Help Lowering Cholesterol W/o Drugs- Labs Incl

[Philomath]

Thank you!
I read that women can take progesterone seperately and should consider thyroid if excessive doses don't yield results.
"and if estrogen is extremely high, even large supplements of progesterone will have no clear effect; in that case, it is essential to regulate estrogen metabolism, by improving the diet, correcting a thyroid deficiency, etc." RP- progesterone summaries

Should she continue with progesterone or stop and use thyroid first?

My interpretation of Peat is 1)cholesterol 2) thyroid 3) progesterone meaning first the cholesterol must be high enough for thyroid supplementation to even be helpful and the thyroid must be functioning adequately for the progesterone to be helpful.

That makes sense. The hard part is knowing when you've reached those milestones.

 

[burtlancast]

Ray wrote in that cholesterol article that as people age, their thyroid function gets depressed a little, and the cholesterol levels increase subsequently, as an adaptative protection measure.

 

[LucyL]

That makes sense. The hard part is knowing when you've reached those milestones.

Yes and no. If you are seriously ill, then you would want to work very precisely through the gates, make sure cholesterol was at least 180, track temperatures/pulse to gauge thyroid function etc. But in my case, not being seriously ill, just wanting some improvements, I went by how I felt. After I got my cholesterol up, I started thyroid glandular low and raised it every couple weeks until I felt better. By then the symptoms I was going to use the progesterone for went away on their own.

 

[Philomath]

I believe taking care of that 3.6 TSH is a way, way more urgent problem than the 250 cholesterol ( which will naturally go down as the TSH goes down too).

What's the best method to lower TSH?

 

[yoshiesque]

pantothenic acid, niacinimide, apple cider vinegar and beta-Sitosterol work well to reduce cholesterol.

But seeing as you are easily hypothyroid, get some T3. its suppose to immediately start processing cholesterol.

T4 (thyroxine) will reduce TSH. Provided T4 to T3 conversion is optimal, you wont need to get T3 drugs like cytomel. But you probably still will at some point.

 

[burtlancast]

I believe taking care of that 3.6 TSH is a way, way more urgent problem than the 250 cholesterol ( which will naturally go down as the TSH goes down too).

What's the best method to lower TSH?

Since many people are rendered hypothyroid through a bad diet, Ray always recommends as a first measure to eat thyroid-supporting foods: coconut oil, coffee, orange juice, 1 raw carrot, weekly liver, milk, cheese, ice cream ( and others). Sugar ( Fructose, Sucrose ) increases metabolism 25 to 50 percent.

Adequate protein is very important, in order to support the liver's detoxification processes of estrogen. Well cooked potato would brings carbs and protein, that both sustain thyroid.

Then, if TSH doesn't improve enough, one can use a combo of T4/T3, or just T3.

Ray has many articles and some interviews about the thyroid.

 

[kineticz]

Thanks for the content of this thread, it's been really helpful in me plotting out my approach to building cholesterol, distributing thyroid across mitochondria and downward into the steroid pathways, reducing TSH to a very marginal level at the pituitary. As TSH comes down, so will prolactin (prolactin directly stimulates cortisol in the adrenal cortex, activates 5-AR DHT, and antagonises dopamine which renders your gonad axis much less efficient, and depletes your catecholamines since it activates adrenaline as an alternate sympathetic CNS activator). This increase in dopamine combined with low TSH opens up the sex hormone pathways for total recovery (testosterone repairs inflammation and can help sustain increased metabolism).

By the way, all my cholesterol results are perfect (triglycerides, LDL, HDL, Total) but I still get the feelings of low cholesterol when boosting thyroid, and sugar has helped massively. I guess if liver metabolism is sluggish, and/or the mitochondria are damaged, the liver can need that extra energy surplus to assist in advancing to more efficient cellular respiration (A bit like starting up a business - the body benefits from economies of scale resulting in capital efficiencies). Just something to consider when putting cholesterol in context of energy throughput and bottlenecks. As in business, it's often the finer, intricate details that can make or break progress.

I have a bottle of the very expensive Niagen and it makes me very hypothyroid, so obviously I need more carbs and less fatty acids suffocating the mitochondria, before I add more T3 to make the Niagen positively effective. My advice is always to work with what you have (current mitochondria density) before attempting to tweak deep-rooted enzymes, pathways, etc, as the complexity of the metabolic pathways will probably not let you sustain an acute rise in energy expenditure.

 

[tara]

@kineticz:

"perfect' cholesterol by whose standards - the drs? At least 200 total, as suggested by Peat before supplementing thyroid?

I'm confused by this and your other thread, where you mention "zero estrogen in my case increases stress hormones as it allows more thyroid to circulate and the body ends up liberating fatty acids to compensate."

