Hi Doreen.

Just had my lipids done again since I started Atkins, and here are the results:

Cholesterol 213 down from 242 / >200 mg/dl
HDL 45 up from 38 / >44 mg/dl
Triglycerides 84 down from 119 / >200 mg/dl
LDL Chol., CALC 154 down from 184 / 0-129 mg/dl
VLDL 14 / 10-40 mg/dl
Cho/HDL Ratio 4.7 / 3.8 - 5.4
Percent HDL 21% up from - 16%

Am I still in the high risk for heart disease for women?

Regards,

AZdutchgrl.

(Forgive me, I had to look the numbers up, since we use a different numeric measuring system in Canada .. , someday I'll learn these by heart ... no pun intended)

Although your LDL (the so-called "bad" cholesterol) is "higher" than some clinicians like to see (> 130) --- getting your triglycerides down, and increasing the level of HDL (the "good"l) are more important factors. Plus, the fact that your LDL is on the way down is also a good indicator of improvement. I'm assuming you're not taking any cholesterol-lowering drugs. (You don't want to take those, they make your numbers "look" better at the cost of your liver, and an empty wallet --- just my opinion of course) By the way, you meant for the normal value of triglycerides to be <200, not >200, right??

Also, keeping the total cholesterol:HDL ratio greater than 5 is protective as well.

Way to go!

Check out "The Cholesterol Myths", by Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PhD. Very interesting indeed.

Doreen