High Cholesterol first panel on Keto

(Owen) #1

Hey Everyone, I realize that there are other threads on here talking about this but I was a little concerned so I figured I’d make my own and ask for advice. I’m 25 and have lost 70lbs on first a lower carb diet in January and then Keto as of May( 275 to 205). I did my first blood panel test on Monday and my doctors visit was today. I was expecting no issues but I had very high Cholesterol.

Total Cholesteol 280
Total HDL 44
Total LDL 214
Total Trigly 109

Everything else was perfect and my BP even dropped from 138/90 to 113/70! The doctor was confused and couldn’t understand why my Cholesterol was so high with all of this weight loss. She told me to stay on the diet but to cut back on red meats, bacon, and butter a bit. I do cook with butter and have bullet coffees each morning. Also eat bacon or sausage most morning with eggs and avocado. Also, Thursday-Sunday before my blood test I ate quite a bit of pork cracklings and was eating kind of a dirtier Keto but there was a bit of fasting thrown in as well. (I was traveling with limited money and had a bunch of pork cracklings with me lol).

Should I be concerned? She wanted me to do another blood test in 6 months but was threatening Cholesterol Meds if it was bad again. Overall I left feeling discouraged like I should quit the diet. I don’t know enough about Keto and LDL so I just need some advice.

Thanks!

(Allie) #2

Do a search online for “cholesterol myth” and you’ll learn a lot more than your doctors appears to know. It’s not the bad thing doctors have been trained to believe it is, your body needs it.

(Bob M) #3

Since the exact same question pops up so often, is there a way to put up a single post that explains why “high” “cholesterol” most likely is not “bad”?

My belief after research: It is unlikely high total cholesterol or LDL is bad and likely is protective. If you want to know the best indication or risk, that is a coronary arterial calcification test/score. Anything else is a shot in the dark.

Owen, I assume you’re male? (I ask because women usually have higher HDL.) Saturated fat does not cause high “cholesterol”. (Cholesterol is a single chemical; the things that are actually being measured are lipoproteins, which carry cholesterol.) Here’s one book:

Here’s the first book I read on the subject:

If you have time, Dr. Kendrick has a 57 part (as this time) series:

(Allie) #4

A pinned post on the subject would be a good idea, then we could just direct people to it rather than explaining repeatedly.

(Bob M) #5

Oh yeah, Dr. Malcolm Kendrick has changed his idea of what causes heart disease from when he wrote The Great Cholesterol Con. He thought that stress was a major factor in heart disease when he wrote that book. He still thinks it’s a major factor, but he’s developed a theory that errors in blood clotting are what cause heart disease. You can read his blog for that info.

But basically those two books point out many holes in the whole “high cholesterol/LDL causes heart disease” and “high saturated fat causes high cholesterol” theories.

(KetoQ) #6

Hi Owen –

If this is your first blood panel, how do you know your cholesterol hasn’t improved since January? You and your doctor have nothing to benchmark it to.

Furthermore, are you saying that the eating habits that got you to an unhealthy 275 pounds, somehow kept your cholesterol at a nice healthy level? Just asking.

(Owen) #7

That is a good point and something I hadn’t really considered. I did eat high fat and carbs prior to keto and even prior to my initial start into losing weight in January. Thanks.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #8

You might enjoy Prof. Diamond’s take on cholesterol and heart disease. He has written a number of papers with Uffe Ravnskov on this topic and on the deceptive statistics drug companies use to make statins look far more effective than they really are.