Cholesterol levels & gen health

[OKya]

Hi all,

Although I am really pleased about the results of my diet to date, one of things I am most concerned about is the mount of fat I am now eating (Cholesterol level). My mother had a heart attack a few weeks ago, (she's OK now) the hospital found that she had a very high Cholesterol level which contributed (but was by no means the sole cause). I didn't do a cholesterol check before I started the diet - has anyone out there done a before and after check? Did you find your cholesterol levels increased/decreased?

Also, I had the pleasure of watching day time tele last week! Kilroy was doing a show on people who were constantly on diets, a woman in the audience said she had just lost 4 stone on the Atkins diet in 5 months, a doctor on the show told her that the Atkins diet could not be sustained, was dangerous and permanently changed the make up your body's fat cells???? Anyone know if there is any truth in this?
:eek:

[Andy Davies]

Hi Amanda,

I see you are on Atkins, so you will be able to see from his book that he has repeatedly disproved this nonsense about raised cholesterol being caused by a low-carb diet. In fact he has repeatedly proved the reverse.

As for such a diet being unsustainable, my brother-in-law has been on Atkins for 3 years. Donaldson (another low-carb specialist, who started prescribing low-carb diets in the 1920s and went on doing so for 46 years) had some of his patients on a stricter low-carb diet than Atkins for the whole 46 years! And these patients were fit and well after all that time. This Doctor you heard was speaking out about something he knew nothing about.

So you can be reassured, on both counts.

Andy

[OKya]

Thanks for you reply Andy, I have read Atkins book, and as you say he does say that cholesterol levels should not increase. However, I am sure you can understand my concerns? LC diets do not have a high profile in the UK as yet, I was simply interested to hear if anyone has found their cholesterol levels to have been affected. Although I appreciate your comments, you failed to tell me if you have personally found this to be the case....Surely any intelligent person would want to test this theory for themselves rather than taking it for granted that something written - must simply be true?

[Glenda]

HI Amanda. I was to the doctor in May for a checkup, and I started low carbing on August 1. I was again to the doctor in early October, had my cholesterol checked, and it was down 4 points. I don't know what my actual numbers were, but he seemed impressed that it was down. I didn't have a high number to start with.
Hope this helps.

Glenda

[fiona]

{My mother had a heart attack a few weeks ago, (she's OK now) the hospital found that she had a very high Cholesterol level which contributed (but was by no means the sole cause). }

I am sorry to hear about your mother - I hope she continues to get better. Was your mother following the Atkins diet?

I can understand that this would raise your own anxiety - perhaps the only way of alleviating it is to get a reading NOW and then check your cholesterol level again after, say, another 3 months so that you know whether it is going up or down FOR YOU. As you say {any intelligent person would want to test this theory for themselves }.

Take care,

[Andy Davies]

Hi Amanda,

You are right to be sceptical about any claims you read. I always insist on knowing what the evidence is behind any claim, and not just accept the theory. Study after study has shown that it is Carbohydrates, and not dietary fat, that cause high cholesterol levels.

But I agree with both you and Fiona (Hi Fiona, by the way, pleased to see you here again!) get your own self tested before and after. As you have a history of high cholesterol in the family, you cannot afford to take chances - if cholesterol levels should increase, you will be able to stop this WOE before any damage is done. If, as I anticipate, the levels decrease, you will be reassured that you are not endangering yourself. This will save you a lot of stress and worry. Much the best way to proceed, and with your family history, you should have no trouble in getting blood tests done.

Andy

[fiona]

Hi Andy
Good to be back.
Take care

[Scotsman]

Hi Fellow LCs,

Ending up with high cholesterol through low-carb dieting was a real worry for me. The info in Atkins and Protein Power is that it won’t happen, and is very convincing. Yet I was still pretty cautious myself and have kept a close eye on it.

As part of my annual health check for my work I get a full blood analysis and I always note the cholesterol readings each year. After 2 years on low-carb my total cholesterol has only reduced a small amount (from 4.9 in 1998 to 4.7 in 2001). Such numbers were always in the healthy range anyway and were of no concern to my doc or myself.

