Too successful, too fast? Can I trust my results?

(Joey) #21

@Momma-Bear Thanks! It’s been 4 months now and, as luck would have it, this week I received my most recent NMR Lipid panel results…

Turns out I’m one of those LMHR (Lean Mass Hyper-Responders) that @DaveKeto and @siobhan have been deeply researching …

My pre-keto (unmedicated lipids) as a 60+ yr old active lean guy were pretty unremarkable. Now, having gone strict keto, my LDL-P has spiked sharply to 2800 in concert with other elevated cholesterol stats, i.e., my LDL is concordant. :thinking:

Meanwhile, my Trigs are 70-80 and HDL-C is similarly 70-80 for an excellent ratio of 1:1. And happily, my LDL size profile is Pattern A and am shown as being highly insulin sensitive.

Most importantly, I feel more physically wonderful than I have in decades and more fit than ever.

BUT … I’ll admit that these pesky elevated LDL particle counts can be (emotionally) troubling after listening to the likes of Peter Attia (e.g., interview with D Feldman) and Thomas Dayspring’s views.

Those guys make me wonder if I need to start worrying about saturated fats vs MUFAs/PUFAs in a way I had not bothered when I went keto. Yet again, as a data geek, I have stats available … For example, I know that my daily saturated fats intake has averaged between 35-40g vs total fat of 100-125g - so I’m not sure how much lower I can realistically bring the saturated fat if I tried and still get sufficient dietary calories from fats.

A conundrum of sorts on which to ponder further.

(p.s. - if @DaveKeto /@siobhan need another data point, including pre- vs post-keto bloodwork, I’d be happy to contribute my stats to the cause.)

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #22

There is no doubt that saturated and monounsaturated fats are better for us than most of the polyunsaturates in processed foods. Small amounts of ω-3 and ω-6 fatty acids are essential to our diet, but in too large a quantity ω-6 fatty acids promote systemic inflammation.

PUFA’s are also vulnerable to alteration by being used as cooking fats, and the resulting oxidation products are unknown in nature and have potentially bad effects on the body, as they get taken into cell walls and so forth (the wall of every cell in our body is made of cholesterol and fatty acids, so this is important).

As for your LDL level, you might want to check out the Web site of the International Network of Cholesterol Sceptics for an alternative point of view. THINCS is made up of a number of respected researchers who have, from their research, come to believe that the current fear of cholesterol is unwarranted. These are not crackpots, but serious scientists whose understanding of the issues is driven by actual data (or the lack of it).

For a good look into our fear of fat and cholesterol, and how it came to be an important part of governmental dietary recommendations, read Good Calories, Bad Calories (by Gary Taubes) and The Big Fat Surprise (by Nina Teicholz), two well-researched books on the history of nutrition research. The authors are journalists who spent years researching the topic, and their bibliographies are a thorough index of the primary research in the field, so that you don’t have to take their word for anything, you can look at the actual data and make up your own mind.

(Joey) #23

@PaulL Many thanks for your reply. Indeed, I’ve read Taubes, Teicholz, Phinney/Volek, Cummins/Gerber, Nichols, DiNicolantonio, and others). Along the way I’ve become a bit of a keto-vangelist to friends and family - at least as long as they’ll listen.

But I’d never bothered to follow references I’d seen to the THINCS website until your suggestion here:

Their book offering looks interesting (“Fat and Cholesterol Don’t Cause Heart Attacks and Statins are Not The Solution”). But the title sounds a bit like more of the same so I’m wondering if you’ve read it and if so, is it primarily a recap of what has been covered in many of the other titles and material already published through PubMed and GoogleScholar?

If it’s new and different, perhaps I’ll order a copy - maybe a holiday gift for family/friends who are now sick of my own voice? :slight_smile:

(Todd Allen) #24

https://b-ok.cc/book/3506812/3ff015
If you like it, order some gift copies.

(Joey) #25

@brownfat Well, the price is certainly right. Many thanks!

(Joey) #26

Having started this thread early on in my keto trek, I thought I’d offer an update by sharing this week’s NMR Lipid panel results below.

As a Lean Mass Hyper Responder, I appreciate that others following along in similar footprints might face some anxiety (as I did at first). Perhaps this will provide some comfort for what might lie ahead.

Spoiler alert: It’s all good.

My cholesterol is “high” and my LDL-P hovers above 2000 nmol/L. But without any meds, our family internist thinks this is all great stuff (btw, he’s on paleo). What really knocked me over was to see my trig figure fall to 50 while my HDL-C is just under 100. [Below is a cut 'n paste of what I posted on Cholesterol Code using their online calculator.]

(FWIW, my HbA1c is 5.2%. Never been diabetic, but always curious so had that tested along the way too.)

Happy holidays and a healthy new year to all!

_ _ _ _ _ s n i p - h e r e _ _ _ _ _

–===== CholesterolCode.com/Report v0.9.5.15 =====–
• Male • 62 • Coffee: 1 cups/day •
• 6 on months on LCHF (20g to 120g carbs) •
• 13h water fasted • Cholesterol Rx: false •

Total Cholesterol: 328 mg/dL 8.48 mmol/L
LDL Cholesterol: 222 mg/dL 5.74mmol/L
HDL Cholesterol: 96 mg/dL 2.48mmol/L
TG Cholesterol: 50 mg/dL 0.56mmol/L

———RISK REPORT———
Atherogenic Index of Plasma: -0.646 mg/dL >>> Lowest Risk Third
—-> Go to https://tinyurl.com/ycccmmnx for more on AIP

Framingham Offspring: 0.7 Odds Ratio >>> Low Risk
—-> Go to https://tinyurl.com/y5fc5adl for more on this Framingham study

Jeppesen: >>> Lowest Risk Third
—-> Go to https://tinyurl.com/y63xp7lj for more on the Jeppesen study

Cholesterol Remnants: 10 mg/dL >>> 0.11 mmol/L >>> Low Risk
—-> Go to https://tinyurl.com/y84u92wm for more on Cholesterol Remnants

——CONVENTIONAL MARKERS AND RATIOS——
Friedewald LDL-C: 222 | Iranian LDL-C: 177
TC/HDL Ratio in mg/dL: 3.42
TG/HDL Ratio in mg/dL: 0.52 | TG/HDL Ratio in mmol/L: 0.23