 

[kineticz]

Hi Tara

We will discuss my issues in my thread, I've just responded to the confusion there.

I will look at my blood test sheet tomorrow but like I say it does feel as if it's low considering I'm hypothyroid and need that surplus to ramp up hormones.

 

[Philomath]

I believe taking care of that 3.6 TSH is a way, way more urgent problem than the 250 cholesterol ( which will naturally go down as the TSH goes down too).

What's the best method to lower TSH?

Since many people are rendered hypothyroid through a bad diet, Ray always recommends as a first measure to eat thyroid-supporting foods: coconut oil, coffee, orange juice, 1 raw carrot, weekly liver, milk, cheese, ice cream ( and others). Sugar ( Fructose, Sucrose ) increases metabolism 25 to 50 percent.

Adequate protein is very important, in order to support the liver's detoxification processes of estrogen. Well cooked potato would brings carbs and protein, that both sustain thyroid.

Then, if TSH doesn't improve enough, one can use a combo of T4/T3, or just T3.

Ray has many articles and some interviews about the thyroid.

Thanks Burtlancast. She's working on the food part, slowly getting to adequate levels. I thought I read here that magnesium, copper and sodium would help lower TSH. I suppose if one is eating liver, salting to taste and getting magnesium through coffee, OJ or supplements, they would be on the right path. Is it safe to supplement progesterone at this point? Or would that be better if/when taking Cynoplus (T4/T3)?

 

[Philomath]

Thanks for the content of this thread

Your welcome. I'm usually the one stopping a thread dead in their tracks!
Seriously, the level of concern, support and diligence on this forum never ceases to amaze me. I don't know what is more addicting, studying the work of Dr. Peat or surfing this forum!

 

[burtlancast]

Is it safe to supplement progesterone at this point? Or would that be better if/when taking Cynoplus (T4/T3)?

I havn't gone yet through everything Ray wrote about progesterone, but the only instance i can recall progesterone would cause discomfort is when a big colloid goiter is present, as progesterone supplements would unload all it's content at once, and create a temporary hyperthyroid state.

Progesterone is useful in inactivating excess circulating estrogen, which would facilitate thyroid hormone taking over.

 

[churchmouth]

Any update on her cholesterol levels?

 

[M-dog]

Andrographis paniculata (plant) is good at lowering triglycerides Source: Effect of Andrographis paniculata Extract on Triglyceride Levels of the Patients with Hypertriglyceridemia: A Randomized Controlled Trial. - PubMed - NCBI

 

[LucH]

Total Cholesterol: 250

Your cholesterol is not too high.
But I'd ask a test for Lp(a) to see if your LDL cholesterol is oxidized. A bit High.
Kate Rhéaume said:

Blaming cholesterol for heart disease is a lot like blaming firefighters for a fire. Although the increased levels of some kind of blood lipids (fats) are imprecisely associated with a greater chance of heart disease, that doesn’t mean they caused the problem. In addition to its many other essential roles in the body—like making vitamin D from sunshine—cholesterol is an anti-inflammatory compound. More than anything, high intake of [refined] sugar (in excess, note's editor) and refined flour will cause inflammation in the body, causing cholesterol levels to rise in an attempt to sooth the inflammation. If, over time, increasing cholesterol can’t compensate for a poor diet, heart disease sets in and poor old cholesterol gets the blame. But cholesterol didn’t cause the problem — it was trying to help! Cholesterol’s real contribution to heart disease has been blown way out of proportion, and many experts seem to have blinders on when it comes to this particular nutritional compound.

Hope it will help to clarify, not blaming the wrong target.
And also:

When LDL levels are sky-high, it is a sign that the body is being triggered to produce too much cholesterol or it is not using cholesterol efficiently, or both. This does need to be addressed, but not by merely cutting off the body’s production of cholesterol. Lowering cholesterol by taking a statin medication, a drug that halts the liver’s cholesterol synthesis, is shortsighted, like sending the firefighters home while the fire blazes on. By addressing the factors that prompted the rise in cholesterol, such as insulin resistance, inflammation and oxidative stress, we can target the underlying causes of abnormal cholesterol.

And also:

Scientists now conclude that long-term vitamin K2 inadequacy is “an independent, but modifiable risk factor for the development of degenerative diseases of ageing, including osteoporosis and atherosclerosis.”4 In other words, apart from any other contributing factor for chronic disease, not having enough vitamin K2 throughout life to completely carboxylate all of your vitamin K2-dependent proteins will increase your risk of illness down the road. The good news is that you can bump up your intake of vitamin K2 and thereby lower your risk of age-related conditions such as bone fragility, arterial and kidney calcification, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Excerpts from "Vitamin K2 and the calcium paradox", Kate Rhéaume.
See more on this link (in progress):
Vitamine K2 et le Paradoxe du Calcium