Reply to Thread

Guest, we'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the Diabetes Forum Survey 2025 »

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Yorksman" data-source="post: 453495" data-attributes="member: 55568">Total cholesterol is a rough guide which may prompt a test for a full lipid profile. It has the benefit, unlike a full lipid profile, that it doesn't need to be a fasting test. A 'full' lipid profile often comprises, LDL, HDL, Total, Triglycerides and VLDL. There is a bit of a knee jerk reaction to LDL, HDL and Total because of a perceived association with coronary heart disease. If you have any illness at all which has any possible association with heart disease, you will have your cholesterol monitored.Triglycerides and VLDL are probably more important for an indication of how your pancreas and liver are getting along and you are right Claire, the condition of your heart, whilst important, is not immediately important for the state of your diabetes. Total cholesterol, a quick and dirty test, is just a quick check, keeping an eye on things heart related. The mistake of many GPs is to ignore the trigs. Many associate trigs with alcohol and liver damage. True, this is a test but trigs are fatty acids, and you might think of them as sort of intermediate stages between fat and glucose. They can go either way, ending up as glycogen or as deposited fat, depending on the complex chemistry which is involved. The quick wiki explanation is: "As a blood lipid, they help enable the bidirectional transference of adipose fat and blood glucose from the liver. There are many triglycerides: depending on the oil source, some are highly unsaturated, some less so."Sugars and refined carbohydrates increase triglyceride levels so it is an important indicator, often overlooked, for people with diabetes. The GPs tend to concentrate on LDL and HDL and the heart whereas more attention should be paid to any sign of a build up of trigs in the liver and pancreas. VLDL is assembled in the liver from triglycerides and is too, an indicator. It aids in the transport of substances generated in the organs.The following statement by Roy Taylor ought to be nailed to the desk of every GP:"The accumulation of fat in liver and secondarily in the pancreas will lead to self-reinforcing cycles that interact to bring about type 2 diabetes. Fatty liver leads to impaired fasting glucose metabolism and increases export of VLDL triacylglycerol which increases fat delivery to all tissues, including the islets. The liver and pancreas cycles drive onward after diagnosis with steadily decreasing β-cell function."But, when they order the full lipid profile, LDL and HDL are the headline grabbers and high trigs are just associated with heavy drinking.</blockquote>

Verification

Top Bottom

Search

Search

Reply to Thread