A question went up in r/Cholesterol: what was your one holy grail for getting the number down? It drew 153 replies. Every quote below is one of them, unedited.
Read this first
These are personal anecdotes, not clinical results. Every number is self-reported, nobody here posted a lab slip, and several of the people describing diet changes were also on medication at the time. Nothing below is a substitute for your own doctor, and no supplement or dose here should be started without running it past whoever manages your lipids.
I have high cholesterol. It’s something that has run in my family on both my mother and father’s sides. So there’s not a ton I can do about having it…but there are some things I can do about managing it. Over the last decade+, I’ve had four different doctors. Two that were general practitioners, an endocrinologist and a cardiologist. And while I have pretty high cholesterol numbers (between 200-250, usually), none of them have put me on statins. I’ve had a calcium score (and scored zero…or whatever was the best score, I can’t remember if that was a zero or an A) so that was an initial good sign. Then, there were things like the shape and other little nuances of my cholesterol that stopped them from giving me statins.
And full disclosure, I told them I preferred to not go on statins if that was possible. So we were working from that POV. On the other hand, my in-laws all used to have high cholesterol before they went on statins and now their HDL and LDL numbers are crazy low. So maybe it’s inevitable, but I’d like to hold off as long as possible.
Here are some of the most liked responses in this Reddit thread.
1. Two numbers, tracked in an app
The change: a saturated fat ceiling and a fiber floor, logged daily.
“<10 g of saturated fat and 40+ g of fiber daily. Use a free food diary app like cronometer to track your intake.”
u/ceciliawpg — via Reddit.com
“Anecdotally, I was able to lower my LDL and total cholesterol w/ staying under 12g sat fat and min 25g fiber a day. It’s totally doable!! It was easier for me to achieve this by avoiding animal products all day except for 1 meal per day.”
deleted account — via Reddit.com
Related: 9 Foods High in Both Protein and Fiber (And How to Actually Use Them)
2. Ramping the fiber slowly, because 40 grams hurts
The complication nobody warns you about.
“How do you eat that much fiber everyday and not feel bloated/nauseated? I’ve been trying to gradually increase my fiber (still nowhere near 40g) and the increased fiber is making me feel awful—I’m nauseated (have even thrown up a few times), bloated, gassy, etc.”
u/cold_as_nice — via Reddit.com
“supplement with Benefiber or any other pre-biotic supplement to improve gut bacteria. this will help with bloating.”
u/MindMender62 — via Reddit.com
3. Three different fibers, not one
The change: pectin, psyllium and beta-glucan, every day, from three foods.
“Always over 40+ grams of fiber per day mostly from Whole Foods and fruit/veggies. But these specific fibers all help lower LDL.. Apple sauce daily – contains pectin a type of fiber good at reducing cholesterol. Metamucil daily – contains psyllium husk a type of fiber good at reducing cholesterol. Overnight Oats w Chia seeds daily – contains beta glucans that are good at reducing cholesterol. What I call my holy trinity…get on it!”
u/KCbum816 — via Reddit.com
The Greenest Recommends
- Metamucil psyllium husk — psyllium, the fiber with the strongest LDL data here
- Chia seeds — for the overnight oats
4. Oats, but in a form you’ll actually eat
Reported: total cholesterol 185 → 150.
“Oats. I don’t like oatmeal but I make granola bars and a chocolate oatmeal brownie for snacks, plus add it to smoothies. My total cholesterol was never high but always in the 185 range. By adding oats, it dropped to 150.”
u/Rougaroux1969 — via Reddit.com
The Greenest Recommends
- Old-fashioned rolled oats — the beta-glucan source
Related: 7 Breakfasts That Keep Your Blood Sugar Steady All Morning
5. A flax and chia blend in every dinner
Reported: LDL 142 → 72, over two years, alongside Zetia.
“I do a flax chia blend and add it to all my dinners. No meat, no dairy. Added tuna and salmon to diet. […] Keep my sat fat under 10 but most days it’s 5 or below. I rarely eat out. No fast food. […] My LDL started at 142. I was put on zetia and it took me two years to figure out my diet. Last month’s LDL check was 72”
u/MissPeppingtosh — via Reddit.com
The Greenest Recommends
- Ground flaxseed — the flax half of the blend
- Chia seeds — the other half
6. Butter and cheese went first
The change: label-reading, and one fat at a time.
