Breaking down Cholesterol Reading

(Kelly Silverman) #1

Hey y’all!

I’ve seen post in the past where you guys give insight to cholesterol levels. I recently got mines back and although I knew they’d be high… it tripped me out a bit that THREE of my doctors called asking to see me immediately. Of course when I got there he threw not one BUT TWO medications my way… both for cholesterol.

Instead of giving y’all the long story… I wanted to get your opinion on my numbers. You all have been doing this longer than I have…

I’m thinking maybe I should scale back on the fat? :pensive::pensive:

Total cholesterol: 452
LDL: 356
HDL: 79
TRIGLYCERIDES: 87

#2

Are your doctors familiar with cholesterols for someone on keto?

Take a look at this Reddit thread.

Long story short. The type of LDL may be far more important than the actual LDL level. Are you doing keto to lose weight? If so, LDL levels should be up, because they are a result of body (saturated?) fat being used. Did they test for LDL particle size?

(Kelly Silverman) #3

Hey ogre, He says he is (familiar with Keto) however he tells me to do everything lean and low fat… so I honestly don’t think he is.

Yes I am doing Keto to loose weight and trust me I haven’t had a bad fat in my body in 5 months.

I’m going to take a look at the article you sent.

(Kelly Silverman) #4

Not sure if he tested for LDL particle size.

(Carl Keller) #5

I don’t have much time but I will quickly say that LDL by itself, is not a good predictor of coronary disease. This is contrary to what doctors are taught but there is zero unbiased science that proves otherwise. Besides most people who end up in ER for a cardiac event have “normal” LDL levels, it’s been found in the Framingham study, among others, that the older population who had the highest LDL lived longer than those who didn’t.

Trigs/HDL ratio is a much better predictor of coronary health and your ratio of 1.1 is excellent. I encourage you to read this blog by Dr. Michael Eades that also contains a video by Dave Feldman. Both agree that the best way to improve your cholesterol numbers is by eating saturated fat. The numbers are very dynamic and don’t move at a glacial rate as most doctors believe. What you ate in the last 3 days can have a huge impact on your scores and a pill with a long list of harmful side effects is not the answer.

Please, especially watch the end of the Dave Feldman video and pay attention to the story about the woman named “Jill”. It starts around 27:30

https://proteinpower.com/drmike/2017/07/25/how-to-lower-your-cholesterol/

#6

I’m no expert, and I’m biased against statins. IMO, treating cholesterol in the average person is more of a marketing push than a health push.

A few years ago, before keto, my triglycerides went very high. My doctor prescribed a statin. I did get the prescription, but procrastinated taking any pills. At my next appointment, the doctor was so pleased at how my triglycerides had come down because of the pills. Then I told him I never took them. :slight_smile:

(Kelly Silverman) #7

Do you see a holistic/natural path doctor?

(Kelly Silverman) #8

Im going to watch that about Jill.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #9

Your triglycerides are quite healthy, <150 is normal, 150-199 is borderline high. This is a much more appropriate way to measure CAD risk factors than LDL and Total Cholesterol. Those two stats are dangerous only in the presence of high blood glucose levels which cause arterial plaque to build up and calcify. Also you must have had elevated cholesterol beforehand for it to be so high now. And then there’s a period of 6 months or so while you start keto when cholesterol can go quite high, mostly I have heard it starts to drop later in most people when you’re better adapted to keto.

Even if your doctor says drinking coffee during a fast is okay before a triglycerides screening, Don’t do it.

And I don’t know your age but if you haven’t had a cardiac event from high cholesterol after a certain age it’s likely you won’t. High cholesterol preserves brain function. It’s necessary for almost every cell in your body’s health.

:cowboy_hat_face:

(Bob M) #10

Look into getting a coronary artery calcification (CAC scan), which is a CT scan for your heart and arteries around there. It’s the only thing that actually quantifies risk. In the US, in CT, I had to pay for this myself, and it cost $100.

(Kelly Silverman) #11

He ordered me one… he also ordered a fasting insulin test! I was excited about that… when I looked my paper I also saw another test for some type of Metabolic test… I was happy about that too!

(Kelly Silverman) #12

Funny you mention that I must’ve had something to elevate my cholesterol before the test… Yes, I had some MCT oil and heavy whip earlier that morning before the test. I didn’t know I was going to take the test… or else I wouldn’t have done that.

(Ken) #13

Your HDL is higher than your Triglycerides. That is awesome! You can be assured your LDL is mostly large particle, which is great!

(Jane) #14

No, her triglycerides are slightly higher than her HDL but excellent ratio.

(Kelly Silverman) #15

How do you guys calculate ratio? Are you using the same system as Dr Berg?

@240lbfatloss @Janie

(Kelly Silverman) #16

I started watching the video with Dave who I’ve heard so much about, and I’m going to listen to the rest on the way to work.

From the article it says that you can change your cholesterol over the course of a few days because basically… its ever changing. I’m going to read the article more thoroughly to make sure I understand.

This also makes sense with something else… My doctor called the next day and told me NOT to take the statins. He told me that he spoke with two other doctors that are “Very smart” and they told him “Its not her… its her diet”, so with that statement my doctor was probably under the impression that it was genetics… until the other doctors told him otherwise.

Carl I’m wondering now, if I want my numbers to come down a bit… that I get my fat from drizzling MCT on my salad and some in my coffee. Instead of all the other fats I typically use? :thinking:

(Ken) #17

Anything at or less the 2:1 Trigs to HDL is considered excellent. It’s indicative your LDL is mostly large particle.

(Jane) #18

My HDL went up dramatically after 14 months on keto. Trigs were 73 and HDL 130 back in January so my ratio was 0.56. Doc was thrilled even though my total cholesterol was 259, which is where less informed docs would be prescribing statins.

(Kelly Silverman) #19

I just heard Jill’s story… thank you Carl. I’m now wondering if I present that to my doctor… if he’ll watch it? I really wonder :thinking:

(Carl Keller) #20

MCT comes from coconut oil mostly and is 90% saturated fat. Dr. Ken Berry speaks specifically about saturated fats for improving cholesterol numbers while Dave Feldman talks about improving cholesterol with the generic term: fat. As long as you are not eating a lot of polyunsaturated fat, I think fat in general will help your numbers.

I’m glad you found the video useful and I’m glad to hear your doctor is open to a new way of thinking about cholesterol. :slight_smile: