greek yogurt

[pwalmsley]

Hi first time on this site and quite new to diabetes (1year) having reduced all the levels to normal except cholesteral 5.7 and been introduced to the statin tablet
I am unsure of this tablet due to hear say because of the long term effect and been advised to take geek yogurt instead can anybody help ?

 

[Steff]

hi there pw and welcome to the forum, theres a few here on statins so im sure they will be along to help you out, i just wanted to be the first to welcome you x

 

[Copepod]

welcome

Welcome to this site Pwalmsley.
There are several types / varieties of anti-statin tablets to control blood cholesterol levels, alongside changes to diet. I've not heard of Greek yogurt being particularly good in reducing blood lipid levels, in fact, it's generally higher in fat than other types of yogurt, although the effects of dietary fat depend on what your biochemistry does to it once it's in your body. There are several "functional" foods, with plant sterols, which have lipid reducing effects - yogurts, drinks, spreads etc, with trade names like Benecol, Flora Pro Active etc

 

[Caroline]

I think Greek Yoghurt is made in a different way, but have not heard it is any better or any worse than other kinds of yoghurt.

There are some yoghurts like bennecol and activia that are said to lower cholesterol so it may be worth exploring thes. Have you been refferred to a dietician? A dietician may be able to help and because they will take a personal history from you will be better placed to advise.

I also find it helps to read the patient information leaflet that comes in the packs of pills from time to time

 

[AlisonM]

From what I learned when I was put on statins the best way to reduce cholesterol is to avoid all kinds of saturated fats as far as possible, so no cream or butter. I now use olive oil and Olivio, plus I make my own yoghurt using semi-skimmed milk. I don't use 'low-fat' foods much as they tend to load up on sugars in place of the fat. If you can do it, I find it's better to make your own food using fresh ingredients, I do a cook in once a week or so and freeze stuff so I can make use of the bulk buying discounts and bogofs that cooking for one generally rules out. I buy my veg in bulk too. Things like carrots, leeks, onions, cauli and broccoli freeze really well, so I buy loads, chop it up and freeze it in portion sized bags. My cholesterol was 10 when I was diagnosed and now it's 4.9 so something's working.