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Lowering LDL and Increasing HDL on Low Carb

finsit

Well-Known Member
Messages
331
Location
UK
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi guys, i have just received my lipid report after 3 months of lowering saturated diary fats (double cream to single cream) and reducing cream cheese, clotted cream and moving to filtered coffee. Nothing else was changed, had to increase monosaturated fats (olive oil etc) to keep my optimal calories. Seems like dairy fat was the culprit. Please see below and let me know of your thoughts. I didn't go low-fat anything. Still eating full fat yogurt, nuts, full fat cheddar etc.

I am quite encouraged and probably will reduce some of saturated fats and my ratios should look fine. I have increased my HDL from 0.88 to 1.23 then 1.38 in three months interval and decreased TGs to 1.3 now. LDL went up 3 months ago and now has gone down as well. Any thoughts? I can share more insights of my regimen if you guys are interested, just ping me. I have decreased my portions in the last 3 months and trying to eat 2 meals at least 2 days a week. I fasted 13 hours before the test.

 
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Do you fast for 12 to 14 hours before the blood draw? It is essential that you do, and stick to water only beforehand.
Have you asked for an LDL breakdown of particles test? We need large fluffy particles. It is only the small dense ones that can cause problems. These tests can be done, but rarely are, and your GP may not even have heard of them. Generally speaking, if you are very low carb and have low Trigs, you should have plenty of the good particles.
 

Yes as i mentioned in the post i did 13 hour water fast. I could hardly lure NHS to do a basic lipid test, i don't think they are able to go any deeper at this point. I will need to go private for that which i plan in few months time once i have stabilised my diet and markers. My HDL moved from 0.88 to 1.38 in 6 months, is it a good rate of improvement? I still need to get my HDL above 2, i am just curious is it even possible and if so how much time it is going to take?
 

Hi Finsit,
Are you considering ratios also?
I hope I have worked these out accurately....
For example, my Total Cholesterol seems very high at 5.8, (doctor keeps badgering me to take statins), but in terms of ratios, my HDL/cholesterol is 3.67; LDL/HDL is 2.35; Triglycerides/HDL is 0.696 which I think are okay.
What do you think of these figures?

Actual readings: Total cholesterol 5.8
HDL 1.58
Triglycerides 1.1
I didn't think I was ever given LDL...?
 
LionChild said:
Triglycerides/HDL is 0.696
Click to expand...

That's what matters most based on the modern, non-conventional lipidologists like Ken Sikaris, Paul Mason etc. The optimal ratio is 0.8 and you are well below it, well done. If im at your place, i wont even bother to look at my LDL anyway. But because your total is 5.8, that means your LDL is 142 mg/dl or (3.67 mmol/l) which is excellent. Enjoy the life.
 
@LionChild
These are the ranges we should be aiming for
Trigs 0 - 1.9
HDL 1.2 - 3.5
LDL under 3
Total/HDL ratio under 5
Trigs/HDL ratio under 0.87

I can't answer your question @finsit . You are trending downwards, so that has to be good, and your HDL is trending upwards.

Looking at my past records, my HDL was always under 2 and as low as 1.4 before I was diagnosed T2. Once I started a low carb way of eating it shot up to always over 2, and has varied between 2.2 and 2.67 for the last 7 years. Whether this was all down to my diet, or whether in part it was down to losing a lot of weight I can't say.
 

But why? My HDL is 2.4, my trigs are 0.5 but my LDL is 4.6 and it always had been. To get that to go below this magical '3' would entail taking strong drugs on a just in case basis. Other than diabetes (which I currently manage very well) I am fit & healthy, I run most days, I am slim, I don't smoke or drink and I have no other health issues. If someone could tell me that reducing my LDL to under 3 was going to have some ginormously positive effect or make any difference I would be most obliged.
 
Your numbers are envious. Other than TG and HDL, i will only bother total/hdl ratio which should be under 5 and you already have it. With these three markers LDL needs to be forgotten.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
These are the ranges we should be aiming for
Trigs 0 - 1.9
HDL 1.2 - 3.5
LDL under 3
Total/HDL ratio under 5
Trigs/HDL ratio under 0.87
Click to expand...



I quite agree. I was merely quoting the official ranges as quoted on my lab reports apart from the trigs/HDL ratio, which never appears on my lab reports but was obtained from reliable sources as being the ideal. My post was badly worded. Your results are to be envied.
 
Just wondered if you have a diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia ? And this is why you are trying to lower LDL?
You've also reduced your triglycerides (a direct indictor of eating less carbs) so your eating pattern /fasting seems to be working. If you can get the hdl higher than the trigs then this is reckonned to be a better indicator than the ldl in itself which could be entirely innocuous (not damaging your arterial walls) or more sinister but this isn't known on the current UK blood tests.
Dairy is the only food group that does indeed have more sat fat than the other types so you are right that this would be increasing LDL . The question is whether it matters particularly if eating more cheese etc. keeps you off the sugary/starchy foods that do increase metabolic damage in someone who's diabetic.
 
https://labtestsonline.org/tests/apo-b Tests for apolipoprotein b , a marker for bad LDL. Says it costs $69 dollars. I haven't tried this, just found it online and thought folks might be interested.
Also:
Including too much fat in your diet, especially saturated and trans fats can increase your triglyceride levels. However, cutting back too much on fats can result in eating too much sugar if you eat many reduced-fat foods. If you have high triglycerides, follow these dietary guidelines to reduce fat in your diet:

Limit your total fat intake to 30% to 35% of your total daily calories.

  • Limit saturated fat to 7% of your total daily calories.
  • Avoid foods high in trans-fats.
  • Limit your total cholesterol intake to 200 mg daily.
  • Choose monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (such as canola and olive oils) over other types of oils.
  • See your dietitian or clinician for more information to help you determine your daily fat limit.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/17583-triglycerides--heart-health
 
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Strangely the time I had the highest Triglycerides is when I had followed Dave Feldman protocol to lower LDL (just for the test, hoping not to freak my GP as I had stopped taking statins).

So for me it appeared to be Polyunsaturated and Monounsaturated fats which raised my Trigs as since then they have dropped with my high sat fat LCHPMF way of eating. I eat lots of hard cheese (approx 200gms to 400gms daily).
saturated fat is way over 7% of my calories, I avoid trans fats but don't limit dietary Cholesterol intake since this has been proved to have no impact on serum Cholesterol.
 
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