However, what has really changed is the amount of HDL and LDL within the total cholesterol, and boy has it changed for the better:
My HDL (good cholesterol) has gone up from 1.0 to 1.7 and
My LDL (bad Cholesterol) has dropped from 3.5 to 2.8.
Both my doc and my

I now have every confidence that my choice of low-carb for health reasons was the right. Getting cholesterol checks done may be a little expensive and appear to be a bit of a faff. However, they are a key guide to what is changing inside you. Total cholesterol is not really that important, it is the ratio of HDL and LDL that matters. See Atkins or even better Protein Power Lifeplan for good explanations.

Best wishes from north of Hadrians Wall
:D

[Andy Davies]

Hi Scotsman,

Welcome to this forum, and thank you so much for your real-life personal experiences on the cholesterol question. So much more impressive and persuasive than theoretical debate, and I hope that Amanda reads of these exeriences and is reassured by them.

After two years on a LC way of eating, you obviously have a lot to contribute, and I look forward to reading more of your posts in the future.

Incidentally, we in rural East Anglia were the only part of the UK apart from the north of Scotland to have snow just before Christmas - we had 5 inches of it, and although it is gone now, it is forecast to return either tonight or tomorrow morning.

Best wishes,

Andy

[ezandreth]

I gave myself one of those diy cholesterol tests from Boots around the beginning of the year and it was borderline, 5.3 to 5.9 - I couldn't decide where the colour matched but the description was the same either way.
I started atkins at the beginning of August and have lost a bit over 2.5 stone. Did the self test again about a month - 6 weeks ago and got the same result.
Am wondering if I should ask my doc for a full blood test next time I go, due to in a week or two. Have never had a blood test - what is involved? Do you have to fast ? Does this include not drinking water? Does the nhs, gawd bless it, pay, or do you?

[Andy Davies]

Hi ezandreth,

I'd like to know the answers to these questions, too. Any ideas, anybody?

Andy

[fiona]

{ezandreth: Have never had a blood test - what is involved? Do you have to fast ? Does this include not drinking water? Does the nhs, gawd bless it, pay, or do you?}

Well I have had several blood tests - not for cholesterol levels, but other things: thyroid etc. I never had to fast or not drink water or anything like that. I think some people do have to pay even on the NHS - depends on their contributions, whether they are permanent residents of UK or visiting (my brother had to pay when he was visiting - It was £10 but that was a lonnng time ago), whether their GP feels it is necessary to do the test etc.

The blood tests I have had are very simple. Go to the hospital, a little prick, take some blood, send the results to your GP and I go and get them or ask her if they were okay.

To be perfectly honest my blood tests are always ALL normal, nothing wrong - GP's interpretation anyway. Since I started LCing I know my sugar levels could not possibly have been right. Now they are right - I can feel it ... I know it from how I feel ... I don't have those awwwwwwful swings. I think differently, I feel emotionally different, mentally clear .. I can't describe it but I wish I had NEVER heard of vegetarianism.

LCing has given me a new lease on life.

Take care.

[Andy Davies]

Thanks Fiona - and I'm glad to hear such positive reults have been your reward for low-carbing.

Andy

[Scotsman]

Hi ezandreth, :wave:
Re Blood tests:

My annual blood test is paid for by my employer but I suspect most people will have to pay for it themselves unless your doctor is convinced it is needed for a specific health reason, in which case the good old NHS will cough up the cost.

In my case the blood test consists of a small sample being taken in the morning (a small test tube's worth) having not eaten anything since 8pm the following evening. No restrictions on drinking water but no tea or coffee until after the test. The reason for fasting is so that the cholesterol part of the blood test accurately measures the residual Triglyceride level in the blood. If you have eaten recently the triglyceride level will probably still be 'high', hence the need to fast for 12 hours.

The blood test I get is probably much more comprehensive than what most people will looking for, ie. Total Cholesterol, HDL, LDL and Triglyceride levels (my test measures 33 different parameters!). The only way to find out is to ask your doctor how much it would cost. I would be interested to hear what prices people being charged in different parts of the UK.

I know little of DIY home test kits except that DIY tests of any kind are normally expensive and are not necessarily very accurate. Do they measure the all-important HDL and LDL levels?

I mentioned in a previous post that I strongly believe that your total cholesterol level is not important unless it is very, very high. The medical world are now pretty well convinced the only worthwhile measurement of heart disease risk from cholesterol readings is the ratio of HDL you have compared to your total cholesterol. Likewise, lower LDL levels is a good sign.

