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Cholesterol levels and LCHF

Peadair O Brionn

Well-Known Member
Messages
451
Location
london
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
having diabetes...... people who wear backpacks on the tube
So just got my blood test results back and I nearly fell over HBA1c is ok at 40 up from 39
But my concern is my cholesterol
It’s at a level of 7.4
Hdl is 1.28
LDL is 6.41
Trigs are 2.24
I don’t know how to work it all out but it looks like I’ll be on statins . Which I really don’t want to go on . Is this a result of a high fat low carb high meat diet or is it the fact that I didn’t fast the morning I had the test . Bacon and eggs and coffee and cream
I really don’t want to go on statins , but is there an alternative if you want to stay low carb high fat
 
Not fasting seems to really skew results, I would redo it and fast for 12hrs before hand.

Also, you can't be forced onto a drug if you don't want to take it. It's your decision. So, getting results fasted and then decide I think would be a better approach.
 
If your other tests have been fasting, then there could be a big change when you have a non-fasting test.
 
Just looked again and my serum cholesterol is 8.6 . I’ve a feeling it’s the double cream in my coffee I do tend to drink quite a lot of coffee and also use a lot of double cream in the last year . So I’m gonna cut out the cream and go back to a small drop of milk . Should be ok as I’m pretty low carb . Gonna ask them to do the blood test again and do it fasting and see if it is a bit lower then . Quick question how do you work out the ratio between trigs and ldl etc .
 

Your trigs will have ben far higher than "usual" after that breakfast so the test is pretty meaningless.
The ratio that most of the up to date docs look at is Trig/HDL so without a fasted trig level it won't show anything meaningful.

Your doc will freak out over the elevated LDL level as they named it "bad cholesterol" it often rises on low carb diets but has never actually been shown to be "bad" at all.

As others as have said you decide what pills to take not your doc.

Definitely go for the retest and fast for 12-14 hours before the blood is taken and only drink water during that period.

As for cream in coffee... they'd have to pry that from my cold dead hands!
 
Please don't base your decisions on a Total Cholesterol level as these levels are more or less meaningless despite the scaremongering amongst many uninformed professionals - GPs and Diabetic Nurses particularly. Do a search on here for the long and valuable threads about Cholesterol levels and how important RATIOS are rather than individual numbers.
@bulkbiker has a wealth of experience about this - hopefully he will be along soon, EDIT: Just beat me to it! but you might well be a hyper responder - some of us on LCHF diets are - I have lost about 25% of my body mass since April 2019 and my Total Cholesterol is over 8 currently but I have perfect ratios and Trigs and HDL. I adamantly refuse to take statins.
Look for books by Dr Malcolm Kendrick, check out Dave Feldman's website and read what nutritionists like Zoe Harcombe have to say. Inform yourself - it is a controversial subject - do not blindly dump your LCHF diet and go onto statins without making a very informed choice............
 
I'm pretty sure from memory that Dave Feldman talks about the impact of coffee on results....
 

I am in a similar boat, with excellent components, but an inconveniently high total.

On my way through the AndBreathe > GP learning programme, aided and abated by Professor Sikaris, my GP who always "offered" me statins suggests a TC of 8 was the trigger point for a referral to the Lipidologist. As I was just about to go to the tropics for one n my longer jaunts, we agreed to review on my return.

Having both left her with another learning module (a bunch of papers to read and YouTube videos to watch) and subsequently testing under 8 again, the referral was shelved.

I would have been fine with the referral, but it didn't make sense just at that time.

@Peadair O Brionn - I'm with the others, I'd be asking for a few months to see what happened - and ensure I fasted before the blood draw, or an immediate retest, and ensure I fasted before the blood draw.

Cholesterol is such an emotive subject.
 
What you need to keep in check: very low trigs and hba1c. Once these are back to normal levels everything else will stabilize. High lipids shouldn't be your major concern. N.B. Follow a healthy diet, do regular exercise and have good quality sleep, with time your system will regain its balance. Good luck.
 
Lower carb ingestion as much as possible and your trigs will improve.
 



Ask your doc about EZETIMIBE. This drug reduces the intake of cholesterol from your diet. In my case it works well reducing LDL from 4.3 to 2.9 mmol/L, making my Doctor happy. Like you, I enjoy cream, butter, eggs, bacon etc. )
 
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