Two nights ago, my wife stumped me with the question, "What is it about high-carb diets that makes LDL go up?" I've been googling and following links ever since, and I don't find anybody writing that this is even true, although some people write that low-carb reduces LDL (and this is far from a universal experience).

Is there an answer to my wife's question?

I read that you don't get cholesterol from eating it, but instead your liver manufactures it. And your liver uses glucose to manufacture the cholesterol - so eating starch, not fat, increases our LDL production.

I also read where BOTH sugar and insulin burn the inside of your blood vessels, and your body uses the LDL to put a 'band-aid' on the damage. So instead of flushing the LDL out, it clogs the arteries with it.

I read these things a long time ago so a lot of the details are lost. What I thought I needed to remember I retained, and that's what I shared with you.

Bob

When I hung out at the (official) Atkins website, there was a document (maybe from a study?) there that said for 1/3 of those who adopt a LC WOE, their LDL will go up, for a third it will stay the same and for a third it will go down. Mine went down - dramatically. I don't know what the mechanism is, though, and I don't know WHY it is so variable.

And here is Jimmy Moore from Cholesterol Clarity page 145: "There is a segment of the population that has a mysterious reaction to low-carb, high-fat diets. Their LDL-C, LDL-P, Apo-B and total cholesterol numbers spike dramatically. The reason for now is unknown."

ETA: oops, I answered the wrong question. However, it makes me wonder: DOES LDL go up with increased carb intake for everyone? It makes sense to me that for those for whom low carb lowers LDL, that high carb would raise it. Conversely, for those for whom low carb raises LDL, high carb would lower it. I too have been googling this question and I am only seeing associations between diet and cholesterol levels, not necessarily causal relationships.