, I’ll stock up and buy a ton and then deep freeze it. I literally don’t purchase any meat that isn’t on sale anymore. I’ll wait for meat that’s usually 9.99/lb to go on sale for around 5.99/lb.

So right now I’m just trying to eat as close to carnivore as I can, to be as healthy as I can, and just add in about 150g of carbs per day, consisting of organic white rice mostly, 1-2tbs of honey per day (to add some sweetness, plus it’s healthy benefits, and it also has digestive enzymes to help digest food), and a little bit of fruit, mostly watermelon and apples. Am eating some select fruits to try and get some more vitamin c and potassium in my diet. I actually just ordered some acerola cherry powder, so vitamin C will be covered now. Still gonna eat some select fruits for the potassium. But only certain fruits. On top of eating a low oxalates diet, I also follow a low histamine diet, so not all fruits are on the menu.

So that’s what I’m currently eating for the most part. And I would highly recommend eating a good amount of egg yolks per day. I eat 4-5 raw egg yolks each day. If the whites of the eggs don’t bother either u or ur wife, I would just eat whole eggs instead. Just make sure to cook the whites, and try to eat the yolks as raw as possible. Feel free to DM me if u want to talk about the carnivore diet further. Been researching it like crazy lately. It’s so fascinating to me the things we’re constantly learning about human nutrition.
 

Vince

Super Moderator
Do I have to go through my doctor to get this?
No you don't go through a doctor. You just call and make an appointment. You can usually just Google, heart scan.

A buddy of mine at work just had one. It was recommended by his doctor. His doctor just told him what hospital had one and he made the appointment. He had to pay out of pocket, insurance usually don't cover it.

His score was very high.
 

DixieWrecked

Well-Known Member
No you don't go through a doctor. You just call and make an appointment. You can usually just Google, heart scan.

A buddy of mine at work just had one. It was recommended by his doctor. His doctor just told him what hospital had one and he made the appointment. He had to pay out of pocket, insurance usually don't cover it.

His score was very high.
this is awesome info. Thank you.
 

TestOneTwo

Active Member
Ya same. I’m already sold as well, but just want people to eat whichever way makes them happy/ they think is the optimal diet for health and longevity. Not trying to convert anyone.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I think I plan on eventually going full carnivore at some point. The high fat intake isn’t a problem at all. That’s where u get most of ur calories from. If u don’t eat enough fat, u may be in too big of a calorie deficit, which is good for fat loss, but eventually won’t be good for feeling ur best. Protein, especially from red meat, has a high thermic effect. Ur roughly only getting 60-70% of the calories u think ur consuming of protein, because 30-40% of those calories are being used up to just digest all that red meat. Saturated fat is healthy for u, so no need to worry at all about the high fat content of whatever meat he eating. Again, it’s necessary if ur doing full carnivore. If ur doing 100% carnivore, it would be very difficult to get enough calories from lean meat sources, and not ideal health wise. U want roughly a 1:1 ratio of protein to fat. More protein and less fat maybe if ur goals are more geared towards building lean muscle tissue.

The reason I’m not currently doing full carnivore is that I’m still trying to build more muscle. 100% carnivore doesn’t seem to be an optimal way to put on a decent amount of muscle. It seems like it’s more for maintaining a really healthy amount of lean muscle tissue, and losing fat, while maintaining all that lean muscle tissue. I’ve heard that u can still build muscle, by just eating in a calorie surplus, but I haven’t seen too many examples of this. So not sure how easy it is to build muscle on full carnivore. Plus, I think it would probably get a little expensive.

Speaking of expenses, it can get a little expensive. What I’ve learned to do is every week, I check about 5-6 different local grocery stores and butcher shops for their weekly flyers, that have all their sale items. I’ll check the meats on sale for each one of them, and then plan out my shopping for the week. If there’s some really good deals on some meats that I really enjoy, I’ll stock up and buy a ton and then deep freeze it. I literally don’t purchase any meat that isn’t on sale anymore. I’ll wait for meat that’s usually 9.99/lb to go on sale for around 5.99/lb.

So right now I’m just trying to eat as close to carnivore as I can, to be as healthy as I can, and just add in about 150g of carbs per day, consisting of organic white rice mostly, 1-2tbs of honey per day (to add some sweetness, plus it’s healthy benefits, and it also has digestive enzymes to help digest food), and a little bit of fruit, mostly watermelon and apples. Am eating some select fruits to try and get some more vitamin c and potassium in my diet. I actually just ordered some acerola cherry powder, so vitamin C will be covered now. Still gonna eat some select fruits for the potassium. But only certain fruits. On top of eating a low oxalates diet, I also follow a low histamine diet, so not all fruits are on the menu.

