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Cholesterol Levels.

J

Joah

Active Member
Messages
42
Location
Dublin, Ireland
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I've just received my cholesterol results from my gp's office.5.7 for total cholesterol! HD is 2.6 and LDL is 2.9. Triglycerides 0.5. Was told the breakdown is good and not to be overly concerned about the total cholesterol. I take plant sterols and am vegetarian and exercise. Statins sound scary and I'd like to avoid them. Any opinions/similar experiences out there?
 
They are ideal, in my opinion. Whoever told you they are good, and not to be concerned about the total, was spot on.
 
Thank you for your quick response. I have Type 1 Diabetes though, does that make a difference??? Its just looking at 5 point anything sounds alarming. I thought it was best to be much lower than that for total cholesterol.
 
Joah said:
Thank you for your quick response. I have Type 1 Diabetes though, does that make a difference??? Its just looking at 5 point anything sounds alarming. I thought it was best to be much lower than that for total cholesterol.
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I think they still look for TC of about 4 for diabetics, but the numbers seem good. I would certainly be happy with them; unless anyone else has any thoughts.
 
The GP or whoever was right. The total number for diabetics of 4 (5 for non-diabetics) is pulled from thin air. Your body needs cholesterol for repairs so keeping it too low will shorten your life just as much as having it too high and as you know it's the breakdown ratios that matter and not the total.
 
Joah said:
Thank you for your quick response. I have Type 1 Diabetes though, does that make a difference??? Its just looking at 5 point anything sounds alarming. I thought it was best to be much lower than that for total cholesterol.
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter whether you have T1 or T2 or are non-diabetic. Every single cell in our bodies requires cholesterol. Without it, we die. This is why our bodies manufacture it. Hardly any comes from the food we eat. In fact, if we deprive ourselves of foods that are high in cholesterol such as eggs, our bodies manufacture even more, to compensate. Having low cholesterol is as bad as having high cholesterol, particularly for women.

Total cholesterol is meaningless. It is just a total of HDL and LDL plus a percentage of the triglycerides. . These days GPs are now ignoring the Total and looking at the other bits, especially the ratios. The Total/HDL ratio needs to be under 4. The Triglycerides are the real baddies and yours are very low. (need to be under 1.7) Your LDL is a little high (should be under 2 for diabetics and 3 for everyone else)

Worry not, you are fine!
 
Thank you Darrell.
 
Again thank you so much.
 
Joah said:
Thank you for your quick response. I have Type 1 Diabetes though, does that make a difference??? Its just looking at 5 point anything sounds alarming. I thought it was best to be much lower than that for total cholesterol.
Click to expand...

Hi @Joah

These are the target cholesterol levels that they want all people with diabetes to aim for:

Blood fats (lipids)
Lipids are the cholesterol and triglycerides in your blood. Cholesterol is a type of fat found in all of us. You may be familiar with the term blood cholesterol, but what you may not know is that not all cholesterol is bad. Some of it, HDL (high density lipoprotein), can actually protect against heart disease. Low levels of this protective HDL cholesterol increase your risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol is the bad form of cholesterol in the blood. Triglycerides are another type of fat in the blood. If you have raised cholesterol and raised triglycerides you have an increased risk of CVD.

  • Your total cholesterol level should be below 4.0mmol/l.
  • LDL levels should be less than 2.0mmol/l.
  • HDL levels should be 1.0mmol/l or above in men and 1.2mmol/l or above in women.
  • Triglyceride levels should be 1.7mmol/l or less.
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Monitoring/Testing/
 
Any thoughts on how to lower LDL ???that's the question .my diet is good.btw thank you so much for your responses.
 
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