Blood Test Results on Atkins
 

I've been doing Atkins since 8/19. So far I've lost more than 65 pounds. A few days ago, I had a blood test done at a company health screening and would like to know what everyone thinks.

Suggested/normal ranges:

Total Cholesterol: <200 optimal, >240 is high risk
HDL Cholesterol: 40-60 (higher is better)
Total/LDL ratio: <4.0 desirable
Triglycerides: <150 desirable, >199 high risk
LDL Cholesterol: <100 desirable, >129 high risk

(desirable is their word, not mine)

Results:
Total Cholesterol: 255 (high)
HDL Cholesterol: 41 (low end of good)
Total/LDL ratio: 6.2 (not desirable)
Triglycerides: 64 (Wow, really on the low end)
LDL Cholesterol: 201 (high, really high)

So what say you ALCF'ers? Should I worry about the LDL? Using the search function I find some say yes, some say no. Some say it's not a problem if your triglycerides level is low and mine is really, really low.

Normally your HDL should go up when you eat lots of saturated fat, but it does go up slowly. What was it before you started Atkins?

Triglycerides typically fall well below 100, as yours has.

Total Cholesterol is a calculated value that is completely messed up with LC dieting. If you want to know what you have you should have ApoB measured, or total particles counted, not the crazy Friedwald calculation that fails to produce anything meaningful.

So, other than your HDL being low, I have to wonder if maybe you smoke? Or perhaps your HDL was insanely low before. You might also have a vitamin D3 deficiency.

"Wheat Belly" by Dr. Davis is really good and explains a lot and can help guide you to understanding and improving the numbers that actually mean something.

Oh, BTW: There's a cholesterol forum here you probably should've posted this in and there are a zillion posts exactly like yours that might be illuminating. :)

If the mods want to move this to the Cholesterol forum, that's fine with me. I just wanted to post the numbers which included the cholesterol results.




I'd have to go check with my Dr. but I remember my cholesterol creeping up over the years with the consolation that the HDl's to LDL ratio was good. Maybe the last time I saw the results it was 255? That's the best I can recall.

You might also have a vitamin D3 deficiency..... That surprises me. I get a lot of sun for someone who works inside and have ignored the whole vitamin D thing. Could you explain?

It's endemic in Western civilizations where most people work inside. Even if you think you get a lot of sun, your body may not necessarily convert it well to D3. It is an important thing to get checked and strive for 50 ng/ml or higher since low D3 levels are tied to cancer, heart disease, and many other issues.

Anyway, "Wheat Belly" is written by a cardiologist and he has a lot to say on the subject of cholesterol tests and numbers. That book can answer your questions far better than I can.

Before you start worrying about your cholesterol numbers, I'd read "the Great Cholesterol Con" by Dr. Malcolm Kendricks. It's not something I even worry about now.

I'm not saying don't pay attention to the fat in your diet. Some people think low carb means you can eat all the fat you want. I think most low carb plans (Atkins, etc.) recommend a 'moderate' fat intake anyway.