There is strong emerging evidence that the HDL/LDL ratio is much more important marker of cardiac risk than total cholesterol, which as a PP said, is not "evidence based medicine."

We have a family history of high cholesterol. DM is in her 80's, has had high cholesterol for more than 30 years. Finally she is going off statins. I've been vegan/veggie for more than 25 years and also have 200 total and a great HDL/LDL ratio. There is a much better evidence for the seriousness of high triglycerides and the X Syndrome.

Go vegan. My sister's cholesterol is 140.

I did! I had never had normal cholesterol even at my first test at 17 and 107 pounds. Only got higher as I got heavier and older. Finally decided to tackle it to avoid statins. I joined Weight Watchers and lost 55 pounds. That got my total and LDL close enough to normal to avoid statins. Kept it off for 3.5 years so far. Added regular (4 times a week) exercise this past September and I was officially normal at my last physical in June! Total down to 165 and LDL down to 93. Before the weight loss, my LDL was between 129 and 160 and total was well over 200. It makes me proud that I did this without statins and their side effects.

Even if you are not overweight and think your diet is fine, I bet there is room for improvement. Also add regular exercise.

Good luck!

Please watch Forks Over Knives. It clearly shows how a vegetarian diet will lower cholesterol in weeks, not months. Other good things: red grapefruit, steel cut oats, one ounce of nuts (Planter's has a heart healthy mix), fish oil and red yeast rice with plant sterols.

1824 here. My numbers have never been in the normal range. If it is truley familial, it never will get normal.

OP here-thx!

Only fam hx. heart disease is grandfather. Some family history of high cholesterol-sibs, etc, but they eat a really poor diet-high in sat. fats.

How long did it take to get your numbers into the normal range 3 months, 6 months a year?

My very high cholesterol is genetic. At 10 or 11, when it was found, I went on a rigid diet. Did not lower my total chol. from 380. (HDL, btw is only 19). There was no effective medicines for 15 years after that -- when Mevacor came out. Still, that reduced my Chol. to about 300. Newer drugs get me down to about 250.

I am alive at almost 50.