First Cholesterol Test Since Going Low Carb: Help with Interpreting, Please!

[hose1975]

After FBG and HbA1c tests both showing prediabetic levels for the first time in five years last Christmas I have adopted a lower carb diet; I am generally hovering around 80g / day (if MyFitnessPal is to be believed, although I've just realised it's set up for USA nutritional values, i.e. total carbs from which fibre is then deducted, rather than net carbs as it's done in the UK).

I had a fasting cholesterol test done on Tuesday and my result has shot up from 5.4 last October (tested in hospital) to 6.4, which is a bit of a worry. I have just contacted my GP's surgery for the more precise results and they are as below:

• Total cholesterol: 6.4
• HDL: 2.87
• LDL: 3.26
• Triglycerides: 0.6
• Total / HDL ratio: 2.2

Despite the high headline number, do these figures look acceptable? I have hypothyroidism and have been struggling with my dosage in the last few months. In addition, I used to eat a bowl of porridge nearly every day (50g oats) and this may also have contributed to the lower reading. Once my new FBG and HbA1c tests have been done in a couple of weeks I may return to eating a very small bowl (30g oats) porridge on a Saturday morning, just before I go running

I do realise that it's not necessarily the eating of more fat that has caused this rise, I think I'm just looking for some reassurance. My weight has gone down (despite thyroid struggles) and my home FBG readings have been good, around 1.0 mmol/l down from before Christmas (6.5 to 5.5). It's a bit of a balancing act between acceptable blood sugars and thyroid medication and everything else!

Sorry if this has been a bit rambly. All input gratefully received.

Best,

Jo

 

[jack412]

a perfect set of numbers to me..I'll swap you with mine and I'm total 3.2.... trig 1.5

it's your high HDL that is bumping up the total, and everyone wants the HDL to be high
"Total cholesterol should be 5.0 millimoles per litre (mmol/L) or lower. The average in the UK is actually around 5.5 mmol/l for men and 5.6 mmol/l for women.
LDL cholesterol should be 3mmol/L or lower
HDL level above 1 mmol/L
Triglyceride level under 1.7 mmol/L"

do you have your kidney and liver function?
I think your HDL trig is perfect, and are the main ones, you are low carb so you need LDL to carry the fat,,,,, it's low HDL, high trig with high LDL that will kill me

this video will take you through what it all means, I had to google some of the terms to start with... and ask question too

 

[hose1975]

Thanks, @jack412. A quick crunch of the numbers through an online ratios calculator suggest that apart from the headline figure everything's pretty much hunky dory. Hurrah! etc.

 

[sanguine]

And the headline figure is a useless indicator of anything @hose1975 , it's the important underlying detail that matters. Yours are fine imo.

 

[msmi1970]

those are sensational numbers!! well done.