My First Bloodwork Results since Keto

Kitnthecat

I posted this on my news feed a little while ago, but since I am so new to this, please let me know what you think. Here is what I posted with a bit more detail here:

I had my physical today and received the results from the bloodwork I had done one month ago, and everything looks good ! I must admit that I have never paid attention to what these numbers mean, and furthermore I have no idea what my numbers were before losing weight. I have lost 81 pounds so far, 41 of them in the last 9 months, pretty slowly really. I know I feel a lot better. But the paper I asked my Dr to print out for me says it all I guess

Hemoglobin, WCB and RBC count etc as well as immune system markers, electrolytes and blood chemistry all perfect, as is my blood glucose, but I've never had a problem with blood sugar. My fasting cholesterol is a bit high at 6 mmol/L, Triglycerides at 1.01, HDL at 1.6, and LDL at 3.94 which is supposedly a bit high. My Dr says I am doing good and at low risk for cardiac events, since even though my mother has had a heart attack, she was 65 when she had it, so that keeps my risk in the low end. My regular Dr said my results were good, so I am happy.

I was feeling stressed out about seeing him, since I was afraid he would recommend I change my diet and I certainly do not wish to do that ! He knew I had been eating a Primal diet for a few years and thought that was a great idea, but when I told him I have been doing keto and more recently almost Zero Carb keto, he didn't even blink an eye. I don't take that to mean I have his complete approval, although the pressure is off now....rather I think he has little knowledge of what I mean by keto so could not comment much.

But overall I am pleased. Just a bit worried about his take on the cholesterol, since he mentioned that depending on how old my mother was at the time of her heart attack, that might bump me into the next range of concern and at that point he would recommend that I take a statin, to which I promptly replied "No!" So right after work, I took my results to my trusty chiropractor to interpret, and he is very pleased. Now of course, he does not believe in the conventional medical wisdom and he eats quite similarly to me himself but with more veggies and nuts, so that's a plus.

But what do you guys who know what this means think of my results ? Do I have reason to be concerned about the cholesterol and LDL levels, or am I doing OK ? I'm hoping I can breathe a sigh of relief.

wabmester

Your LDL is considered "borderline high." But it's very controversial at that level for a few reasons. One reason is that there's actually very low risk at that level, especially for women.



I wouldn't worry about it, but start keeping track of it.

Kitnthecat

Thanks @Wabmester. So how does one attempt to lower the LDL level ? What factors cause it to rise or lower ?

OK, I just googled it. I told my Dr that I eat saturated fat and intent to continue to do so. Eggs and butter and meat daily.....so am I screwed ?

I guess if I knew what my test results were from about 1.5 years ago or at my heaviest weight, I'd have something to compare it to. I'll also be curious to see if this changes by next year's physical. I feel healthier now than I can remember feeling in the past 10 years, and fully intend on losing more weight and continually improving my fitness level. Right now, what I've got is a little snapshot.

wabmester

That's another controversy.

Your LDL *concentration* may go up when you substitute fat for carbs, but it's only a danger sign if the particle *count* goes up, and many tests don't even tell you the count.

The reason the LDL concentration increases with fat intake has to do with how the LDL particles are loaded up with fat droplets in the liver. Carbs cause small, dense particles. Fat causes large, fluffy particles. It's commonly said that the large, fluffy are less dangerous, but they're really both the same. The reason the large and fluffy are considered less dangerous is simply because there are fewer of them at the same LDL *concentration*.

Bottom line: not enough information to worry, but from the info you have, don't worry.

Kitnthecat

KnitOrMiss

For me, as long as I'm losing weight, and not in maintenance for months, I'm not going to worry, because your LDL goes up during weight loss. The trigs and HDL are better indicators of your health, and there are particle tests you can do on the LDL, but you really should ask your doctor for a copy of your second most recent bloodwork, just for comparison. Because for all you know, you've dropped that LDL number but 2x or something. I know mine went up, but my HDL went up (good), trigs went down (also good), plus you need cholesterol for brain function...

Kitnthecat

Thanks @Knit. I likely won't be seeing my Dr for another year, since I don't get sick anymore lol. But next time I see him, I will ask for a comparison. I seem to recall that the last time I had a physical about 1.5 yrs ago, he had the receptionist call to tell me my cholesterol was a bit high, but that was it.

I did mention to him that I had heard that cholesterol can go up during weight loss, but he said he hadn't heard that. I should have known, since he quoted the Framingham study. Arrgh. I don't know why I let myself get all worked up about this. I guess I want my conventional doc to support me in my unconventional WOL. I want to show him great results.

Yes my trigs were good, and I know the brain operates better with a high fat low carb diet. Whew........big breath. I'll be OK ! I've just got to let this sink in....

DittoDan

Kitn,

I believe you that the numbers are good, I just can't relate to them from my blood work tests.

Are your numbers metric or ? You're from Canada, so they must be different from U.S. Without the acceptable ranges, its hard to tell where you're at...

Another victory for Keto/low-carb.... and a plan well executed....good job Kitn!

Dan the Man from Michigan

Kitnthecat

Yes, I am from Canada, so didn't even think that the numbers are different in other countries.

All my results are in acceptable normal ranges for everything except:

Cholesterol Fasting - 6 - healthy range is < 5.2
LDL - 3.94 - healthy range

My HDL was 1.6 and the healthy range is > 1.3 !

Thanks !