Alec Wood wrote:
> My mother has just gotten her lab results.
>  
> Total Cholesterol: 253
> HDL: 53
> LDL: 161
> Triglycerides: 209.
>  
> Her total was also 253 last July.  I don't remember the other numbers.  She has been using the Nature Made Cholestoff now 4 four months and that hasn't helped.   The biggest surprise was the triglycerides being so high and she has a cookie or two maybe once a week (after church on Sunday). Other than that she has given up on sugar.   The doctor put her on Zocor.   So, I don't know what advise I can give her. At age 75 she isn't likely to become paleo.  In fact she doesn't like vegetable that much.  
> Sunday night I made a salad for myself in a serving bowl and ate the whole thing.  I made her a salad that was in a small soup bowl (but it was heaping over the top) but she couldn't finish it.  So should I just let her take the Zocor?
> She has been living with me since my father (adoptive stepfather) died of a heart attack in 1993.
>
>   
Pasta, bread, grain products, etc., will raise triglycerides.

I think the evidence is good, especially for older women, that lowering 
cholesterol increases mortality.  It might be valuable to join the 
following groups and scan the archives 
[log in to unmask] and 
[log in to unmask]  If she starts having memory 
problems, muscle pain, etc., it is most likely the Zocor but your doctor 
will say that it is just aging.  She should have her liver enzymes 
checked before starting and after being on it 6 weeks or so.

Steve