Lower Cholesterol without Statins

In the July, 2008, issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, a group of researchers from Pennsylvania examined whether an alternative approach to addressing high cholesterol may provide an effective treatment option for patients who are unable or unwilling to take statins. They followed 74 patients with high blood cholesterol who met standard criteria for using statin therapy, and randomly assigned them to either the alternative treatment group or the statin group.

The alternative treatment group participants received daily Omega 3 fish oil and red yeast rice supplements. They were also enrolled in a 12-week multidisciplinary lifestyle program. The statin group participants received 40 mg of a statin drug daily, as well as printed materials about diet and exercise recommendations.

At the end of the three-month period, both groups reduced their LDL cholesterol levels: the alternative treatment group by 42.4 percent; the statin group by 39.6 percent. Members of the alternative therapy group also had a substantial reduction in triglycerides, another form of fat found in the blood, and had lost more weight.