Hello Everybody !

I'm rookie here and I'm aware that I should start with reading sticked threads, but I just received my lipid profile and I must say - I'm shocked and really need someone to clarify my doubts.

First, I haven't had chance to introduce myself so I'll start with it. I'm almost 30, curently on LCHF (sugested by Andreas Eenfeldt) and fairly active apart my work (lift heavy 3 times/week and also have joga clases 2 times/week). Almost 2 years ago I decided to drop some weight. My initial weight was ~100 kg (result of excesive bulking) and now I'm ~75. In less than a year I lost around 25 kg only with Paleo approach and since then my weight have been fluctuating around 75. With time I got more curious, read more, also got really bored with lean meat so I decided to shift to LCHF. Basically, I eat all kind of meats (usually fatty), eggs, veggies (all non-starchy kind), olive oil, butter some omega 3. Apart fatty meat and butter, comparing with Paleo I gave up fruits and nuts. I've been folowing LCHF for 3 months so far. I need to add that I feel great on ketosis, even during my workouts. I don't have any problems with LCHF apart one.
When I was on Paleo, half year ago I did my lipid profile check and results were:

Chol: 158
HDL: 44
LDL: 99
Tri: 78

and here comes surprise - my results from saturday (LCHF) which I picked today:

Chol: 212
HDL: 45
LDL: 154
Tri: 69

What I see is huge increase in Tot. Cholesterol so LDL, no change in HDL, and drop in triglicerydes comparing to Paleo. I didn't expect that my cholesterol and LDL would sky rocked so much. Is there any explenation of that fenomena? I would understand increased LDL during rapid weigth loss but my balance stopped few months ago on 75...
The only thing I'm happy with is Tri/Hdl improvement but I'm really afraid of the rest
Do I need to worry about it? Shall I cut saturated fats by moving back on lean meat, giving up with butter and add more monounsaturated fats?

I have also another question. My girlfriend's father has been suffering from elevated cholesterol, LDL and triglicerydes for few years. He was prescribed statines ofcours but didn't help. Week ago he had checked his lipid profile (unfortunately I don't know details) and his physician become worried so decided to switch him on another medicines (Atorvastatin 40mg) . He asked his physician about low carb, high fat diets as an alternative to statines. He was answered that this aprroach is simply fad and only low fat diet and statines will help him (well known old story).
The question is what should I tell him? 3 days ago I encouraged him to LCHF but I'm not sure it anymore...if his results worsen, which will probably happen he will move back on statines and will also eat high carb!
Before this last check all answers were simple to me but now I'm confused.
Please help .

Best regards,

You might want to do some reading from the list in my signature. Especially about statins... bad, bad mojo.

Thank you Nancy

I post this for those looking for answers to questions similar to these above.
So, an answer to my first question concerning spike in total cholesterol and LDL after shifting to higher fat uptake can be found in:

Current Atherosclerosis Reports
2005, Volume 7, Issue 6, pp 455-459
Influence of dietary carbohydrate and fat on LDL and HDL particle distributions
Patty W. Siri PhD, MS, Ronald M. Krauss MD
http://link.springer.com/article/10...1883-005-0062-9

Just from conclusions:
"Saturated fat intake has been associated with increases in large LDL, monounsaturated fat with increases in large HDL, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (particularly omega-3 fatty acids) associated with larger LDL and HDL"

So there is nothing that I should be worried about.

Also here (From one of Nancy's signature's materials, I guess :agree :

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/...nking-the-myth/

I found that my case is nothing extraordinary.

Acording to my second question...yes I'll print some articles from you Nancy, translate them for my Girlfriend's Dad, since English is not our mothertongue and hopefully he won't have any doubts about statins any more

Anyway, again thank you for your help Nancy

Also, HDL goes up slowly with eating saturated fat. I'd expect to see a little rise in 6 months though. Mine started in the 40's and is now in the 80's.

Are you trying to avoid sat. fat? I wonder if your higher carb diet is keeping it from rising. I don't know.

Generally it should climb if you're eating plenty of sat-fat.

Also, you might look into reading Gary Taubes' book if it is in your language. He explains a lot of the cholesterol theory fallacies.