“I was never a huge dairy gal but it’s got saturated fat. I always have eaten cereal without milk but I had to cut out butter. Gosh I slathered that by the boatful. Reading sat fat on labels really opens the eyes”
u/MissPeppingtosh — via Reddit.com
“Fat free milk and fat free yogurt have zero grams of saturated fat – to be clear. The worst demons of the bunch are butter, cheese and cream. But fat-free dairy is totally fine and a great source of both protein and calcium.”
u/ceciliawpg — via Reddit.com
My cardiologist said that going vegan was the only thing he’s seen that significantly moved the needle when it came to lowering cholesterol. And he said it was only going vegan that moved the needle. The Mediterranean diet didn’t do it. Neither did going pescatarian or even just vegetarian. It was the full vegan and he said it could potentially move it from 10-30%. I eat less meat after hearing his advice, but have yet to go totally vegan.
Related: The Healthiest and Unhealthiest Choices for Meat, Fish, Oils, Dairy and More
7. Olive oil where the butter used to go
The change: EVOO as the default cooking fat.
“Fiber. Evoo instead of butter”
u/hellowdear — via Reddit.com
“use mainly EVOO (the kind that burns the back of your throat, which means high polyphenols). I’ve been very generous with portions […] EVOO is more expensive, but it seems to be helping. I haven’t had any issues with smoke point – I don’t deep fry.”
u/GlobalCitizen7 — via Reddit.com
The Greenest Recommends
- High-polyphenol olive oil — the throat-burn kind
Related: The Four Foods the Blue Zones Author Says to Always Keep in Your House
8. Plant stanol chews, 2 grams a day
Reported: apoB 110 → 77 in two months, with several changes at once.
“Just got my latest apoB test and it went down from 110 to 77 in 2 months with diet changes […] 2g daily of plant stanol esters (Benecol chocolate chews) which I found easy to do. This works by competing with cholesterol that is excreted from the bile duct to prevent reabsorption in the intestine.”
u/GlobalCitizen7 — via Reddit.com
The Greenest Recommends
- Benecol Smart Chews — 2 g of plant stanols a day
9. Going mostly, or entirely, plant-based
Reported: LDL-C 120 → ~60 across a vegetarian diet plus ezetimibe.
“Switching to primarily vegetarian/vegan/plant based foods. Biiiiig time number drop.”
u/antleredbear — via Reddit.com
“A vegetarian diet lowered my LDL-C 30 points, and Ezetimibe a few years later another 30. My LDL-C went from 120 mg/dL to around 60. 5 mg Rosuvastatin got it down to around 30.”
u/MoistPoolish — via Reddit.com
Related: 7-Day Clean Eating Meal Plan
10. One swap, and nothing else
Reported: 139 → 109 in a year, with a 10-pound weight gain.
“Just a complete personal experience but I went from 139 to 109 in one year and I really didn’t do anything other than replace icecream with multigrain cheerios and skim milk. Like, that’s literally it. I even gained about 10 lbs”
u/ilaacsm — via Reddit.com
As someone who has had multiple conversations with doctors about my cholesterol numbers, I have a hard time believing someone dropped their cholesterol 30 points (and over 20%) just by eating Cheerios instead of ice cream. This one literally seems like something a cereal executive would say when he or she is trying to seed the idea that Cheerios will lower your cholesterol all by itself. Yes, it’s a “whole grain” but if lowering your LDL was this easy, there would be no statins in the world. I would read this one with extreme skepticism.
11. Fish oil, for triglycerides specifically
Reported: triglycerides 0.92 → 0.60 mmol/L in 30 to 45 days.
“If you want to lower trigs try 1.5 to 2g per day of fish oil capsules. Although my Trigs were in a normal range the intro of fish oil dropped from .92 mmol/l to .60 over just a 30 to 45 day span”
u/Bubbly_Wafer_3219 — via Reddit.com
The Greenest Recommends
- Triple-strength fish oil — 1.5 to 2 g a day was the dose here
Related: Sardines, Mackerel or Salmon: Which is Best for Omega-3s, Calcium, Mercury and More
12. Fiber cereal, bergamot tea, berberine
Reported: total cholesterol 314 → 243 and triglycerides 303 → 207 in five and a half months, with no weight loss.
