has anyone had their kids' cholesterol levels checked?

[Fixit]

Have not read all the posts.

 

Do to hubbies higher than normal cholesterol levels we are using Red Yeast Rice. mine was also slightly elevated last check. i need to up my saurkraut..cabbage helps too.

but in mean time till we get levels checked our dr suggested this and i have read good things about it.

it is suggested to take at night, before bed when most of your digestion happens.

 

Gettting levels checked soon..i will try to remember to update.

 

Ohh...weird coincidence...just started cooking hubbie some lunch with saurkraut (haven't eaten it in months!).

 

if you 1/4 the cabbage and boil...it is good with a little apple cidar vinegar on it,,or maybe a little salt and pppeer if needed...but salt is counter intuitive i think...

 

her is link from mayo clinic...of course there is a disput with pharmamcutials...they think it is a drug.....they are missing out on $$$$$$$

 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/red-yeast-rice/NS_patient-redyeast

[philamom]

We'll - I'll be the black sheep. My dd's choleserol have been low since Sept, when she started with other abnormal labs (elevated sed rate & c-reactive, +ANA, elevated LFT's). The normal level is 125-170 with Quest - my dd's results are 111, 105, 90, 106. Her triglyceride levels have jumped into the 200's though since December.

[EAMom]

We'll - I'll be the black sheep. My dd's choleserol have been low since Sept, when she started with other abnormal labs (elevated sed rate & c-reactive, +ANA, elevated LFT's). The normal level is 125-170 with Quest - my dd's results are 111, 105, 90, 106. Her triglyceride levels have jumped into the 200's though since December.

 

Yikes!

do you have her breakdowns? Is her "good" HDL cholesterol high enough? Is the doc concerned about her low cholesterol?

 

Low cholesterol has been linked with depression http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-breakthrough-depression-solution/201106/low-cholesterol-and-its-psychological-effects

[philamom]

No depression. I should also mention that her D-Nase spiked to 600 in Sept. and has finally come down to a normal level of 214.

Sept to March-

Total Cholesterol: 111, 105, 90, 106, all low

HDL: 49, 43, 23 (L), 43 (normal is 37-75)

Triglycerides: 106, 82, 227 H, 220 H

LDL: 41, 47, 22, 25

[fightingmom]

This is a very interesting thread. I know this doesn't answer your question, but my own diet is mostly vegetarian and I am not a big dairy person either. My most recent bloodwork showed my LDL was high. I was shocked.

 

Though in this thread I have learned that anxiety and stress could cause it AND inflammation. I have endometriosis and lots of other ailments that all are inflammatory in nature.

 

Things that make you go hmmm....

[EAMom]

No depression. I should also mention that her D-Nase spiked to 600 in Sept. and has finally come down to a normal level of 214.

Sept to March-

Total Cholesterol: 111, 105, 90, 106, all low

HDL: 49, 43, 23 (L), 43 (normal is 37-75)

Triglycerides: 106, 82, 227 H, 220 H

LDL: 41, 47, 22, 25

 

wow...Interesting that her triglycerides went up so much!

[norcalmom]

Thanks for posting. Its all such a web. My DS appeared to have some low zinc levels at one point, D3 levels (also related to cholesterol). DS takes CoQ10 (Reminds me he hasn't in a while because I need to buy some) we use the "slice of life" gummy vitamins - they have multi's, Co-Q10, and Vit B-12 (which I tell them to chew a little and let melt under their tounges - taste JUST like candy. I JUST read that under 18 should not take CoQ10, but don't know why..I will have to look into that. Perhaps specific studies on kids have not been done...

 

The only way my kids take fish oil - Carlson's Lemon flavored as a "floater" on top of a dixie cup full of lemonade - then I let them have a small glass of lemonade to wash it down(you can't taste any fish, but its a little oily). We've tried evvery other fish oil pill and packet. If she will take (more) pills - then Krill oil might be better than fish oil capsules. they are smaller, and they aren't as fishy (no burbs after either). If you are ambitious and she will drink it, lemon juice mixed with water (and agave nector or other alkaline sweetener) is extremely alkalizing..also lowering inflamation.

 

Here's Mecoloa take on statins -

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/08/10/making-sense-of-your-cholesterol-numbers.aspx

 

and here is some info on CoQ10, if you are interested.

 

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/coenzyme-q10-000295.htm

 

"People with high cholesterol tend to have lower levels of CoQ10, so CoQ10 has been proposed as a treatment for high cholesterol, but so far there' s no evidence whether it works or not. There is some evidence it may reduce side effects from conventional treatment with cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins, which reduce natural levels of CoQ10 in the body. Taking CoQ10 supplements can bring levels back to normal. Plus, studies show that CoQ10 may decrease the muscle pain associated with statin treatment. Ask your health care provider if you are interested in taking CoQ10 with statins."