Personally I would not get too bunched about the whole thing. Get your cholesterol scores measured before you start LC eating if you can, measure it again 3 months later to reassure yourself that nothing is going 'wrong' with this type of diet and thereafter get it checked every 1 to 2 years to see that all remains well.

If it’s any reassurance to anyone, I have lived LC for 2 years now and all 33 parameters of my blood test show that all is running along very nicely. In fact many aspects of the tests show that I am now markedly healthier than I was before taking up LC as a way of life. I started LC to lose 25lbs and, as a much-welcomed bonus, I ended up also improving my health and general wellbeing quite a bit.

Yours aye, Scotsman

PS I have just spent 3 hours today digging 6 inches of snow away from my house and car. Very pretty stuff snow but also quite heavy to shift! I expect a lot more of this type of exercise before the winter is out. :daze:

[Andy Davies]

Hi Scotsman,

Thank you once again. This is all very reassuring, and with your permission I would like to direct people here or copy extracts elsewhere on this forum in answer to those questions which always arise about "But is this way of eating/living really healthy?"

Andy

[Scotsman]

Hi Andy,

Please be my guest and copy anything I have posted to wherever you think it may be of interest. I am no expert in LC, I just know it works for me.

My personal theory is that it is all to do with eating the type of food we evolved to survive on since our ancestors left Africa some 200,000 years ago.

Modern processed carbohydrates will provide us with 'food' to live on but at a hefty price. Our bodies can only cope for so long and, eventually, they develop problems with too many carbohydrates, especially modern processed ones like bread, pasta, sugar, etc. Obesity being only one of them.

Anyway, as it is Hogmanay tomorrow, please don't expect to get any sense out of me or anybody else north of the border for the next 2 days!

Yours aye, Scotsman :roll:

[Andy Davies]

Hi again Scotsman,

Don't worry, I don't expect you to disturb your Hogmany celebrations (or aftermath) to reply here, or even to read this. I am a fan of Scotland, having visited 10 times in 10 years, and having friends there as well as a late step-father who came from Anstruther. So I know that Hogmany is far more important to Scots than Christmas (and even that Christmas Day used to be an ordinary working day in Scotland until about 20-30 years ago).

My reason for replying again is to say that I agree entirely with your perception of low-carbing. If ever you have the odd half hour to spare, you might find the first few posts of my journal interesting, as they exactly echo your own points, and quote reference sources to boot. (The journal has become very long now, so I don't recommend a prolonged perusal). Should you wish to check out these first few posts, click here:

http://forum.lowcarber.org/t13118.html

You mentioned in your previous post having to dig your car out of deep snow. Here in rural East Anglia, we had 5 inches of snow 2 days before Christmas Day, but it disappeared. Yesterday, the snow returned, and is still with us. There was a partial thaw today in sunny places, though areas in shadow have not thawed at all. As I type (6pm) there is again a harsh frost, and everything is re-freezing fast, making road conditions here very treacherous, and pavements (sidewalks, for our North American friends) even worse.

Be careful, and have a Guid New Year.

Andy

[deepfeelin]

Hi everyone, Im just about to start the Atkins diet and have just read his book (New Diet Revolution). I too am concerned about the fat in the diet. I had my gall bladder removed last year but have noticed a real problem with pasta since then. I think I might have an intolerance which is why I am doing the low carb diet. However, all the research on the diet seems to point to positive reduction in Cholestrol. However, Dr Atkins recommends having blood work done before starting the diet. I am in the UK and am wondering how I go about this. Half of the tests he mentioned I have never heard of (except Cholestrol) and it seems that blood work is done more readily in the US just for patient information. In the UK you need to have more of a reason to have it done. Is there anywhere that you can have independent blood work done without having to go to your doctor. I know that my doctor would not recommend this diet because of the fat content. Please help!

Deepfeelin (London)

[LittleAnne]

Hi deepfeelin

I have found this thread in the general health area which I think you might find useful. It is talking about Atkins with no gall bladder (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=98444&highlight=gall+bladder). Lisa N is one of the moderators and you might want to pop into her journal and have a chat with her. You can find more info in the General Health forums.

It is not essential to have the blood tests done. In the US the customer pays for them anyway, whereas we don't. You could always ask your doctor if you could have a lipids profile (cholosterol and triglycerides) done next time you go. Mine was OK about it.