I think it is a myth that cholesterol will always go down with a low carb diet. I remember reading at the Atkins site some years ago that for those switching to low carb, 1/3 will experience lower overall cholesterol, 1/3 will stay roughly the same and for 1/3 overall cholesterol will go up. It's very common for cholesterol to rise in the first year.

What does change is that triglycerides will go down quickly and dramatically as you reduce carbs, and as Nancy notes HDL will s-l-o-w-l-y rise as you eat more saturated fats. Those are the two markers that are currently thought to best predict heart disease (although even HDL is debated now). It took me 5 years of consciously eating more saturated fat to raise my HDL from mid 60s to mid 90s. (I've always eaten some butter, but I now eat bacon and resist the habit, developed in the 80s, of trimming the fat off of meat).

"Are you trying to avoid sat. fat? I wonder if your higher carb diet is keeping it from rising. I don't know."

Nope! I wouldn't do that. I love saturated fat. I eat plenty of it in fatty meat and butter. I eat also some fatty cheese every now and again.
I'm not at higher carb diet. I keep my carbohydrates intake much below 20 g/day. In fact, when I was on strict Paleo I consumed large amounts of fruits so I was probably somewhere about 50-100 g/day. That time my LDL results were in range...
Anyway, after reading articles you provided me with, especially those from previous post I'm not worried anymore.

"Also, you might look into reading Gary Taubes' book if it is in your language. He explains a lot of the cholesterol theory fallacies."

I think I cope with english, but it's just my own opinion as well as my British friend. He's the one who wouldn't like to hurt my feelings so.... One way or another, I read 2 of Gary's books and I think I understood them well. There is no Polish translation yet and don't think that it'll apear soon. Actually this might be good thing, since I found many mistakes in polish translation of Loren Cordain's "The Paleo Diet".
I learned much from Gary, so from Robb Wolf, Lorein Cordain, and Mark Sisson about many things, but when it comes to me or my friends I loose my mind.

Also, 212 is not a BAD total cholesterol number at all. In fact you can find plenty of people in the LC blogosphere who will argue that it's a far healhier number than 158! Andreas Eenfeldt may even be one of them. I've met him and I don't think he's a cholesterol-phobe.

Also be aware that your LDL number is not directly measured but calculated via the Friedewald formula, and this is not very accurate and gives a higher number when you have low triglycerides, as you do, so some swear the Iranian formula is more accurate. You can find online calculators such as:
http://homepages.slingshot.co.nz/~geoff36/LDL_mg.htm

and that puts your LDL number at 135. Your HDL is a bit low but hasn't lowered, so - as others have noted it may still rise over time.

Thank you Liz and Merpig for your contribution .

I'm aware of the problem that LDL levels are more figured out than measured and I've already compared both Iranian and Friedewald formulas. It was just before I read this:

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/...nking-the-myth/



So I'm not worried

As you mentioned, HDL level is lower that it could be, however it is still in range and maybe will jump with time. I imagine that my (rather) low levels of HDL might be due to stubborness in as I call it: "low fat high carb bulking bodybuilding myths"...but not anymore

You might also want to check your D3 levels, too. I seem to recall that D3 and HDL were linked. But I think with a good sat fat intake eventually the HDL will head upwards unless you have some odd genetic variant.

Although, you don't have a measurement from before you went paleo, so we don't really know where you started from. Maybe your HDL was even lower?

Nancy,

Do you mean vitamin D?

I found this:

http://forum.lowcarber.org/archive/...p/t-439031.html

Actually after reading of this:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-.../#axzz25siR8q00

I considered check my T3 levels since I lift heavy and don't provide my organism with carbs...and "body doesn’t have enough (glucose) due to mismatched exercise output and carb input, T3 must drop to conserve glucose. Then, "lowered T3 can lead to lowered LDL receptor activity, which leads to increased lipid levels".

But this refers only to LDL not HDL...

According to my genetics...My father had heart issues but he worked for that with low fat, grain based diet for years...with tons of medications after his first heart atack...So, yes I might inherited some bad genes but it doesn't mean that they will undergo expression...

I didn't check my blood just before I wen't on Paleo but I will track my lipid levels from now...

Here is an interesting little study. It's just one study but it points out that
tour chlosterol can sure be to low. And about 210 total may just be about
the optium for a long life. It has a little graph that realy points this out !


http://high-fat-nutrition.blogspot....on%20of%20J-LIT