Lets share our cholesterol numbers

#41

Hi Michael, thanks for the recommendation, have found a presentation by Dr. Diamond on LDL and statins on youtube, and have bookmarked it, so will watch later when I have the time.

#42

Hi Michael, Iā€™ve listened to Dr. Diamond, incredibly interesting and useful information, Iā€™ll be sharing that information and the link to Dr. Diamondā€™s video presentation on youtube with my mom, thanks again.

#43

I would call myself LC/HF these days rather than strict keto, even though my blood ketone measurements have rarely dropped below 0.4 ā€” even after a day of 100g net carbs. I will share my new numbers once I get them.

#44

Hi Wendy, I have no idea what my blood ketone measurement would be as I never measure it. Iā€™ve been listening to both Dr. Diamond and Dr. Kendrick, must say I find it all very interesting. And I have better idea about cholesterol, its role and importance. Of course, Iā€™m still learning, but itā€™s all very encouraging with regards to the benefits of a LC/HF WOE.

(Jane) #45

I posted these on your other thread but not my pre-keto numbers:

post-keto: (last month)

Total Chol: 283
Trigs: 68
HDL: 148
VLDL: 13
LDL: 122
Trig/HDL: 0.46
Glucose: 84
a1C: 5.2 (2018 after 9 months of keto)
fasting insulin: 4.6 (2018 after 9 months of keto)

pre-keto (2009):

Total Chol: 180
Trigs: 89
HDL: 70
VLDL: 18
LDL: 92
Trig/HDL: 1.3
Glucose: 122
a1C: 5.9 (pre-diabetic and doctor never mentioned it)

I picked 2009 because it is the only year my doctor ordered an a1C test for me. The a1C and fasting insulin in 2018 I ordered and paid for myself.

My fasting glucose, a1C and trig/HDL all point to improved health markers on keto.

(Joey) #46

Is that because itā€™s an inverse correlation? :thinking:

(Robin) #47

Wouldnā€™t that be a Converse reaction?

(Joey) #48

Ha! Good one :laughing:

(Michael) #49

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUMUhp1pSyM is an equivalent talk with citations therein if you really want to dig deep into the issue. I am currently compiling links for my deep dive.

#50

Hi Jane, thanks for sharing your cholesterol numbers, and a1C. You included VLDL, isnā€™t that the LDL particles? And it looks like you had brought that number down post keto? Were they the large and fluffy ones?

#51

Thanks Michael, but Iā€™ve already watched/listened to this video, this was the link I shared with my mom. Iā€™m in the process of reading through Malcolm Kendrickā€™s papers now, Iā€™ve listened a good bit to him. I find it interesting he is both a GP with a focus on helping the elderly, yet he has specialist expertise (35 years experience) in coronary heart disease. He must also have made a good bit of money on his books, so could live quite comfortably yet has kept his other job as a GP in primary care of the elderly. He has been taking his patients off of statins, among other things, to help them, but more interestingly, heā€™s never through his GP years offered a single one of his patients a statin.

(Alec) #52

Thatā€™s because he has done the research on their effectiveness (they are not), their side effects (there are many), and most importantly for an aged patient population: reduced LDL leads to higher All Cause Mortality. Hence he kinda gets the key point: he wants his patients to live as long as possible.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #53

This is a prime example of meddling with a marker and failing to address the underlying condition. Statins indubitably lower LDL; the problem is that lowering it doesnā€™t reduce cardiovascular risk.

(Joey) #54

Well put.

Reducing LDL through drugs is like applying an anti-scabbing creme to reduce the healing of your flesh wounds. Getting rid of the marker of damage is not getting rid of the damage.

#55

So, yesterday I spent my time listening to Dr. Malcolm Kendrick, and reading his blog. I shared the gist of his teachings (as well as links to his talks) with my mom who, because her english is not very good, was then galvanised to do her own research on the norwegian sites, and she found exactly the same thing Kendrick and others have been vocal and verbal about. And now she believes me. She told me she had bought low fat butter and low fat cheese following her talk about her cholesterol with her doctor, but that now, armed with more knowledge, sheā€™s going to continue to consume full fat butter and full fat cheese. Sheā€™s also working on cutting down on sugar and carbohydrates. So I feel ā€¦ just great, that my mom listened. She listened to me a while back about IF too and says this has improved her health. Feeling really happy she was open-minded about all this as it was a lot of new information to take in for her (completely opposite view to that commonly published in the press) and I am just, in such a celebratory mood.

(Allie) #56

Fantastic :smiley:

(Joey) #57

So, this part is actually quite essential to better healthā€¦ adding fat without cutting out the carbs can be worse than just eating low fat.

Short explanation: If one is consuming carbs, they get metabolized first until energy needs are met. Fat in the diet then just gets stored away into adipose and organ tissues (for a rainy day that never comes ā€¦ because we keep eating daily). Itā€™s like the hibernation mechanism in bears when they eat all those berries to bulk up. Except they then sleep without food for months at a time and burn it off (albeit it at a slow inactive pace)

But itā€™s not just about weight, itā€™s about heart health.

#58

Hi Joey, I am already aware of this. And at the same time as I am really happy my mom actually listened regarding cholesterol and saturated fats, because she hasnā€™t got the whole picture, as Iā€™ve been careful with what information I shared with her so as not to overwhelm or confuse her, leaving out the part about sugar and carbohydrates causing damage to LDL (for now) it is a concern. But I have tried to stress about the carbohydrates. I try to stress that to my SO who is making the exact same mistake, and maybe in time he will listen. The problem with consuming both saturated fats and carbohydrates isnā€™t just that fat gets stored away in the adipose and organ tissues. But it directly damages LDL, as I understand, leading to oxidation and small, dense particles. And this is a concern, because she is now incorporating more saturated fats into her WOE (though sheā€™s already been consuming some, like butter, for years alongside her carbohydrates) but still wonā€™t sufficiently cut down on the carbohydrates. But everything begins with a thought, and my hope is, knowing full well carbohydrates and sugar are bad, that over time she will be able to reduce this.

(Joey) #59

@never2late Your Momā€™s lucky to have you ā€¦ offering knowledge + patience. :heavy_heart_exclamation:

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #60

As you yourself mentioned, itā€™s baby steps. Sure, a high-carb, high-fat diet is not good, but as a transition to lower carbs, itā€™s probably going to be okay. Itā€™s great that you have the patience and the determination, both to educate yourself, and to help your loved ones.