Cholesterol conundrum

I am no expert, but I think that getting LDL down is important to good health. Are you exercising at the moment? I started LCHF in January. Up until then I exercised regularly, but a busy work schedule stopped me finding time for it. Had my diabetic clinic almost two weeks ago, and the results were similar to yours. Excellent HBA1C, but LDL cholesterol had risen from 1.5 to 2.5, my highest level on record. So now I have forced exercise back into my regime. I'm actually sitting in a cafe typing this after cycling 17.5 miles, with another 17.5 miles required to get home. I'm hoping this will bring LDL down again by my next clinic, may work for you too.

As I understand it (which I may not!) there are two basic types of LDL anyway, the large fluffy snowflake type and the small hard as hail type. The hail type is the bad boy cause it's sticky and causes build up on the walls of blood vessels. The fluffy snowflake type is lovely - allegedly.

I don't think the test differentiates between the two.

LCHF diet is supposed to give you fluffy snowflake type - but how does one know?

Anyone got any ideas as to how to get LDL cholesterol down without statins anyway?

get on google 'they' are now actually saying it's some inflammation that statin treats is more important and that can be done with low levels

my dads 92 and he's been taking statins since Jesus was a boy. you have good tri and hdl, high LDL ..I went onto statins and mine went to 2,7 so I had to reduce dose
do more research on your LDL and make an informed decision you can live with

volorg said:

Just re-watched the Cereal killers movie and the extras available on his website (www.cerealkillersmove.com) and there is a short film of a doctor breaking down Donal's blood results, specifically cholesterol. Donal's LDL was 4.6, his HDL was 2.5 and his triglycerides were 0.5. The doctor basically said that because his triglycerides were so low, this was a good indication that the size of the LDL particles in the blood were big rather than small. This is a newish theory on cholesterol, that it is the size of the particle that is an indicator of whether you are at high risk of a heart attack. That information has helped a lot. Basically, although my HDL/triglyceride levels are not as good as Donal's were, there are still considered good in terms of risk factors. So I am gonna stop worrying and keep on keeping on with LCHF.

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i watched it to very interesting, i notice the link you put wont work try this one, just checked it, this is only free to watch until the 4th July

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...gn=20140628Z2&et_cid=DM47071&et_rid=567235628

I think that most doctors use the total cholesterol:HDLratio http://www.patient.co.uk/health/cholesterol
The article talks about conventional ways to lower cholesterol.



You find a lot of people on the net writing about large fluffy particles being OK however it is some years since a big trial looked at the size of particles found there was 'no association between LDL size and atherosclerosis after accounting for the concentrations of the two subclasses' http://www.athero.org/commentaries/comm564.pdf This explains why they believe the idea was wrong and due to the method of measurement; it is quite technical


If by any chance you have been eating a very low carb diet you may find it useful to read this recent blog.
This is from a dietitian who favours low carb diets but has seen her cholesterol levels rise, she has modified her diet (it is still low carb) and she has seen improvements (her 300mg/dl total cholesterol equates to about 7.7mmol/l).
The comments are varied and worth reading.
http://www.lowcarbdietitian.com/blog

She links to Daysprings article who writes about a patient with a similar experience, you can actually get hold of it without signing in here: https://www.lecturepad.org/dayspring/lipidaholics/pdf/LipidaholicsCase291.pdf

Edit put in omitted blog url. This is probably the best thing to read if you find the other links too technical. They are there as references
edit 2 for error..

How complicated is that, I'm no scientist and cant make head nor tail of it.

every where are contradictions, statins are getting such a bad press, then so much reserch is backed by the pharmaceuticals and food growers, it makes it hard to make an informed choice, i could very easy have a problem with eating anything. the more i read the more i get in a twirl

The issue with cholesterol is the assumption! that it has anything to do with atherosclerosis anyway. If it doesn't then whether it is fluffy or small won't matter.

Cholesterol the big con has a good section about how atherosclerosis might work and I'll try and summarise it after the Germany v Algeria game which has been very good.

volorg said:

Thanks to you all for your replies. I think that this is a case of let the scientists fight it out cos they are still not sure about this. It is interesting that in the film Donal is told that he has a high inflammation level which appears to be the source of the risk for future diabetes/heart problems. So, how do we reduce our inflammation levels? Meditation? Magnesium? More sex please? ...

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* spoiler alert* I thought that right at the end of the film Donal was told he had no inflammation. Maybe I have to watch it again.

phoenix said:

I think that most doctors use the total cholesterol:LDL ratio http://www.patient.co.uk/health/cholesterol
The article talks about conventional ways to lower cholesterol..

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That should be TC/HDL ratio.

Don't think the patient.co.uk conventional way to lower cholesterol is very diabetic friendly well not for this type two anyway.

• AT LEAST five portions, or ideally 7-9 portions, of a variety of fruit and vegetables per day.
• A THIRD OF MOST MEALS should be starch-based foods (such as cereals, wholegrain bread, potatoes, rice, pasta), plus fruit and vegetables.
• NOT MUCH fatty food such as fatty meats, cheeses, full-cream milk, fried food, butter, etc. Use low-fat, mono-unsaturated or polyunsaturated spreads.
• INCLUDE 2-3 portions of fish per week - at least one of which should be oily (but if you are pregnant you should not have more than two portions of oily fish a week).
• LIMIT SALT to no more than 6 g a day (and less for children).
• If you eat meat, it is best to EAT LEAN MEAT, or poultry such as chicken.
• If you do fry, choose a VEGETABLE OIL, such as sunflower, rapeseed or olive.

http://www.patient.co.uk/health/cholesterol