Keto and HIGH triglycerides and HIGH cholesterol

(Marc Gagnon) #1

Hello all I’m a 51 year old man 5’ 5” 140lbs and have been on my Ketogenic journey for 2 years at this point. Before I began I was in the latter range of pre diabetes and heading fast towards full on diabetes 2. I was also 170 lbs and FULL of visceral fat! I was a heavy drinker most of my life and ate like most other Americans out there high carb non organic poor fat choices and so on… Now, two years into my very strict Keto journey of eating clean Whole Foods, no sweetners,no dairy, no alcohol all grass fed meat and organic poultry when eaten, only sockeye salmon and sardines for my fish choices, only clean fresh mountain water, and supplements of magnesium, hymalayin salt, Vit D.(80%F,15%P,5%C , about 1500-2000 Cal/day with various intermittent fasting protocols incorporated) I can honestly say that I am no longer at risk for full on diabetes, A1C is 4.9 from a 5.9, I’m at 140lbs, my markers for inflammation are all on point, my mental clarity is back and I could go on and on with the physical and mental benefits gained from my journey. The one thing that’s got me actually still fearful :anguished: are my lipid numbers! Triglycerides are 364, LDL 475 (direct because tri’s to high), HDL 46. DR HAS BEEN PUSHING A STATIN FOR A YEAR NOW! It’s been puzzling me as to why my triglycerides are continuing to increase to the point of 364! Also Dr advises me of things like back off the sardines, eggs, red meat, and eat more carbs and so on. Keep in mind I eat about 60-80 grams protein a day that’s only about 12 oz daily! SO, if any of ya’ll are in the same boat or have any recommendations that would be helpful here that would be nice. Thanks :pray: and Keto On

(Brian) #2

You should look for videos on YouTube by Dave Feldman. He does an awesome job of explaining what cholesterol and triglycerides are all about. But even more so, he goes into some of the factors that make them go up and go down.

The three days before you get tested are very important to the results of the test and are actually quite counter-intuitive.

I suspect you are worried more than you need to be but I’m not a doctor. Defintely look up Dave Feldman and the Feldman protocol. It will answer a lot of your questions and put your mind at ease about some of the things going on that you might not understand.

Good luck! And congratulations on your successes!

(Marc Gagnon) #3

Thanks for the info on Dave Feldman. I’ve actually been following him for quite some time. I think I may get deeper involv d by sharing my experience and trying to get involved with some of the studies he’s got going. He does have a lot of great info. Thanks

(Adam Kirby) #4

Just out of curiosity how long did you fast before getting the blood draw that produced these numbers?

(Adam Kirby) #5

The Feldman protocol more has to do with manipulating your LDL, not an answer for extremely high trigs.

(Marc Gagnon) #6

My numbers have gone up since I’ve started two years ago and I get my blood work done every six months. I’ve fasted various ways before my blood work. that 24 hr fast is usually my protocol.I have done this as well: a six day fast, a 24 day fast and this last time just last month I didn’t fast at all I actually had 2 bulletproof coffees before hand with a total of about 80 grams of fat. This past blood work has been the highest in two years. My dr recommended less fat and more carbs this time around!

(Marc Gagnon) #7

Right. I really don’t understand the high number of trigs

(Marc Gagnon) #8

The other important thing to note here is that ketones measure 2.5-3.5 in the mornings and my glucose is 65-70

(Adam Kirby) #9

Well @DaveKeto has proven with his own labwork that if you’re on low carb and don’t fast for at LEAST 12 hours before the blood test you can massively spike your trigs! The reason is all the fat energy you consumed is circulating around your bloodstream. If this triglyceride number comes from the day where you had 2 BPCs right before the test, then that strongly hints at an explanation for otherwise crazy numbers.

Here’s his video on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQHztlN1Yls

(Marc Gagnon) #10

I’m thinking that not fasting and having higher numbers this time may be contributing but they always run high. Including triglycerides.

(Adam Kirby) #11

Sure, but I think you owe it to yourself to do a simple 12-18 hour fast and get a better baseline.

(Marc Gagnon) #12

In my post I explained that I’ve done many different versions of fasting or not to test what’s going on here. Including many 12 and 24 hr fasts this is why I’m concerned. The baseline numbers are always very high including triglycerides and keep in mind that I only eat 5grams carb per meal. Thanks

(Rich) #13

If you consume to much protein it is convetes into glucose and stored first in your fat cells…then once those are full it be stored in other places such as organs…this could be why your cholesterol is high in my opinion

(Brian) #14

The protocol, yes. But if you’ll spend some time with the explanations of why the numbers are doing what they’re doing, it may give some insights that help to explain what’s going on.

Triglycerides are the body’s fasted state fuel supply. It makes sense that they’ll be higher when you’re fasted, higher still when fasted longer. Ingesting food (even BPC) just before the test messes with it.

How about eating normally for several days before the test, fasting for 12 hours with nothing but water and then having the test? At least you’d have a baseline then.

(Adam Kirby) #15

I disagree with this, fasting should deplete your trigs because you’re using the energy. I would expect LDL to go up but the trigs to go down.

(Marc Gagnon) #16

So your thinking I should go below .6 grams protein per lb of lean body mass? I’m already consistent with staying below 15% of my calories being protein. Wow that seems kinda low which I thought I was already on the low side for my body weight and body fat %.

(Marc Gagnon) #17

I’ve done this as well. In my post I explained that. This is why I’m concerned. Thanks

(Adam Kirby) #18

No, the idea that “too much” protein turns to cake in your body is a keto myth that needs extreme eradication. Here’s a great article on it.

I don’t think it’s been posted yet but Ben Bikman gave a GREAT Low Carb Breck talk about this very subject. It should be required viewing for anyone who goes on keto and is scared of protein.

(Rich) #19

I love eating meat but it still has insulin response to its consumption…If I was to eat a surplus of meat that my body does not require the break down of amino acids is then stored as energy…watched a video by dr eric berg…to much protein can take you out of ketosis https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bLGlP8T7zU0

(Adam Kirby) #20

Insulin is only half the story when it comes to meat, you have to consider glucagon as well. There has been actual studies that show in a low carb context that the small amount of insulin production is offset by an increase in glucagon, maintaining a favorable insulin:glucagon ratio and keeping catabolic processes going. And that’s the really important thing, not just insulin by itself. Now if you take the protein with carbs you will get the “expected” result and tank your glucagon production.