hi mjl,

I understand your worry, and the cholesterol-lowering medications aren't the greatest thing either, often they only bring a minimal reduction in cholesterol levels ... although some of the newer ones are better at reducing triglycerides which is a good thing.

Don't be too hasty to cut back on fats. Especially don't completely eliminate foods that contain cholesterol such as egg yolks, animal fats and dairy products. Here's why -- our liver makes most of the cholesterol that our bodies need every day ... 80%. The other 20% must come from the food we eat. If we don't eat any cholesterol in our food, then the liver has to work harder to produce the extra cholesterol ... and this extra cholesterol is usually of the bad LDL type.

If you wish to cut back a little on these foods, that's ok. What you might consider doing is eating MORE of the healthy monounsaturated fats .. such as olive oil and olives, raw nuts and seeds and avocados (watch the carbs) Mono's will help to raise the good HDL cholesterol, which is very protective. YOu HDL of 1.71 is good, even closer to 2 would be better.

Your triglycerides of 1.31 are fine. There are lots of studies that show that high triglycerides are the bigger indicator of heart disease risk than having a high cholesterol level.

You might be interested to read some messages posted here by a man who had heart surgery, and even afterward, despite the lowfat diet and the medications, his cholesterol stayed over 9. He went on Atkins and OFF the medication ... followed the diet exactly, no cheating .. and brought his cholesterol down to 6 in 4 months' time. You can read it here.

I hope this will be helpful for you, and you're able to get off the medications as soon as possible.

Doreen