Cholesterol

[Jane_J 117]

Hi all,

I said I would post my blood test results and here they are. The background is I have been eating a high Protein low carb diet for more than a year now. I eat on average 2 eggs a day, and plenty of white and red meat, and regular fruit and green vegetables. On the DailyPlate I set my cholesterol reading red every day when I log my food! So here we go:-

Total serum cholesterol 4.2 mmol/L (should be less than 5)

HDL cholesterol (the good variety) 1.7 mmol/L (should be greater than 1 mmol/L)

LDL cholesterol (the bad variety) 2.2 mmol/L (should be less than 3 mmol/L)

Triglycerides 0.7mmol/L (should be less than 1.7mmol/L)

So although according to the received wisdom of nutritionalists I should be wringing lard out of my arteries, my Atkins style diet has left my cholesterol at a perfectly acceptable level.

Hoorah!!! :scared0::thumbup::thumbup:

All else was in normal range, liver, kidney, blood glucose etc so I am probably healthier now than I was when I was 15 years younger.

Jane x

[determined1 3]

Jane, I've been waiting for your results, that is great news~ good for you.. you go girl!

[Tiffykins 673]

Excellent news Jane ! ! ! I was concerned when I was low carbing it, but my good cholesterol actually improved and bad cholesterol went down even with all the meat, cheese, and dairy I was I eating that was full fat.

YAY YAY to better health. . .

[Jane_J 117]

I am of the opinion that cholesterol may be a bit of a scam. My Dad was on statins to lower his cholesterol for the last part of his life and I think that they did him more damage with muscle wastage and depression, so much so that he was happy to finally pop his dear old clogs. I notice that my doctors print out has a part entitled Secondary Prevention that recommend that my target should be less than 4.0 mmol/L or 25% reduction whichever is smaller, so already the medics are moving the goal posts downwards. I found this text online

However, the Joint British Societies (a group of the main UK expert societies involved in cardiovascular disease) recommend different cholesterol limits for people who have, or are at risk of, coronary heart disease:

• Total cholesterol - less than 4.0mmol/l
  
  
• LDL cholesterol - less than 2.0mmol/l
  
  

These guidelines match the more stringent recommendations used in Europe.

So already I have been earmarked as being at risk of coronary heart disease!!

The problem is that we need cholesterol and our livers actually manufacture it. Without it our nerves would not function. Statins are very effective at suppressing cholesterol , but at what cost to other areas of the body? In the UK 2.5 million people currently take them. The benefits are quantifiable re cardiovascular disease but people report other side effects and they are linked with liver cancer and depression, plus the muscle wastage issue which are not so easy to count.

For me the jury is out on all of this still.

Jane x

[Donna4545 13]

My GP told me that some people's livers just make more (or less) cholesterol no matter what they eat, that it's genetic.

[Globetrotter 1,340]

Yes, I also thought that to a great extent, chol. is genetic.

[chilo1 62]

I think the best thing is to eat a balanced diet, I cannot cut out carbs altogether, nor want to, our brains function on carbs,and carbs are our body's main fuel source, it just as long as we make good choices (low GI slow releasing carbs etc) We also need fats to live, some Vitamins cannot be absorbed without fats, they're called liposoluble vitamins (A,D,E,K), fats also protect our internal organs.

[Maddie 9]

Great news Jane.