 

Read more: http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/coenzyme-q10-000295.htm#ixzz1quSfLwix

[NancyD]

EAMom,

 

No, my DD is not on an SSRI or any other psyche med. She is homozygous for the thermolabile variant of MTHFR (C677T). Her anxiety/OCD is really bad. It's the only symptom left after PANDAS/Lyme/Bartonella/MycoP treatment. Re methylation treatment, have been giving 10 mg of 5-MTHF since July 2011. Also giving B-1, B-6, Manganese, and will add nasal B-12 next week. She didn't do well with B-12 shots when we tried years ago. And we still have to try SAMe. For us, OCD is the biggest nut to crack.

 

We have checked cholesterol twice. I am still looking for the most recent test results (Aug or Sept 2011), which was high. In August 2009 it was:

 

Cholesterol, fasting 162

Triglycerides, fasting 139

HDL, fasting 48.1

VLDL, fasting 28

LDL, fasting 86

Cholesterol, HDL 3.4

 

Nancy

 

My DD16 has high cholesterol and MTHFR mutation. Her diet is mostly vegetarian (occasional chicken and eggs), although tends to be high in carbs. Occasionally has chocolate or ice cream. Not nearly as active as she used to be (now just gym plus tennis 1x/week and riding 2x/week). At 16, she mostly exercises those fingers on the laptop or texting on the cell phone! I assumed high cholesterol was due to decrease in activity plus all the carbs. Did not know MTHFR mutation could affect cholesterol.

 

I have to read more on that (if MTHFR affects cholesterol). I know it is linked with heart dz, not sure cholesterol per se?

 

 

Is your dd on an SSRI? re MTHFR, what mutations does she have (I'm thinking of making a poll later), homo/hetero A/C? How is her OCD? Do you know how high her cholesterol is? Has it only been checked once?

 

We don't eat a lot of red meat either. Ice cream yes. She'll eat chicken too. She will eat beef, I just don't tend to cook it.

 

We're doing the MTHFR test...it is pending.

[dcmom]

Just an fyi- re red rice yeast. There is a little controversy with this supp. Apparently red rice yeast has naturally occuring statin in it. The govt ordered all statin removed- hence the product may not work as well now. However it appears that not all companies are successful at removing all of the statin. THe result is by taking red rice yeast, you may get varying levels of statin. Not inherently dangerous- but questionable- esp for a child. Just an fyi...

[Fixit]

Just an fyi- re red rice yeast. There is a little controversy with this supp. Apparently red rice yeast has naturally occuring statin in it. The govt ordered all statin removed- hence the product may not work as well now. However it appears that not all companies are successful at removing all of the statin. THe result is by taking red rice yeast, you may get varying levels of statin. Not inherently dangerous- but questionable- esp for a child. Just an fyi...

 

 

Good to know...

i wonder as part of my conspiracy theory...just like coconut oil got the bum wrap..if natural statins are good for you.

same as avacodos have alot of fat, but the good fat.

idk just saying...

 

cant say we've been consistant on the ry rice, but with dh job he travels, so sitting on planes, eating out...i hope it's helping.

[dcmom]

fixit- I think the natural statins are fine- but it's that the amt of statin in the red rice yeast can vary (there was some study done)- which means some days you may be getting correct dosage- some days not- serious, I guess, if your cholesterol issue is serious.

 

While I have little to no respect for the FDA, I do have concern about supplements in general, and the fact that they are fairly unregulated. We use very few, hopefully there are resources of unbiased parties that research the contents of supplements and compare that to their claims- I am thinking "consumer reports"- I have not done this research- as I said we don't use many supplements...

Edited April 2, 2012 by dcmom

[Buster]

Well there's a current clinical study looking at the relationship between Vitamin D and hypercholesterolemia. My gut is she's likely vitamin D deficient and pretty stressed out. I'll be interested in the test results.

 

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00723385

 

 

Buster

Edited April 2, 2012 by Buster

[philamom]

Is there a blood test to check Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acid ratio?

[mkur]

Here's something else to check for: Hypothyroidism, Blood Sugar and Cholesterol

By Howard LeWine, M.D., Harvard Health Publications

 

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/cholesterol/hypothyroidism-blood-sugar-and-cholesterol

 

DS has normal cholesterol (97 range50-200) and low triglycerides (46 range50-150) MTHFR not tested

 

Good luck

[MichaelTampa]

Stress can cause inflamation. So can chronic infection and biofilm can contribute to this. Inflamation causes problems in the cardiovascular system and body responds by making cholesterol to patch things up and keep the body working. Statins remove this natural healing cholesterol. Artifically lowering cholesterol with drugs like statins generally a bad idea.