My cholesterol was about 220 (total). The physician wanted me to take a statin. I wanted to give diet a try. I already exercised so much that more would not have been effective.

My diet was not bad to begin with. I pretty much removed saturated fats from my diet and went to chicken and fish for meats with lean red meat rarely. I also take an omega 3 fat supplement (flax seed oil).

It worked for me. My LDL went down to around 105 and my HDL at about 65.

I am not saying that doing the same will work for anyone else. It might and then again it might not.

I have heard from a friend that he believed taking statins decreased his cycling performance.

But then again not taking statins might totally eliminate one's cycling performance

Pat