Genetics do seem to have a lot to do with it. My wife started on Weight Watchers a couple of years ago and I decided to do it with her. This means lots of fruits and veggies, only lean meats, fish and poultry. But heavy on the fruits and veggies. The stuff thats very good for you. Plus a few hundred miles a month on the bike. Result, sometimes my overall cholesteral will be as low as 220, my HDL 50, LDL 138 and Triglycerides 180 but usually not. However, my 88 year old mother has always had numbers 10 to 20 percent higher than mine and she's the healthiest 88 year old I know. So screw the staton drugs I'm going to eat, ride, live and hope I turn out like dear old mom.
SB