cholesterol confusion!

[mike7]

I've only just regaitered and started low carb - have got cholesterol checked here in Sydney where I now live, stats as follows:
Total Chol 6.4
Triglyc. 0.60
HDL 1.6
LDL 4.5

Doc said all very high/bad.

Have been low carbing for last 3 weeks and exercising (daily jog 35/40 mins)

Confused about Cholesteral as when I followed the ratio calculation I seem to be OK. I understood that total cholesterol divided by HDL should be 4 or below. Mineis therfore 4! If I divide my LDL by HDL I was told I should be below 3 - I'm 2.81.

My doc said that total 6.4 is very bad due to bad guys being so high, yet when I pressed him he seemd very vauge. I seem to remember Atkins saying that total cholesterol is meaningless!

Can anybody help me clear this up as my wife is worried about me continuing with already high cholesterol - i'm keen to plough on and re-test in 3 months if i am outside normal!

This is first posting so I am not sure how I find replies, bit if a forum dummy I'm afraid ????

Regards,

Mike7

[Moonrise]

Here are some articles from Weston A. Price you may find interesting:

Benefits of High Cholesterol (http://http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/benefits_cholest.html)

Cholesterol and Heart Disease (http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/fats_phony.html)

Both taken from:

Know Your Fats (http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/index.html)

And, finally:

Myths and Truths about Nutrition (http://www.westonaprice.org/mythstruths/mtnutrition.html)

Give it some thought, and if you're still feeling nervous, why not give lc'ing a month or three, then go back and get retested?

M

[vineyarder]

Total Chol 6.4
Triglyc. 0.60
HDL 1.6
LDL 4.5

Confused about Cholesteral as when I followed the ratio calculation I seem to be OK. I understood that total cholesterol divided by HDL should be 4 or below. Mineis therfore 4! If I divide my LDL by HDL I was told I should be below 3 - I'm 2.81.

My doc said that total 6.4 is very bad due to bad guys being so high, yet when I pressed him he seemd very vauge.

FYI - These figures are obviously reported in mmol/L as opposed to the mg/dL convention that is used in the US. The equivalent figures in mg/dl are:

Total Chol 250
Triglyc. 23
HDL 62
LDL 176

Your figures are in a controversial zone; Trig. level is great, TC and LDL are significantly above ideal levels (total < 200 and LDL <130), but you are 'protected' by an excellent HDL level, well above the desired range (>50). As such, your ratios are quite reasonable; TC/HDL = 4, which is the upper limit of 'normal', although most cardiologists would prefer to see the ratio at 3.5 or less. The LDL/HDL ratio is 2.8, which is excellent. Some cardiologists are big believers in ratios, some still are concerned by high TC and/or LDL levels, even if the ratio is good. Since you've only been LCing for 3 weeks, all your number will probably improve over the next couple of months, so you should probably recheck levels in 6 weeks or so. Of course, how aggressive you should be will depend on your other risk factors; family history, diabetes, HTN, smoking, etc. On the other hand, there is a growing body of evidence that statin drugs (Zocor, Lipitor, etc.) not only improve cholesterol levels, but decrease risk of sudden death from all causes, and therefore many cardiologists have a very low threshold for starting someone on them; in fact, most cardiologists that I know take statins themselves, even with normal cholesterol levels! BTW, how long have you been exercising? Is that long-term or did that just start 3 weeks ago, too? My guess is that as long as you keep up the exercise, your HDL will stay excellent, but if you ever stop, your HDL will drop dramatically and you'll suddenly be in a dangerous zone.

[mike7]

thanks for replies - I have exercised by jogging since my teens now 43 although have stepped it up recently to secure weight loss and hopefully help lower cholesterol. I have noted all your valubale feed-back and feel better about the readings I got. I will go strict low carb for 3 months (20/25 grans/day) and take it from there.
I don't smoke and havn't done since teens although have a history of heart disease in the family hence my keen interest to drop some weight which has crept on and sort out cholesterol naturally if possible.

I note your final point about the drugs and will research more although I feel far less concerend about them after your comments.

Final point I have done low carbs for a couple of years starting 2000 and found it great loosing first stone v.easy and finding I could maintain on the diet easily but found it very hard to drop last 14pounds. The issue being the discipline to stick to 20 carbs for long enough. Am back on it now after a 2 year or so reverting to a vegeterian regime which i found just too hard to stick to. I now hope to stick to 20g/day until most of the weight is gone as i know i can maintain on a low carb plan on-going..

once again many thanks for you reply any and all tips greatfully received.
Mike7

[relaxme]

I'm just returning to Atkins as well and am new to the forum but I think you need to find a way to assure your wife that this is absolutely the way to get your cholesterol in shape. Maybe this will help a bit.

A few years ago I started with a new doctor, a holistic practice. Up until then I had been a complete and total low fat believer since I was 15 which is when my dad has his first heart attack. His 7 siblings also had heart attacks as did his parents so I figured I had good reason to behave myself.

So for 25 years I rarely had butter or meat or any of the other stuff they tell you packs on cholesterol. I also have never eaten an egg in my life (not in egg form anyway) as they have made me gag since day 1. It all came to a head in total frustration when my old doctor wanted me on pills for the bad cholesterol (now in dangerous levels) and I did nothing but gain weight no matter how low fat I ate, so I figured I'd pass and look elsewhere. After all, I had spent years doing what they said to do and just got worse and worse so I wasn't about to continue on that track.

New doctor tells me stop it right now, drink whipping cream with whey every morning (see me gag), eat butter (all I want !!!), and start eating by Atkins and that means meat (me gagging again). I thought he was completely nuts but he challenged me to give him 90 days and have the blood work redone. So I assumed it wouldn't kill me and did it with my family kicking and screaming at me the whole time, and 90 days later my blood work was normal. You could have knocked me over with a feather...and I had lost some weight too.

Now I know. Call me born again, but the standard thinking on low fat, cholesterol, heart healthy is just so off the mark I can't help but tell people. I now love my whipping cream and whey every morning, still can't stand eggs, and am doing just fine with meats. I miss my carbs and sugars and have a real problem getting off them but this is a much healthier way of eating.

You wife needs to read all the new information on cholesterol, the good and the bad fats, what they've discovered about insulin and sugars when it comes to clogging arteries and how they are now realizing the folly of low fat. For now tell her not to worry. The proof is in the blood tests and they can't be denied. You'll see the results you want, no pills required.

[mike7]

thanks for that 'Relaxmme'. I'm sure my wife will be reasuured also. The big challenge right now is to stick to the plan and limit carbs which I am committed to.

Take care,

Mike7