Cholesterol? Humph!
 

Ok, I am feeling a bit discouraged right now.

Earlier today I represented my practice at a health fair. One of the booths was giving a cholesterol screen. I decided to get my cholesterol checked since my major health improvements and almost 24lb loss since the holidays! I was very excited and felt confident.........

Until.........she told me my Total cholesterol is still in the Borderline High range (Optimal is less than 200 and mine was 219). I was so shocked!

Now, the screen wasn't a fasting screen so it only could show me TOTAL cholesterol, and did NOT break down the LDL and HDL. I tried estimating-- the good range of HDL (good cholesterol) is 60, so even if my HDL was as high as 60, that would leave my BAD LDL cholesterol around 160, which is in the HIGH range!!!

I am so surprised. I had not eaten anything since dinner the night before, BUT, I did have heavy whipping cream in my coffee (probably 4-6 tablespoons during the morning). Would that have possibly bumped up my cholesterol that quickly?

Is it possible my good HDL is really high--higher than 60? What is the norm for you all? I just cannot imagine still having high bad cholesterol after eating practically cheat free for four, almost five months, and having lost 24lbs. Perhaps my cholesterol was really really high before and maybe this is the lowest it's been in a while, but I was not that overweight before--obviously had about 30lbs to lose.

I am now motivated to get a real fasting test at the doc just to clear this up, but I'm worried i'll be disappointed again :( I was so looking forward to prancing up to DH to tell him how good my numbers were, especially after him giving me a hard time about how BAD this woe is for me!

Help! :help:

Yes, coffee and whipped cream can both affect your cholesterol levels. And 219 isn't bad at all.

Read the articles in my signature and stop worrying over cholesterol.

You cannot estimate lipoproteins from a total cholesterol number. You need more information than that, and even after that, there is a formula (the Freidewald formula) that is typically used in labs to determine LDL. It takes into account more than just total cholesterol. Even at that, it's not necessarily that accurate, especially if your triglycerides are low (which they typically are on a low carb diet.) LDL is not typically measured (unless you get a test such as an NMR or a VAP.) And, a regular cholesterol screening tells you nothing about the particle size of your LDLs (which is significant.)

At any rate, 219 is NOT, NOT, NOT high. There is nothing wrong with 219! This crazy idea that below 200 is somehow optimal is ridiculous. (People with levels between 200 and 240 live longer.) The only thing is does is turn more perfectly healthy people into potential "patients," and line the pockets of dangerous statin makers.

Total cholesterol is a poor marker for heart health, as well. But, lower cholesterol levels are associated with higher incidence of heart failure, infection, Alzheimer's disease, cancer and more.

There are plenty of excellent resources about the cholesterol madness. Before you get all freaked out over a perfectly normal, healthy reading, you should probably look into some of them. I've listed a few below:

Article:

"Enjoy Saturated Fats, They're Good for You" by cardiologist Donald W. Miller, Jr., MD http://lewrockwell.com/miller/miller38.1.html

Books:

The Great Cholesterol Con by Dr. Malcolm Kendrick
The Cholesterol Myths by Dr. Uffe Ravnskov
The Cholesterol Delusion by Dr. Ernest Curtis
Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes
Deep Nutrition by Dr. Catherine Shanahan

Web Resources:

http://www.cholesterol-and-health.org.uk/links.html
http://www.westonaprice.org/know-yo...l-friend-or-foe
http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-...igh-cholesterol
http://cholesterolisgood.blogspot.com/
http://www.cybernaut.com.au/optimal...on/faq/faq.html
http://www.thincs.org/discuss.highf...arb.htm#Rep1%22

Film:

Fathead http://www.hulu.com/fat-head

How long have you been eating low carb? It takes time for cholesterol to lower - 6 months or more - and it won't for everyone.

However, total cholesterol is not a particularly good marker for health. HDL and triglycerides are.

Also the formula is not HDL + LDL = total. It is HDL + LDL + trigs/5 = total. They will measure for HDL and trigs, but calculate LDL. And then if your triglycerides are particularly low (which is good), the whole formula is bogus.

I would not get myself worked up about this. I would take the test after 6 months, under proper fasting conditions, then read your results with a huge grain of salt. The best predictor for cardio health is triglycerides divided by HDL. Under 2 is good and it gets better as that number gets lower.

Thanks everyone!! I feel relieved! I plan to get my levels formally checked soon. It's been between 4-5 months that I've been consistently following LC. I'll definitely read the articles!!

Cholesterol is the "leech craze" of the 20th Century. Your brain is like 80% cholesterol; it's something the body needs!

Mine changed dramatically for the better in 2 months time.

When you say "for the better," most people will assume a drop in total cholesterol, since that's been drilled into peoples' heads for the past several decades. But, that's dubious. And, not everyone experiences this with low carb. For some, they do experience a drop, but it takes longer. And, some never experience a drop. Some even end up with higher total cholesterol. But, that doesn't mean it's a problem, either. Numbers such as triglycerides, HDLs and LDL particle size are of far more significance. Other factors, such as LP(a) seem to be of even greater significance.

When I say "for the better", in my case, I mean substantially higher HDL, a little bit lower LDL and substantially lower triglycerides.

And the total was lower too.

Mine did the same thing - overall cholesterol dropped like a rock at first and has now stabilized between 160 and 180. HDL has continued to slowly go up in the 8 years I've been eating low carb (it was 94 last month). Trigs have always been good, between 40 and 60.

My point is only that it won't happen for everyone. Peter Attia says for folks moving to low carb, LDL and/or total cholesterol will go down for 1/3; it will go up for 1/3 and stay the same for 1/3. Based on that, I wonder how important it is.

True... I will say one thing though. My HDL has always been too low, since they started measuring it. This was the ONE thing that raised my HDL to a normal level. Nothing else ever helped in that regard.

My cholesterol has always been decent - in the low 60s - but concentrating on eating more saturated and less mono or polyunsaturated has sent my HDL way up. I wonder if I can hit 100 next year.....pass the butter, please.

After reading "The Great Cholesterol Con by Dr. Malcolm Kendrick" I've stopped worrying about LDL, HDL, cholesterol levels, yada yada. When I read how they came up with the good and bad ranges, I wanted to scream.

I've lost over 150 lbs on a low carb, higher fat diet and I've never felt better in my life. I'm 55 years old and have more energy than I did in my 20's, my mental acuity has improved significantly and my A1c is 5-6 on a regular basis and without insulin. Remarkable since I had trouble getting it under control even with insulin.

My doctor will occasionally remark on my blood work because the numbers are higher than what the medical community thinks they should be but after loaning her my copy of Kendrick's book, she doesn't push as much for me to change my diet. I think when she does it now, it's just a knee jerk reaction to what she was taught and it's difficult for her to just throw that out.

A previous poster gave a list of a number of good books and articles. I think you'll gain peace of mind about this way of eating after you read them. :)