DaveMK has it right.  My wife is living proof.

In December on her annual visit to the doctor her LDL and Triglycerides were high and doc suggested a statin.  So she tried it.  One week is all she could handle.  Too many side affects that made her feel terrible.  She did some research and found her side affects were experienced by many people.  I told her there is some discussion about diet and how it affects your health on Ag Talk, maybe there is something we can learn from there.  She didn't believe me.  I investigated anyway.  Found a few videos that were posted from Ivor Cummins and Malcolm Kendrick that changed the way I look at health care.  Also some good videos on LDL from Low Carb Down Under on youtube.  I showed her the videos and after a small amount of discussion we both decided to change the way we eat.

To keep it short we are now on a low carb diet (not no carb) and also use fasting.  My wife's triglycerides dropped from 160 to 55.  I can't remember her HDL and LDL numbers but both changed for the better when retested in 3 months.  Doctors response was to double the statin dose and recheck in 3 more months.  On top of that my wife and I have each lost weight.  I am down about 20 and she is down about 25.  We both feel better.

Basically quit eating processed foods.  Sugar in the quantities that most people consume are terrible for you.  Eat "real" foods or foods with real ingredients.  Someone suggested foods with less than 5 ingredients on the label and we use that as a guide in making choices.  Lots of meat, eggs and fish.  Saturated fat is not the enemy it has been made out to be.  Plenty of greens and vegetables out there without starch in them.

We are still learning and adapting but are very happy with our change.  We are not going back to the standard american diet!!!!!