Bionumbers - Should I be freaking out?

(Daryl G Jackson ) #1

Should I be freaking out?

I have been on keto since December 5, 2017, almost 3 months. I started at 205 and now at 184, down 21 pounds. My 8/7/17 cholesterol was 210, hdl 22, triglycerides were 388, LDL 110 and cholesterol/HDL 9.5

2/12/17 My numbers were cholesterol was 315, HDL 20, triglycerides 377, LDL 220, and cholesterol/HDL 15.9.

Okay my triglycerides went down 10 points, but my HDL went down, but my doctor seemed very concerned and urged me to take a statin, I told her I would research it, I got it filled and took it the last 2 nights, but I bought the audio book Cholesterol Clarity by Jimmy Moore and have decided not to continue the lipitor statin as the book is severely against statins and explains why. I am not worried specifically about cholesterol, but I need to raise my HDL and lower my triglycerides, and I guess they are going in the right direction.

I am not new to low carb as I have lost weight in the past with low carb dieting the Atkins way, I also had success with alternate day fasting, eating 500 calories Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 1500 calories the rest of the week, except Saturday I could cheat. I did lose weight but half of that came back after I broke from the diet (always intending to go back to it) but I found the keto diet and I am staying with it for life. You see my numbers, I EAT less than 20 carbs a day, I keep my protein low and we do eat fat bombs, bacon, cheese, butter and cream to get enough fat. I am losing weight so I am doing something right. Even my doctor said “keep doing whatever it is your doing, you are doing great!, just take the lipitor to get your cholesterol down”. I told her I had issues with statins and asked her to watch FATHEAD on Amazon prime and she said she would try. I like this doctor but we may not come to terms on cholesterol til she gets her heart right.

(Rob) #2

I’m no expert but one might expect the HDL to up a bit, trigs to fall a bit more and LDL can go up or down. It’s a bit early to draw conclusions (2 months), you could just be a slow responder to the keto so I would keep going. Next time you would need to get a particle size study to see if the LDL is light and fluffy - it should be.

Check out www.cholesterolcode.com for lots of gratuitous detail about how people respond to keto and also about the impact of the diet on tests… fasting really messes them up and makes them look much worse than they really are. You weren’t fasting before the test were you?

(Daryl G Jackson ) #3

I am down to pre Army weight I was in 1985, I am not complaining. And even the doctor agreed the more weight I lose the healthier I will get, I just refuse to take a statin. Thanks for your response. And thanks for the link, I will check it out.

(Rob) #4

The irony is that she is still thinking that obesity causes the sickness when it is the other way around. Losing weight should be a result of better metabolic balance. ADF can work for weight loss (all diets can in the short term) but you were severely calorie restricting on 500/1500 and so inevitably you would bounce back afterwards while also damaging your BMR which is much harder to fix.

Cholesterol is generally a mcguffin but having a HDL:Trig ratio like yours is pretty interesting - it should be under 2 or at least 2-4 - yours is 17. Even cholesterol scoffers would have a double take at that. Again, not trying to worry you but it’s worth digging into with someone who really knows.

Getting on a keto WoE is the #1 step forward for almost everyone so KCKO. Hopefully someone else will chime in on the cholesterol.

(Trish) #5

There are two types of LDL and it’s important to know both numbers that make up the total LDL. There is a good kind…big fluffy particles, and a bad…small sticky particles. If your LDL is higher because of an increase in the first then that is not bad. Give it another month, eat good fats, continue to lose weight, and get retested. Read a bit more about cholesterol and ask the doctor to do a more thorough, extensive test.

(Todd Allen) #6

Consider nicotinic acid, aka vitamin B3 which used to be commonly used for dyslipidemia prior to statins. It’s super cheap and the side effects aren’t as nasty as statins. It’s not as effective as statins at lowering ldl, but it is better at raising HDL and lowering triglycerides which many think is more important.

(Daryl G Jackson ) #7

I am refusing statins, I listened to Cholesterol Clarity by Jimmy Moore and he said if your on keto diet, and doing intermittent fasting for a few days it makes your triglycerides go up and HDL go down, that is what I was doing and he said it will regulate when I am down to my target weight or my plateau weight. I am 184, and going to get to 165, I am 5’9" with broad shoulders and barrel chested, so 170 may be it. Anyway, I am not going to sweat it. I have another blood work April 30th, I think it will be much better, my doc may not think so if my LDL is still up. I am only concerned about my triglycerides and HDL. Thanks everyone for the responses! Keep it going if you want. I will post my new numbers in a couple of months.

(Rob) #8

Yep - statins are the devil’s work. KCKO Daryl!

(Alan Williamson) #9

There is literally no evidence that high cholesterol is a bad thing. However, high insulin level will lead to many bad health outcomes. 80% of people with T2D die from heart disease. High insulin is the root cause of most of the metabolic diseases. Lower the insulin level, people get better. No sugar, no grains…FTW!

#10

Don’t worry about the results too much at this stage, I’ve found that they change significantly as time goes on. The Feldman Protocol is definitely worth a try prior to your next blood panel and if you get a full LDL-P test you will be able to see the split between pattern A and B LDP which will give you a better picture of what’s going on.

I’ve found that during my time on keto, my Total, LDL and Trigs all went up initially and then gradually reduced. My HDL has steadily gone up.

As of now, around 10 month in, my HDL is the highest it’s been and Trigs are the lowest.

(Daryl G Jackson ) #11

I don’t think I mentioned it but my A1C 8/7/17 was 5.9, and my A1C 2/12/17 is 5.0. I am no longer a type II diabetic. So it’s like I have good and bad numbers, but I know things will correct themselves.