Whats a good pill to buy to help lower cholesterol?

Whats a good pill to buy at the drug store that helps lower cholesterol? Does anyone here use these pills? Do they actually work and lower cholesterol? If so about how much does it lower cholesterol?

The best way to adjust the LDL/HDL balace is diet an exercise, and OTC pills won't do much but lighten your wallet.. Prescription meds like Lipitor have side effects.

I stay away from fast food, fats butter and cheese, and use alternatives. Fiber like oats are good, and some fish is useful.

If someone knows they have high LDL, the doctor would explain this.

What's up?

Slow release niacin lowers triglycerides (do not get immediate release niacin, as this will cause an unpleasant niacin flush! Other than that, there aren't any over the counter drugs that lower cholesterol. The statin drug class (e.g. Zocor, Lipitor and Crestor) are available by prescription only. They work to increase HDL (good cholestrol), decrease LDL (bad cholesterol) and do a little work on the triglycerides.

What is your cholesterol level? Your HDL level? Your LDL level? Your tryglyceride level?

You can increase HDL a bit with exercise, red wine and decreasing your saturated fat intake (saturated fats are in anything derived from an animal product). Decreasing your saturated fat intake and increasing the amounts of monosaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats help to decrease cholestrol levels, too.

For someone your age:

Fasting cholestrol should be less than 200, LDL less than 100, HDL's should be greater than 50 for a man. Cholesterol can run high because of family history. I know a guy that watches his diet/exercises and his cholesterol is still high.

The statins are not without side effects. When you're on a statin, liver enzymes need to be monitored.

You can buy spreads with plant sterols in them and substitute these for butter. Benecol is the best-known of these. Sterols do work to lower cholesterol. Regular strenuous aerobic exercise is very important for keeping cholesterol low though. And switching to a plant-based diet rather than a diet high in meat products.