I doubt that Nancy was eating 5000 calories a day. I think that eating loads of fat (a significant energy surplus) with a healthy metabolism (being fat adapted) is what may be driving that LDL score down. It was when I was eating < 1800 calories a day that my cholesterol shot up (LDL-C 243). I was eating fat as 75% to 80% of those calories and plenty of it was saturated fat. 1800 calories a day was a significant energy deficit for me at the time as I weighed 293 pounds.

I just had my cholesterol checked this month. I had stellar cholesterol results (LDL-C 62 on an NMR, LDL-C 59 on a standard lipid test). Based partially on Dave's information and me reading up on fasting's effect on LDL I made a point to eat plenty in the days before these tests. I didn't load up on fat. I ate at my usual macros C 15%, P 25%, and F 60%. I just ate more - enough to insure that I was not losing weight. I did no fasting in the week prior to the test - even eating some up to 10pm to shorten the overnight fasting window. I did do the 12 hour fast before the blood was drawn. The results were amazing. Just last December my LDL-C was 144 on a standard lipid test. I had just ended a fast (4 days) the night before the labs were taken. In March 2016 my LDL-C was 109. I think the fasting also plays a significant roll in cholesterol levels, as several studies have shown.

It amazes me how easy it is to change that LDL number. It really makes me wonder how they could put so much weight on its value for CVD risk. Averaging the data from thousands of people may very well indicate a risk factor for the average person with continuously high LDL. But I think the value of 1 reading without a discussion of diet in the week prior to the test is pretty pointless. Dave's experiments show that diet (and dieting, IFs and fasting) leading into a cholesterol test can greatly affect the results. One study I read showed that participants average LDL C (103) rose by 23 after a 24 hour fast. They tested 24 hours later (after eating) and the LDL was still up an average of 13 points. Another study I read showed that after a 7 day fast LDL had risen an average of 66% (+/- 6%).