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Safe cholesterol level?

I

ian1968

Well-Known Member
Messages
57
Just got the results of my third hba1c and cholesterol tests. My hba1c is still dropping, which I'm pleased with, but my cholesterol has gone up a little, from 4.5 to 4.7. I have been eating a bit more cheese recently, so I guess that would account for it. I could cut the cheese out, but am I right in thinking that 4.7 is still a safe level? I've changed my diet completely and cut out pretty much all treats, so cheese is all I have left. I'd hate to lose that too.
 
Hi. 4.7 is quite good. The NHS keeps changing the 'good' limit. I think it was once '5' and may now be '4'. It's all probably irrelevant anyway as genetics will largely affect what your level is going to be and there appears to be shaky evidence in practice that your measured cholesterol level is related to the risk of circulatory problems. The drug manufacturers who supply statins have been marketing a lot of stuff to enhance sales. I think you will also find that recently there is evidence that carbs are just as much responsible for raised cholesterol and not only fats as earlier supposed.
 
These are the target cholesterol figure for everyone with diabetes:

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.



When your due to have your next set of bloods taken ask the receptionist to book you in for a fasting test, this is for a full lipid breakdown as above which will give you and the consultant/gp a better picture of what's going on, the Total Cholesterol figure itself is meaningless IMHO without the others... so do ask for the fasting test.
 
my surgery cannot do a lipid profile as the lab they use can't do it My nurse thinks my cholesterol is too high at 4.5 but as it isn't the full test I ignore her.
 
Well that's annoying... :lol:

So one website says under 5, another website says under 4. I wonder why there's a discrepancy?
 
ian1968 said:
Well that's annoying... :lol:

So one website says under 5, another website says under 4. I wonder why there's a discrepancy?
Click to expand...


Under 5 is normally recommended for people who are not at a heightened risk of CVD Ian, as diabetics we are and this is why the figure is much lower............don't shoot the messenger btw :lol:
 
Ian, whilst i don't want to be rude all the info people have given to you is rubbish. Go read the work of Dr Malcolm kendrick and Dr briffa. Both have web sites and books. Both give compelling scientific evidence that these artificially chosen levels of good cholesterol mean nothing. Both also show that cholesterol is not the bad stuff it's made out to be and is not the cause of cardiac vascular disease. I've also been reading The Art and Science of low carbohydrate living by Dr volek and Dr phinney. They show that when you change to a low carb diet your cholesterol will go up. It's natural and will not cause a problem.

Like i said i am not being rude. I've read a lot of scientific papers and it makes me mad all the unnecessary targeting of cholesterol.

Enjoy the cheese Ian.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
misterdj said:
Ian, whilst i don't want to be rude all the info people have given to you is rubbish.
Click to expand...

:shock:

:lol:
 
Ok I knew nothing about cholesterol apart from mine being 6.9 before reading this post, now I'm not just ignorant I'm confused and ignorant lol
 


I'm not shooting the messenger, I hope it doesn't come across like that.

I think it's a perfectly reasonable question to ask - why does one site say 4 and another site say 5? The one that says 5 is for diabetics.
 
From the diabetes.co.uk link:

"Furthermore, total recommended cholesterol levels should be under 5 mmol/L for people with type 2 diabetes."

So that's a recommendation for diabetics.
 
Cholesterol levels are only good for selling statins and other pointless cholesterol lowering drugs.
misterdj above is spot on.
The cholesterol hypothesis is false and should be ignored, it is NOT based on clinical fact, but driven by pharmaceutical greed and general acceptance by all interested parties in this false hypothesis. ( Ancel Keys 7 Country study, he blocked out the other 15 that debased his claims )
Don't forget that 80% + of this amazing stuff is produced by the liver, for a very good reason, it's used by every cell in the body.
I will not touch statins or anything else that lowers cholesterol and I should know after 19 years with a heart transplant.
I could go on, but there is probably no point, suggest that you read the The Great Cholesterol Con by Dr Malcolm Kendrick, $29 billion reasons to lie about cholesterol by Justin Smith.
How to panic a world and make a packet while you are doing it ! EASY money.
 
A few years ago my diabetes GP said the figure had been reduced from 5 to 4 (I guess by someone in the NHS or NICE?). He also made the comment that if they went on reducing the levels then we would all end up with no fat in our bodies at all! I think he was implying that it was all a bit stupid and chaotic. Blood sugar level is what we need to worry about and not cholesterol.
 
Check out the risk charts at http://heartuk.org.uk/health-profession ... isk-charts

there isn't a "safe level" but the risk of cardio-vascular illness increases with the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol (the x-axis of the risk charts) and blood pressure as the variables. Smoking and gender also affect the risk.

I realise the above link is for non-diabetics, here's an Aussie equivalent with a diabetic chart too - http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/SiteC ... charts.pdf

I believe there are online calculators too, though there is a revision of NHS / NICE thinking in the pipeline.
 
I have to agree with misterdj, I personally believe there are too many myths surrounding cholesterol as it is a very necessary item in our body's daily functioning.
Have a good read on the subject and make up your own mind.
 
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