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Old Wed, Jan-06-16, 10:56
khrussva's Avatar
khrussva khrussva is offline
Say NO to Diabetes!
Posts: 8,671
 
Plan: My own - < 30 net carbs
Stats: 440/228/210 Male 5' 11"
BF:Energy Unleashed
Progress: 92%
Location: Central Virginia - USA
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I am more on the fence on this issue than most LCers are. Yes we need cholesterol. We cannot not live with out it. But there are many examples in life where too much of a good thing is actually a bad thing. Arteries are clogging up with plaques. People are dying from CVD at rates far greater than rates 100 years ago. Something is causing it. I just don't think they've figured the whole thing out as much as "they" believe they have. It is certainly more complicated than a cholesterol number. IMO - diet is the most important factor -- but that is just my opinion. I don't see any proof that statins or other similar drugs save lives. I am of the opinion that the whole statin thing is a for profit scam based on theories, guesses, bad data, misinterpreted data, agenda driven interpretations and just plain lies. It is a money making mess and it is costing us all.

But does lack of evidence for the benefits of statins exonerate elevated cholesterol as a risk factor in CVD? No, it doesn't. It just means that simply changing a cholesterol number with statins appears to do nothing to fix the problem. It does not prove that extremely high levels of cholesterol are safe one way or the other.

Being one whose LDL-C number more than doubled in just 9 months doing a VLCHF diet, I was concerned about it. There is high cholesterol and then there is crazy high cholesterol. Mine was bordering on crazy high. Like it or not, there is an association between high LDL-C and CVD. There is just no data available about this association in the context of a LCHF diet. Maybe it is no big deal. Maybe it is. Without data there is no way to know. I chose to error on the side of caution. I decided to try to do something to get my LDL-C down through dietary changes. In the end I was able to figure out a way to drastically lower the LDL-C and remain low carb. Am I now at less risk for CVD? Who knows? My doctor seems to think so. What I do know is that I am happier about my cholesterol numbers and I am happy with my diet. I like what I'm eating, I'm in control, and I'm still losing.

The cholesterol test I had last march was the first to show the significant rise in my LDL-C (248) & TC (314). Not long after that I started noticing little yellow dots forming in the skin under my eyes. At my last appointment my doctor took a look at it. It is more than likely a condition called Xanthalasma. Those yellow dots are cholesterol deposits. This condition is rare, but it most often appears in individuals with elevated cholesterol. My doctor said that now that my I've gotten my cholesterol down significantly, those yellow patches should dissipate over time. I haven't noticed any changes yet - but I know that they have not grown any larger in recent months.



I'm not trying to be an alarmist. But I'm not willing to tell someone that their elevated cholesterol is not an issue. It might be something to worry about. It might not be. I got very high cholesterol from doing a VLCHF diet. I worried about it. I did something about it. And I'm glad I did. It may be that cholesterol is an issue for some low carbers and not for others. I'd sure hate to tell someone that it is not a problem and not to worry about it only to have them find out otherwise years later.
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