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Cholesterol - too much 'good'?

LittleGreyCat

Well-Known Member
Retired Moderator
Messages
4,386
Location
Suffolk, UK
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Diet drinks - the artificial sweeteners taste vile.
Having to forswear foods I have loved all my life.
Trying to find low carb meals when eating out.
Looking at the printout of my latest tests:

Type___________________________Value___________O.K. Range

serum cholesterol ________________5.86 mmol/L
serum triglyceride_________________1.11 mmol/L______0.30-2.30 mmol/L
serum LDL______________________3.59 mmol/L_____(normal - no action)
serum HDL _____________________1.76 mmol/L_____0.90-1.45 mmol/L
serum cholesterol/HDL ratio_________3.33

Now various sources say various things, and my LDL looks higher than recommended and my total cholesterol looks higher than recommended but my 'good' HDL is high and brings the ratio between different types back within the recommended 'below 4'.

So how much should I be concerned?

Does having higher than normal HDL cancel out the higher than normal LDL (although I note that the surgery IT system thinks that 3.58 mmol/L is normal).

Cheers

LGC
 
I would be happy with those results. But I'm really replying to bump your post so that someone who knows what they are talking about can see it. I could pretend I know all about lipids etc. but I would be lying
 
In the UK, total serum cholesterol should be between 3.00 - 5.00mmol/L

HDL cholesterol should be higher than 1
LDL cholesterol should be lower than 3

I wouldn't really worry with these numbers but would perhaps try and bring the "bad" LDL levels down slightly.

Ratio is rather meaningless so I wouldn't worry about this
 
These are the target cholesterol that people with diabetes should be aiming for:

  • 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
 
Hi. Unless you or your family have a history of heart or circulation problems I wouldn't worry and let your body manage it's cholesterol as it's needed for repair purposes
 
Daibell said:
Hi. Unless you or your family have a history of heart or circulation problems I wouldn't worry and let your body manage it's cholesterol as it's needed for repair purposes
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Need advice how to reduce my cholesterol my lipid profile came like this

Serum cholesterol 206 mg/dl

Serum triglycerides 203 mg/dl

HDL 44 mg/dl


LDL 119 mg/dl


VLDL 41 mg/dl
 
So I should be trying to get my LDL down a bit then.

My numbers off the top of my head were

LDL 3.0
HDL 3.1 or 3.2
Triglycerides about 0.3

More porridge and flaxseed I think.
 
ElyDave said:
So I should be trying to get my LDL down a bit then.

My numbers off the top of my head were

LDL 3.0
HDL 3.1 or 3.2
Triglycerides about 0.3

More porridge and flaxseed I think.
Click to expand...

I'm no expert on the subject Dave and I just quoted the recommended targets levels for people with diabetes, however I do have experience with eating porridge with flaxseeds as I eat this everyday, my cholesterol (according to my consultant) is excellent and I do credit this (in part) to eating oats.
 
Of course if you are in ketosis the expected values may be slightly different.

Can you stay in ketosis if you have porridge and flax seed for breakfast?
 
LittleGreyCat said:
Of course if you are in ketosis the expected values may be slightly different.

Can you stay in ketosis if you have porridge and flax seed for breakfast?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't think I'm in ketosis.

Lower carb than lots of people, diabetics included, but I still have some, typically 100g/day apart from long runs. My consultant was happy with it though.
 
LittleGreyCat said:
Can you stay in ketosis if you have porridge and flax seed for breakfast?
Click to expand...

I doubt it but much would depend on the portion size and what you eat for the rest of the day, a 40g serving of oats is around 24-26g of carbs, don't you have to be below 30g of carbs a day to be in ketosis?
 
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