So that’s what I’m currently eating for the most part. And I would highly recommend eating a good amount of egg yolks per day. I eat 4-5 raw egg yolks each day. If the whites of the eggs don’t bother either u or ur wife, I would just eat whole eggs instead. Just make sure to cook the whites, and try to eat the yolks as raw as possible. Feel free to DM me if u want to talk about the carnivore diet further. Been researching it like crazy lately. It’s so fascinating to me the things we’re constantly learning about human nutrition.
Awesome, thanks! Yes I might get back on this once we’re a little further down the planning stage. We also intend to ease into it and see how it goes. I’m actually quite excited about it. I’m also interested in maximizing my muscle gains of course but there are actually plenty of people successfully adding mass on a pure carnivore diet. Let’s see how it goes.
 

Gman86

Member
Awesome, thanks! Yes I might get back on this once we’re a little further down the planning stage. We also intend to ease into it and see how it goes. I’m actually quite excited about it. I’m also interested in maximizing my muscle gains of course but there are actually plenty of people successfully adding mass on a pure carnivore diet. Let’s see how it goes.

Ya I’m really excited as well. The body is an amazing machine when u give it everything it needs, and stop giving it things that mess with it. The carnivore diet is exactly that. Just giving it everything it needs, nothing else. I’ve been into health and longevity since I was 13. 33 now. And it just blows my mind that I’m just learning now that veggies do more harm than good. It makes me wonder what things in the future I’m going to learn to improve things even further. It’s a constant learning process. And I think it’s definitely possible to gain lean muscle tissue on a full carnivore diet, just have to eat in a decent surplus. I see myself definitely trying to go full carnivore at some point in the near future. Good luck!
 

fifty

Well-Known Member
Any diet that excludes entire food groups is highly questionable to me.

Remember some of the most incredible athletes in the world live on McDonald’s and candy.
 

BigBamBoo

Active Member
I can tell you that for me, intermittent fasting Has done wonders for my lipids, cholesterol, etc.

It is 100% sustainable and for me has been a real game changer.

Just another choice to look at.
 

madman

Super Moderator
I’m also interested in maximizing my muscle gains of course but there are actually plenty of people successfully adding mass on a pure carnivore diet. Let’s see how it goes.

You need carbs in the diet if you want to add muscle mass!

Carnivore or low carb (<50 grams/day) even in a calorie surplus are not going to help you put on a lot of muscle mass and if you are naturally a skinny hard gainer good luck with that.

As you know true carnivore is following a diet where you are consuming all of your daily caloric intake from proteins and fats.

Depending on your goals and whether you are trying to lose body fat or gain lean muscle tissue comes down to your overall daily caloric intake and what percentage of your macros come from protein and fat.

In most cases, I would say whether one is trying to lose body fat or gain lean muscle tissue then 1-1.5 grams of protein/lb of bodyweight would be more than enough.

Consuming any more protein than this is pointless.

You are training your body to burn fat efficiently as its main fuel source.

The rest of your calories should be coming from fats such as fatty cuts of beef, pork, chicken (thighs), fatty fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel, trout), whole eggs, whipping cream, ghee, lard, tallow, extra virgin olive oil.

You could even eat lean cuts of protein but the downfall is you would need to consume a fair amount of fats from ghee, lard, tallow, egg yolks, and extra virgin olive oil along with your lean proteins.

It is much easier and tastier to just stick to the fatty cuts of beef, pork, chicken, and fatty fish, and then add in some fats to meet your daily caloric requirement (depending on your goals).

To give you an example if you weigh 200 lbs and you are aiming for 1 gram protein/lb bodyweight.

200 grams of protein/per day would be needed.

This would give you 800 cal/day from protein (4cal/gram).

The rest of your calories would come from fat and how much you consume per day would come down to whether you are trying to lose body fat or gain lean muscle tissue and what your daily caloric need would be to achieve such.

Carnivore and low-carb diets are much more effective for trying to lose body fat and maintain lean muscle.

Carbs are king when it comes to packing on muscle tissue.

When in a caloric surplus and the goal is to gain muscle mass if we take both diets (moderate-high carb/moderate protein/low fat) vs (carnivore or low carb/moderate-high protein/high fat).

The moderate-high-carb-based diet will be more effective.

The human body can store upwards of 500 grams of carbs (400 in the muscle/100 in the liver) in the form of glycogen and for every gram stored it will pull in roughly 3 grams of water intracellularly in the muscle cell which will not only increase the size of the cell but the muscle will be harder, have more energy stored for a long intense workout, result in better pumps and recovery from training let alone increase overall strength.

Top it off carbs release insulin which is very anabolic when manipulated at the right time which can drive amino acids and nutrients into the muscle cell.

One's muscles will always be bigger, harder, and fuller when consuming enough carbohydrates in the diet.

Strict carnivore or low carb (<50 grams/day) will result in depletion of muscle glycogen which can make the muscles take on a deflated/flat appearance.

What type of diet you follow comes down to genetics and one's insulin sensitivity.

When trying to gain muscle mass or improve body composition the skinny hard gainer type tends to do well when following a higher carb-based diet as opposed to the heavier set easy gainer type which tends to do well following a low-carb/carnivore-based diet.
 
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