I have been diagnosed with high Lp(a) levels. My cholesterol was just out of range past 3 years so asked for this test. The range is up to 75 and mine is 187! (Australia test). I weigh 53 kg, Apo(b) is normal, CRP low, BP low, subclinical hypo just off range, carotid doppler clear. The GP says no no to statins at moment, says start levothyroxine to help the cholesterol but I am concerned re that is linked to cancer and to low bone density over time and being petite and with a brain lesion- an acoustic neuroma (treated) - I am already compromised. So other than the supps I take for general health, I am thinking bergamot, berberine (natural PCSK9 inhibitor) maybe ashwaghanda for thyoid, maybe natto. Just wondered if anyone else has similar. I joined a cyclodextrin and nattokinase forum but not learning much. Any insights would be apprecieted from this learned community. I do wonder if rapa might help. Fisetin looks interesting: Fisetin ameliorates atherosclerosis by regulating PCSK9 and LOX-1 in apoE-/- mice - PubMed and https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0963996923013315
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I also have very high lp(a) levels (mine were ~5x top of the range). Iāve managed to reduce them by ~40% (still WAY too high at ~3x top of range) through a range of lifestyle, drugs and supplements.
Lifestyle - pretty much no longer eating simple carbs (sugar, baking etc) or alcohol. Increased exercise - especially rucking (which I can recommend if youāre concerned about bone density)
Drugs - Leqvio, 5mg Rousuvastatin, Ezetimibe, Bempedoic Acid
Supplements - Niacin, Berberine
For me the real wake up call was having high lp(a) prompted me to ask for a CT Angiogram. I wasnāt anticipating anything (45-years, healthier than most people I know). But we discovered I had a 70% blockage (soft plaque) in one artery.
There are some promising drugs in the development pipeline which target lp(a). Hang in there for a couple of years and, fingers crossed, thereāll be options available which can reduce your lp(a) levels significantly.
P.S. Iām from NZ. Nice to see people from our part of the world on here!!
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Hi Kiwi guy! Interestingly enough I read today that sugar (which I avoid for years) can lower lp(a). Was a surprise to me and I had some honey first time in years. I am not on medication- unsure the levothyroxine will make much difference. Ugh I really dont want a CT scan- had a gutful of contrast which is so inflammatory when I had radiotherapy 6 years ago for an AN and now annual MRIs tho I declinecontrast. My mother had a triple bypass and died in ICU after. Yeah I was reading on drugs and also natural compounds that act like PCSK9 inhibitors. Berberine was one. I guess another echocardiogram might be somewhat useful (last one 7 years ago was normal). I did email the Victor Chang Institute and it looks like Australian breakthroughs for lp (a) are imminent.
JeffW
#4
Before focusing on supplements or treatments, have you had a CCTA or CAC scan to check for plaque? Lp(a) is a risk factor, not a disease, and some people with high levels never develop atherosclerosis. If your arteries are clear, your approach may be very different than if you already have plaque. Imaging first could help you make a more informed decision.
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Beth
#5
Interesting, I had not heard of taking levothyroxine for anything other than thyroid needs. (Iām on it for thyroid)
If I had a high Lp(a) with no other signs of heart disease, Iād try to get my Apob definitely below 70 and hopefully down to 50, I am personally aiming for 30 but I have known plaque. And sorry, Iām the ugly American, so these are US measurements and I have no idea how they translate to yours, assuming they are different). Are you near 50 by chance?
Fyi, a CAC does not use contrast, so it shouldnāt upset your system like all the other things you had to go through. (If that is why you were worried)
OMG on sugar lowering lp(a)ā¦ I say that because I used to consume more sugar than a small country and mine was sky high :). (Back in the āfat was bad and sugar was fineā day)
I just did a quick google and the study was in obese people. I wonder if itās the same in thin people, such as yourself? Iāve always heard sugar was bad for heart disease, so now Iāll read up on this more.
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Beth
#7
This is a great reminder, thank you. I used to have it daily for many years, but after I learned it has to be freshly ground to be active, I mostly stopped only because Iām too lazy to grind it so often. So you happen to know if ground, yet sitting around for a week or so, is better than none?
I eat pre-ground. I havenāt heard of anything suggesting that it is necessary for it to be freshly ground.
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Beth
#9
Iāll get back on the flaxseed train! Thx.
I have seen that countless times on the interwebs, so if you have a good blender or even clean coffee grinder, perhaps buy them whole and grind them yourself, even if only once per month. If we buy them pre ground, they might have been ground ions ago. Just more bang for your buck if that theory is true.
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Iāve taken one tablespoon of ground flaxseed 5 days a week (Mon-Fri) for 25 years now.
Initially, for about a decade, I ground half a cup of flaxseed in a coffee grinder, and then put it in a jar in the freezer. Then over a week and a half, Iād have a supply of ground flaxseed (1 tbsp 5 x week), then Iād repeat the process.
I then read a paper where flaxseed storage was studied, and I corresponded with the scientist author of the study. From that, I was assured that ground flaxseed in the freezer retains nonoxidized FA for several months.
I then modified my protocol in one respect - I grind a batch of 1.5 cups (instead of 0.5 cup) of flaxseed (this is how much fits into the glass jar I use) at once and stash in the freezer. It lasts me 5 weeks, before I have to grind another batch. I have a dedicated coffee/spice grinder that I use for this purpose only, with a detachable grinding cup that makes it easy to transfer the grinds to the jar.
