Bloodlevels / cholesterol levels UP ---> Please read !!!!!!

[mscola]

Hi all!

I have been on induction for about six weeks now and I have lost around 4kg. Not very much .. but maybe because I didn't have to loose much weight anyway.

I went to the doctor today to check my blood and I was surprised to see that my bad cholesterol leves went up almost 2 points to 5.5. :eek:

Of course the doctor was quick to blame the Atkins diet on it ("some people died on it in Switzerland", "no absolute proof that it works/safe" etc.)

Did anyone have the same problems with cholesterol etc? I was always very strict and I was always in Ketosis (dark purple on Ketostix). :confused:

Should I continue or drop the diet? Please advise. I'm concerned that I may gain all the weight again should I switch to a low-fat diet.

Massimo
(disappointed)
:bash:

[Thelma]

Did you have the previous test done just prior to starting Atkins?

Also, one should look at the whole picture, not just the bad cholesterol - how did your HDL do? How about the triglycerides?

I also seem to remember reading that it is not uncommon that levels sometimes do go up in the beginning but drop to good levels later- and 6 weeks isn't that long.

And your doctor said "in Switzerland" some people died following Atkins..... maybe it was the altitude? :D If low-carb eating was a killer, I'd suspect it would effect people everywhere - not just "a few in Switzerland".

[Paleoanth]

Was this bloodwork done when fasting? I had mine done once after having coffee with cream in it. BIG mistake!

What was your good cholesterol level? My doc seems more concerned with that and the good/bad ratio.

[mscola]

Hi again

The blood test was done on an empty stomach, which is normal practice here in Switzerland.

The cholesterol level was not very high (5.2) but still 2 points higher than before I started doing the diet.

Does anyone know whether there are any good reports/journal reports that I could show my doc here? He claims to be one of the top doctors concerning metabolism etc (though it doesn't mean he's good).

I will see whether I can get the full blood report and then I could post it here. In the meantime, I would appreciate any further comments regarding this topic and why the bad cholesterol level jumped up two points...

Thanks,

Massimo
(Lucerne)

PS: I don't think it has anything to do with the altitude (I'm only at 800m above sea level) but rather with the attitude. :spin:

http://mypage.bluewin.ch/mscola/Glaubenberg.jpg

This is me on a mountain called "Glaubenberg" about 20 minutes away by car from where I live. Nice place to hike and for long walks in the summer and a great place to ski in winter. :wave:

Behind me, you can see the mountains of Central Switzerland, as well as Lake Sarnen (Sarnersee) (center-right) and the village of Sarnen (center). The snow covered mountains are the mountains that make up the Alps - behind those mountains is the canton/state of Ticino and further south Italy.

Just to give you an idea where I live. ;)

[Paleoanth]

What a great picture! Much prettier than where I live.

Check out the Low Carb Studies and Media Reports forum. There is a ton of information there.

[mscola]

Hi all

Here now my blood reports:

Before After


Bad Cholesterol 3.8 5.2
Triglyceride 3.85 1.25
Good Cholesterol HDL 0.94 0.95
Sugar 3.8 4.3
Liver Gaam GGT 37 33


The blood test was done, as usual in Switzerland, on an empty stomach. I'm on my 6th week of induction and I'm a bit puzzled why today's blood samples were worse than before I started the diet ...

Should I quit before it gets worse or just continue and re-check the blood in six weeks again? Has anyone had the same problem with the blood levels? :confused:

Massimo

[Paleoanth]

Your triglycerides have dropped dramatically! That is very good.

You might want to do some reading up in that Studies Forum. New studies are suggesting that it is the triglycerides and not the cholesterol that is the real problem.

[Iwilldoit]

Has everyone read this article from NEJM?

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/347/20/1557


Okay, this was a BIG study, nearly 28,000 women!

Here's what I found interesting:

Overall, 77 percent of all events [ie cardiac/stroke} occurred among women with LDL cholesterol levels below 160 mg per deciliter (4.14 mmol per liter), and 46 percent occurred among those with LDL cholesterol levels below 130 mg per deciliter (3.36 mmol per liter).

You know, after reading this kind of study, and all of Dr. Ravnskov's work, I really do feel that we the public, not to mention the medical mainstream, have been sold, and are still being sold, a bill of goods on this LDL thing.

My doc was also tut-tutting recently about my LDL (guess where he'd just been? a symposium.. sponsored by guess who? yep, pharm company that makes one of the statins - I think these companies really want to get the whole darn world on those drugs for life!), when in fact, my triglyceride level is in the bottom of the basement because of low-carbing, and he didn't even do my C-reactive protein.

:rolleyes: