Low Carb Diet = High cholesterol levels???

Total: 5.6
HDL: 1.58
LDL: 3.5
HDL Ratio: 3.54
Tri: 1.14

To be honest i don't know what all these numbers mean but what I do know is that my 'Total cholestrol' has increased quite significantly in the last 2 months which is a concern for my doctor and me.

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I am of the belief, having read some doctors opinions/medical explanations, that far too much alarm is raised needlessly about cholesterol.
For me, total cholesterol is meaningless. I've read more than once (Denise Minger, for one) that the ONLY ratio of concern is that of Tri/HDL.
Less than 2 is good, over 3 is bad.
Yours is 1.14/1.58 or 0.72 which seems very good.
Your 'good' HDL has increased 171% and I'd wager your Tri reading was higher in the first set of results.
Well done for that :clap: :clap:

You could look out The Great Cholesterol Con by Dr Malcolm Kendrick at your local library, or simply google other evidence.

Geoff

The summary of the review is here
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lance ... 40-6736(12)60367-5/fulltext
You would have to register to read the full paper.

ainz said:

Hi all

2 months ago I was diagnosed with type 2. Subsequently my doctor has down graded this to Pre-diabetic.

Since the diagnoses I have been following a low carb diet as recommended by folks on this forum. The problem is my Cholesterol levels have shot up..

On diagnoses my cholesterol levels were:

Total: 4.4
HDL: 0.92
non-HDL 3.2
TC/HDL: 4.8
No Tri. available

2 months later they are:

Total: 5.6
HDL: 1.58
LDL: 3.5
HDL Ratio: 3.54
Tri: 1.14

To be honest i don't know what all these numbers mean but what I do know is that my 'Total cholestrol' has increased quite significantly in the last 2 months which is a concern for my doctor and me.

Is this normal for a low carb diet and should i be concerned??

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Ainz

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The figures that I work to are as follows:

Total > 5
HDL < 1.2
LDL > 3
Triglycerides > 1.7 and the lower the better. My best ever was 0.65. Trigs are the real baddies.

Total/HDL ratio: target below 5.1 and preferably c. 3.5:1

These are for non-diabetics, but my GP is happy with them as long as my BG and BP are okay - which they are.


Current target numbers for people with diabetes are as follows:

HDL: 1mmol/l or above for men; 1.2mmol/l or above for women
LDL: below 2mmol/l
Triglycerides: equal to or below 1.7mmol/l
Total Cholesterol: below 4mmol/l

As far as I can see your figures are not too bad (please remember I am not medically qualified!).

As I understand it, (others may not agree!) total cholesterol is less important than the Total:HDL ratio - if yours is the 3.54 figure you have as HDL ratio, that is very good! (That's the one my GP pays most attention to.) So are most of the others - the LDL could do with coming down a bit (see above), but is not excessively high. Also there are both good and bad LDLs, and a simple profile doesn't show which you have! Your HDL has gone UP, which is also very good. It was previously a bit too low. Trigs are okay too, but would be better a bit lower.

What I'm saying is, if you were me and talking to my doctor, he wouldn't be too worried about those figures .

I have heard that in the first weeks of a low-carb diet (and two months is 'weeks'), the composition of your blood alters as your body readjusts, and it is not uncommon to have a brief rise in cholesterol levels as things settle down - particularly if you are low-carb enough to be in ketosis. Edit - something to do with mobilizing stored fat as your body starts burning it off. So your next lot of tests should probably show another improvement.

I still haven't figured out how they work out a Total Cholesterol figure from the elements of a lipid profile, 'cos they never seem to add up. I think I need a little help from Phoenix on this one - again! And a comment on what I've just written, Phoenix, if you wouldn't mind - this is only what I've picked up as I've gone along.

Viv 8)

Edited once for clarification.

It probably won't decrease the amount of LDL cholesterol but it will change the type (from high-density to low-density). It's the small high-density particles that deleterious your CV health.

The thing that you need to realise is that (in the absence of lots of carbohydrates) the fat and cholesterol in your mouth have nothing to do with fat and cholesterol in your blood.:
http://rdfeinman.wordpress.com/2012/02/ ... our-blood/
and especially this:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37202414/Volek_ ... s_2008.pdf
and this:
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=29405

ainz said:

Thanks for that borofergie.

Very interesting reading!!!

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Glad you enjoyed it. This is not just science, almost all of the low-carbers see gross improvements in their blood lipid profiles.

Dr Richard Feinman said:

Dietary carbohydrate restriction is the single most effective method (except for total starvation) of reducing triglycerides, and is as effective as any intervention, including most drugs, at increasing HDL and reducing the number of small-dense LDL particles. Beyond lipid markers, carbohydrate restriction improves all of the features of metabolic syndrome.

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https://rdfeinman.wordpress.com/2012/03 ... 15-theses/

Personally I would say you have improved your lipids - although this is difficult to say without knowing starting point of tri's (although I would guess they were higher at the first reading if it was done).

Basically, your ratio has improved quite a bit - therefore technically your "cardiovascular risk" based on lipid profiling has decreased.

Looks good to me!

J