Hi everyone,
I'm going to take my lipid panel again and I've heard that so many things affect it. I really want to get as clear of a result as I can. What do you guys recommend to eat a few days before? My nutritionist (who is up on all the low carb info) says to stay away from too much fat (the stuff that I would normally eat) and eat sort of vegan. What do you guys think?

Also, how much do you think stress and not sleeping will affect results?
Thanks!

Well, there's no point in eating a diet different than what you'd normally eat - you want the truth, right? As long as you get in a good 12-18 hour fast, you're fine. Just eat how you normally would. Have your typical dinner the night before, and then nothing but water. No black coffee in the morning, no diet soda, nothing. Just water. If you're a caffeine addict, you just have to suffer. I brought a can of sugar-free Red Bull for after my last lipid profile.

Some people panic and won't drink water, but trust me, that just makes it harder for the lab tech to find your veins. Drink some water. And don't force it, either, thinking it'll water down your blood and make your numbers look better.

To my knowledge, stress and poor sleep shouldn't have a direct affect on the test.

I just looked at your previous posts... stop panicking over lab tests. Slightly wonky lipid profile numbers ARE NOT A DISEASE. If you're in good health, you're in good health.

If you want to get shiney numbers that will make people leave you alone, then stay low carb but lower the fat. Do that for a few days.

If you're smart though, you'll understand that numbers != disease and you'll just grin through the whole process and shrug off any worry. Eating a healthy LC diet good for you, no matter what the numbers say.

Thanks everyone! So are you saying I should ignore my numbers even if my small LDL particles are consistently high?

What sort of lipid panel are you having done? The standard one doesn't show particle size.

Small LDL is not a great thing to have, but if you've been low carbing for a good while (4+ months) they shouldn't be small, unless it is hereditary. But what tends to happen to low carbs is that triglycerides, which go hand in hand with small LDL, drops and the LDL becomes big and buoyant. It is carbs and high blood sugar that raises triglycerides and makes LDL small and mean.

I always get a thorough panel with particle size, yes I do have hereditary issues with my pancreas that increases my triglycerides to crazy levels. My mother and brother nearly died from pancreatitis. I started cutting carb when my trigs went from 760 to 90 just by cutting gluten! I was a believer. I'm obsessing because I've only had one panel where the trigs were really low and small ldl was lowish. Trying to figure out what the key was. Otherwise, my small ldl is crazy high so it worries my doc

Ah, I see. Well, stay just regular low carb and get the data on what happens. You should see your triglycerides continue to fall. For some people it gets well under 100. The lower the carbs, the lower the triglycerides (as a rule).