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Cholesterol Inreased - Need Advice

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Flek41

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Hi, I am 41 years old(male) and have been Type 1 for roughly 25 years. In February this year I sufferred a mild heart attack which meant I subsequently had quadruple bypass surgery, thankfully I have made a good recovery and am about to resume work. As it is a pretty safe bet that it is the Diabetes that has casued the cardio disease I have been researching ways of tightening up my blood control and so about 6 weeks ago started a low carb diet - along the lines of Benstein so quite strict with less than 30g carbs per day - fat unrestricted.

This morning I collected my first set of blood lipid results since starting the diet and am now quite worried about the cholesterol results. Pre low carb diet(Results from May 2012) my levels were:

HDL - 0.79 mmol/L
LDL - 2 mmol/L
Total 3.9.
Triglycerides - 0.7 mmol/L

Today they look like this:

HDL - 0.88 mmol/L
LDL - 4.0 mmol/L
Total - 5.9
Triglycerides - 0.7 mmol/L

I know there is a lot of contradictory advice about cholesterol and the part it plays in cardio risk but given my recent problems and surgery I am naturally very worried about these results(LDL has doubled) and am debating whether or not to continue with my new diet - which incidentally I have easily taken to and am enjoying - HBA1 unchanged at 7.6% but my meter shows big improvement and I am confident that this will come down when I am next tested. For info I am not overweight and do take regular exercise in the form of cycling/walking.

Can anyone offer any re-assurance to me about these results as I do want to stick with the low carb diet.

Thanks.
Paul.
 
I don't know, it's kinda tough with your history because you really can't afford to take any risks.

Low-carb is good for improving blood-lipids, but it doesn't work for everyone:
http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2011/09/hi ... e-thyroid/

If I was you, I'd probably up the carbs a bit, maybe sacrificing a bit of diabetic control for a reduced LDL.
 
Flek, given your recent heart scare I would consult the advice of your cardiology team on ways in which to control your cholesterol levels.
 
Paul,

are you on any medication ?
This may be the cause.

I wouldn't suspect the low carb, as your major change is in LDL only.

Geoff
 
Thank you for responding and having looked through the link and conducting a little internet research have decided to get my thyroid function checked before making any changes - will then discuss the results with my cardiologist.

Thanks again.
Paul.
 
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