although I would never discount the effects of genetics. But as I understand it, cholesterol alone is only an indicator of risk when coupled to other heart disease factors in your family history.

My GP wrote me a script for Lipitor after I had high cholesterol in my annual bloodwork about 7 years ago. Offering a challenge, we eliminated refined sugars in all forms, upped my daily portions of fruits and vegetables to more than 7, switched to healthier snack foods (nuts for chips, cheese in place of processed items, etc.). The bottom line is that my numbers were well within the normal range after 90 days. I also lost ~7 lbs of fat (from 180 to about 171) that quickly.

I recently found that unused Lipitor prescription in a box of papers I was cleaning. We had a chuckle about it.

I couldn't have done it without the complete commitment by my wife to alter our diet. She's the reason that I was successful.