 [ Symptoms ] i have high triglycerides and high ldl is and i am in excellent physical shape how do i lower these levels without meds  high cholesterol htn etc all run in my family i cut out red meats and non whole wheat breads and pastas for about 6 weeks without any change i would like to find a way to drop my cholesterol wo going on meds my entire family is on various cholesterol and bp meds but they are all overweight and refuse to dietexercise is this something i can beat wo meds if i continue on with high levels throughout my life would i be able to mitigate the risks of heart disease diabetes and so on [ Disease ] you mention that you have a family history of high cholesterol so you may just have a genetic predisposition to having high triglycerides and high ldl cholesterol that does not mean however that you should not try to do everything that you can through modifiable lifestyle behaviors such as diet and exercise to manage your levels some suggestions to lower your triglycerides and ldl cholesterol levels would be to • do cardiovascular exercise five times per week for thirty minutes or greater • lose weight if you are overweight or obese according to bmi • change dietary habits like reducing saturated and trans fat from your diet cutting out sugar getting more fiber getting more omega 3 fatty acids and drinking less alcohol if you drink • quit smoking if you smoke i really applaud your efforts to avoid getting on cholesterol lowering medication continue to do what you can with diet and exercise and continue to follow up with your doctor on a regular basis it might sound strange but i had triglycerides over 1000 and got them to normal range with lots of black tea and 5000 mg of epa dha omega 3 fish oil supplements daily the fish oil was at my mds advice but did not seem to work until i started drinking plain black tea in place of water   5 tea bags in 64+ oz water daily