What is the best non-drug way to reduce cholesterol?

First, exercise regularly, stay thin and the classic low-fat, low red meat, tons of fruit and veggies,complex carbs., (no white foods eliminates a lot of problems.) Then a regime of Omega 3 oils, Chinese red yeast rice (a natural statin) and CO-Q-10 enzyme. Blood work every 6 months needed to check liver function but one does that w. med. statins. This is simplifying; write to me privately if that is allowed. gailcald@taconic.net. I lowered all my numbers dramaticall. Viz: Chol. from 270 to 170..the rest are poster child.

It helps if you eat oatmeal every day. You'll see a reduction after 30 days! I did!

Gail said it all. I would add start right away by adding one daily exercise (brisk walk, good start), drop one no-no food, and replace with one of the recommended macro-nutrient. One step at a time. Then keep refining your routine. Good luck. My results have not been as dramatic, but I definitely feel better.

Going vegetarian makes a big difference. And cutting down on dairy/egg products.

Losing weight, in general, will lower both blood pressure and cholesterol a bit. Look over the Glycemic Index foods and choose the foods with a LOW G.I.

Losing weight - even 10 lbs. - will usually lower both your blood pressure and cholesterol a bit. Check out the Glycemic Index foods and choose foods with a LOW G.I. I bet you'll see some results in all areas!

All great advice. I forgot oatmeal. I eat it every am in winter (steel cut is best, altho a pain and is beige, not white.) In summer I have some lo-fat cottage cheese w. a lot of fresh fruit. Also grind flaxseed in Krups coffee bean grinder and throw a T into whatever. I also forgot to mention that at Medicare age, I now have textbook BP. And I started my walking program w. 5 minutes....added a telephone pole for distance every few days.

A huge salad for one meal/daily w. EVOO is good. And the very dark greens - kale, spinach, Swiss chard...just snip into slivers and throw into soups...no one will notice ( not even small children if you make the slivers small enough. And buying those jeans one size smaller will MAKE YOUR DAY.

Thanks everyone. Gail, do you need to check liver function for effects of the Chinese red yeast rice or Co-Q-10 enzyme? or both? I'm not familiar with either so I'll need to learn about tnem.

These are good web sites I just found on this topic:

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsSupplements/RedYeastRicecs.html

This is a good website for this topic.http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsConditions/Hypercholesterolemiacc.html

Irenema; whether you take the medical statin or the natural one, Chinese Red Yeast Rice, you need the Co-Q-!0 to replace the enzyme that the statin (whatever kind) leaches out. So they are conjoined, so to speak.

Some of the companies that used to carry the Red Yeast Rice no longer do...probably pressure from the drug cos., but you can still buy them from reputable health food stores or online at Solgar, for example. Make sure that you get the combo and dosages right. Ask me if need be. Check out the websites for Mayo Clinic, Medline, etc. Or just Google.

For me, it was stop eating french fries