“1 to 2 bowls per day of Fiber One cereal or All Bran Buds, Earl Grey tea (bergamot), and Berberine capsules. In 5 1/2 months I lowered my cholesterol by 71 points (from 314 to 243) and my triglycerides by 96 points (from 303 to 207) […] My chol/hdl ratio is now 4 (normal range) instead of 6 (high). I have not lost any weight during this period but could stand to lose 20-25 pounds.”
u/HollyCupcakes — via Reddit.com
One caution on this one
Berberine is the single riskiest thing named in the thread. It inhibits CYP3A4, CYP2D6 and CYP2C9, so it can raise blood levels of a long list of drugs, including statins, blood thinners and diabetes medication. If you take anything daily, this is a talk-to-your-doctor supplement, not a try-it-and-see one.
The Greenest Recommends
- All-Bran Buds — the fiber cereal named in the thread
Related: The Indian Berry Linked to Lower Cholesterol in Just Three Weeks
13. The medication answers, and the numbers behind them
Reported: LDL 180 → 27 on a statin plus ezetimibe; 260 → 90 on ezetimibe.
“Statin + ezetemibe. My LDL was 180 before. Last month it was 27 (my goal is to be under 50).”
u/Koshkaboo — via Reddit.com
“Pharma wise- Ezetmibe is very effective (my LDL went from 260 to 90) with zero side effects.”
u/Boring_Following_266 — via Reddit.com
14. The side-effect conversation, in full
The exchange that ran longest in the thread.
“Do you have any side effects with the Crestor? I just started 5mg of Crestor last week and the muscle pain side effects have already knocked me on my ass. My body hurt so bad this weekend that I couldn’t even get out of bed and I thought I had the flu!”
u/cold_as_nice — via Reddit.com
“It’s uncommon to get side effects from statins, especially at low or moderate doses. […] (But if one does get side effects they can try lowering the dose or switching to another statin, or switching to another lipid lowering medication.)”
u/kboom100 — via Reddit.com
This is one of the big reasons why I didn’t want to start using statins if I didn’t have to. I generally dislike pharmaceuticals as is, so the less of them I can take the better. But don’t get me wrong, if my calcium score was higher than zero and I was in danger of a coronary, I would get on them immediately.
15. When the food changes don’t move it
The two explanations that came up repeatedly: genetics and thyroid.
“I did all of these things and it turns out my increased cholesterol is hereditary and menopause. My weight has always been in check and exercise is four times a week, but still, I have to take a low dose medication. I will still continue with healthy eating tho!”
u/General_Midnight_912 — via Reddit.com
“Have you had your thyroid checked? My dad’s thyroid went wack and his cholesterol went into the 500s. […] Now, I’m getting older and have the high cholesterol. […] Check the thyroid, and avoid sugars and refined carbs.”
u/Ok-Chip-2673 — via Reddit.com
Related: The 20 Worst Foods for Women in Their 50s (and Better Swaps)
What the research actually backs up
Four of the thread’s favourites, measured in trials
- Oat beta-glucan, 3.5 g/day — LDL fell 0.19 mmol/L across 58 randomised trials and 3,974 people, pooled by a team at St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto in British Journal of Nutrition, 2016. Read it
- Psyllium, median 10.2 g/day — LDL fell 0.33 mmol/L across 28 randomised trials in adults with raised cholesterol, again from the Toronto group, in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2018. Read it
- Plant stanols and sterols, 2 g/day — LDL down 8 to 10 percent, the figure the European Atherosclerosis Society consensus panel settled on in Atherosclerosis, 2014. Read it
- Berberine — Promising for lipids, but thin on outcome data and heavy on drug interactions. The NIH centre for complementary health says the rigorous evidence is not there yet.
mmol/L to mg/dL: multiply by 38.67. A 0.33 mmol/L drop is roughly 13 mg/dL.
The bottom line
The two common threads in this thread (no pun intended) are to eat more soluble fiber and eat less saturated fat. And those are great. The thing I’ve learned about cholesterol is that it’s not a one size fits all. There are gradations and nuances to it and while I’m not a doctor, I would recommend trying out different diets and exercises. Just get your blood checked regularly and talk to your doctor about different options that can have an impact. There may be a combination of things that works best for you.
Cory Jones has spent 20 years in media and publishing and now leads the data and editorial operation behind The Greenest. He built and maintains the site’s Neighborhood Wellness Score — a proprietary dataset scoring food access, walkability, air quality, healthcare access, and health outcomes across 18,356 U.S. ZIP codes, drawing on CDC PLACES data, EPA air quality readings, and verified location intelligence. He turned 50 last year, is a huge fan of Rancho Gordo beans, and tries to work out more than he actually works out.
Is your neighborhood healthy?
Get a free report on your tap water, air quality, walkability and more