(1)I purchase the flaxseed and store it in the freezer. (2) I grind it in batches and also store the resultant jar-ful also in the freezer. Having been doing this for decades now, I find it very efficient - easy, peasy.
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Hi no I have not. I have had enough contrast re a treated acoustic neuroma and do not want more. I feel the same about radiation (accumulative DNA damage) having had radiotherapy tbh but realise I may have to - same with mammograms, DEXA, dental, x-rays for fractured shoulder in past. On it goes as you age. This latest result came last week re Lp(a) so just processing it all. In fact a theory that my brain lesion was caused by childhood dental x-rays. Am fed up with tests though fine with doppler (carotid very recently normal), vascular doppler of legs normal, echocardiogram fine a few years back but will do again to check stenosis. At end day I rather die naturally heart attack than the horrible way my mother did in ICU after triple bypass tbh at 70.
Hi so not fridge? I bought ground flaxseed and really dont like the texture - like sand. Mine is Mill Creek brand. I think I try grinding own like you do.
My ApoB is 0.98. The top end of range on the lab report is 1.20
Beth
#14
I know it seems silly, but I had regret over getting 3 CACs, so I refused multiple dental X-rays and opted for manual TSA screenings for a few flights in order to trick my brain into thinking I was undoing the damage :).
According to Perplexity AI, your .98 would be equivalent to 100 in the US. If it did the calculation correctly, and that is a big IF, you have a lot of opportunity to get it lower. Iād focus on that if I were you.
Definitely blend the flax yourselfā¦ much grainier, in a good way!
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Well, as you know, one can totally be obsessive compulsive and go to ridiculous lengths with all these āoptimizationsā. Iām sure it makes virtually no difference for the few weeks of storage, whether itās the fridge or freezer, but, well, thatās my MO. I calculate that if there is even 0.001% chance of a tiny additional benefit, Iāll do it as long as it requires equally little additional effort. It takes as much effort to put it in the freezer as fridge so why not, plus I have less stuff in the freezer and open it less often (though, f. ex. I also store my wheat germ there in addition to the flaxseed and flaxmeal), so itās easier to immediately find it. I also store the ground flaxseed in a glass jar with a sealing lid, so there isnāt constant free floating air/oxygen exposure.
As to grinding, same principle. Tiny obsessive details. The n3 FA is very easily oxidized. One way that happens is with high temperature. When you grind with an electric grinder, the fast moving blades generate high temperature. I figure that oxidizes some of the flaxseed. So when I grind, I adopt a method of grinding in repeated short pulses, so itās not continuous high speed which generates the hi temp, instead by doing a series of brief pulses I allow the blades to cool off and therefore oxidize less of the flaxseed. Which btw. Iāve gotten so used to I do the same for coffee beans - although if I really wanted to go wild I shouldāve bought one of those fancy grinders with variable burr and speed, so the whole temperature and particle size issues can be fully contolled.
As I said, there is no limit to these crazy obsessive lengthsš.
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Hiya what brand of grinder do you use? been looking and heh overwhelmed with choice!
Oh, the grinder I use is nothing special, just one of those interchangeable Chinese jobs, I donāt think they even sell them on Amazon anymore, I bought it years ago, name on it says EPICA. Functional enough, and has lasted.
I have a coffee grinder that I just bought as my previous one broke! Iād use it for flaxseed just as well. The new one is a Hamilton Beach, though they have a bazillion of these all with the same brand name but different configurations, the ASIN on mine is B0CNQ4BB67 on Amazon, was like $30. But frankly unless you really go up in price, theyāre all the same pretty much - key is to have the detachable chamber for easier emptying and cleaning.
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With an LDL of 100, a 70% blockage and high LPa, you need to do something beyond supplements.
Iād highly recommend Bempedoic Acid and Ezetemibe and maybe even a low dose statin. The first two have no noticeable side effects in most people.
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Yes at moment my GP says no to any medication other than levothyroxine -my cholesterol is 5. 6. Which is high but then again triglycerides very low so is inflammation. I am 64 so estrogen deficiency doesnt help. I am very sensitive to everything (vax injured after one jab, and long covid for two years). Do worry re tendon rupture? I will ask my GP re those medications re my low weight, gender and general health. I dont have diabetes and tests say thats highly unlikely. Just feel incredibly healthy and pain free and sleeping deeply without aids for the first time in 6 years soā¦
Honestly, I think you should go with the GP recommendation here. You might find that fixing the thyroid fixes other things.
The āno statin for nowā approach is also correct. If fixing the thyroid doesnāt correct the cholesterols, then you should strive for maximal LDL-C/ApoB lowering to reduce other risk factors.
Stay away from bergamot, berberine, ashwagandha etc until youāve sorted things. If you do have sky high Lp(a), the doctor should prescribe a PCKS9i at the least, and you donāt have to mess around with berberine which is a pretty ādirtyā drug. And, as others have mentioned, new medications are in the pipeline and should be out in the next few years.
This guy is 100% correct.
I read all your health complains, and youāre trying to address this with herbs and supplements and worrying about X-rays and contrast agents. Itās focus on things which are, IMO, unimportant, while ignoring much more important things. The reality is that right now you have LDL-C of 100 mg/dl, high Lp(a) etc. Youāre on the road to also needing a bypass, or dropping dead from a heart attack, as you mentioned. Crazy thing is - itās quite avoidable nowadays with the right interventions, and thereās no reason youād be dying in the ICU after a bypass. You do a couple scans, pop 1-2 pills a day, and never need the bypass. Easy.
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