What the frick is this "good cholesterol" about?

megalin9

My employer is offering free health assessments this week. They are optional, but if you and your spouse do the assessment, you get a 10% discount on insurance premiums. If you both pass 3 out of 5 categories, you get another 10%. The 5 categories are: blood pressure, fasting blood sugar, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and BMI. I passed everything with flying colors except the stupid BMI, which was only 1 point away from being acceptable.

Anyhow, while "good cholesterol" (or HDL) isn't one of the categories, it was still measured. A "desirable range" for HDL cholesterol was less than or equal to 60. Anything less than 50 for a female is considered "high risk." Mine was 43. :noway: :grumble:

I was shocked by that number! When I asked the assessor how to get that number up, he said to eat salmon, mackeral (spelling?), etc. I responded that I eat tilapia and cat fish (yum!), and he specifically said, "No, they want you to get more deep sea fish." That seems awfully specific and silly to me (& tilapia isn't deep sea?). I asked what else. He said almonds, walnuts, etc., which I eat pretty regularly. He also said that exercise can bring it up, which I do lots of.

Additionally, anything under 200 is considered desirable for total cholesterol. Mine was 166 (yay!). However, because my good cholesterol was so low, my Total Cholesterol/HDL ratio was too HIGH (desirable is less than 3.5, mine was 3.9).

So WHY is my good cholesterol too low? What can I do to get it up? How important is it that I get it up? What does it all mean? Am I doomed for heart disease?!

THANKS!

Megan

Chief_Rocka

So WHY is my good cholesterol too low? What can I do to get it up? How important is it that I get it up? What does it all mean? Am I doomed for heart disease?!

Finish losing those 28 lbs, and odds are that your numbers will be fine.

With the fish thing, he was trying to get you to eat more omega-3's and monounsaturated fats, which help your numbers.

BeachIron

^ Yep. Lose the rest of the weight and listen to the nutrition suggestions as they're good ones for omega 3 fatty acids.

neandermagnon

Personally, I'd write to complain about the use of BMI as a criteria, with details of my body fat percentage and lean body mass, and an article about how very fit people may have a "too high" BMI because of muscle mass, and suggest they either use body fat percentage or fat free mass index (like BMI but based on lean body mass) instead.

My BMI is just about 0.4 away from being in the overweight range at 22% body fat, and I'm currently training and eating for strength gains so i wouldn't be at all surprised if I gain a couple of pounds and become "overweight" in the near future, and really that totally changes my health risk for insurance purposes doesn't it [/sarcasm] :grumble: so yeah, I'd write and point that out if it was me.

As for healthy cholesterol, I don't know... I think egg yolks contain the healthy kind.

auddii

I'm not a huge fish eater, but the "oily" fish are recommended (they have more omega-3 oils, and so are the "better" fish). Unfortunately for me, the few fish I like are not oily; the more oily they are the stronger the fish flavor. I chose instead to take an omega-3 supplement. Not required, but a personal choice. I haven't had my cholesterol checked (I know total from blood donation, which is low), so I have no clue if it's "doing what it's supposed to" or if my HDL was even low before I started supplementation. :shrug:

sunman00

My employer is offering free health assessments this week. They are optional, but if you and your spouse do the assessment, you get a 10% discount on insurance premiums. If you both pass 3 out of 5 categories, you get another 10%. The 5 categories are: blood pressure, fasting blood sugar, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and BMI. I passed everything with flying colors except the stupid BMI, which was only 1 point away from being acceptable.

Anyhow, while "good cholesterol" (or HDL) isn't one of the categories, it was still measured. A "desirable range" for HDL cholesterol was less than or equal to 60. Anything less than 50 for a female is considered "high risk." Mine was 43. :noway: :grumble:

I was shocked by that number! When I asked the assessor how to get that number up, he said to eat salmon, mackeral (spelling?), etc. I responded that I eat tilapia and cat fish (yum!), and he specifically said, "No, they want you to get more deep sea fish." That seems awfully specific and silly to me (& tilapia isn't deep sea?). I asked what else. He said almonds, walnuts, etc., which I eat pretty regularly. He also said that exercise can bring it up, which I do lots of.

Additionally, anything under 200 is considered desirable for total cholesterol. Mine was 166 (yay!). However, because my good cholesterol was so low, my Total Cholesterol/HDL ratio was too HIGH (desirable is less than 3.5, mine was 3.9).

So WHY is my good cholesterol too low? What can I do to get it up? How important is it that I get it up? What does it all mean? Am I doomed for heart disease?!

THANKS!

Megan

Hi Megan,

my Dad died of this stuff aged 51, in those days they didn't know too much about HDL & LDL & just recommended that people cut back on cheese, which didn't help lots of people.

In a nutshell; if your LDL is high you should get yourself on statins to lower it. I inherited bad cholesterol production from my father & have been on 20mg a day for about 4 years, (I'm 53 now)

with regards to getting your HDL up there are some simple things to do; (bearing in mind I don't know you)
- Lose weight
- Walk, (I walk 4 miles a day)
- Stop smoking
-cut down alcohol
- Eat oily fish; WILD salmon (not farmed) is great, I eat it all the time, in a sandwich with cucumber is delicious.

Getting total reading down to 2.5 (much better than the 3.5 you're being recommended) is the priority; & that means getting on the statins;
get along to your local Doctor, present your blood test results, or get some new ones done & get on the meds.

the GOOD news is that you've been alerted to the situation, there are loads of folk wandering around with high Cholesterol & High blood pressure who know nothing about it, & they have big problems ahead.

good luck :flowerforyou:

megalin9

So WHY is my good cholesterol too low? What can I do to get it up? How important is it that I get it up? What does it all mean? Am I doomed for heart disease?!

Finish losing those 28 lbs, and odds are that your numbers will be fine.

With the fish thing, he was trying to get you to eat more omega-3's and monounsaturated fats, which help your numbers.

Thanks for responding! I was hoping that losing nearly 60 pounds already would have done the trick. Guess there's still lots more work to be done in more ways than one. Thanks again!

megalin9

Personally, I'd write to complain about the use of BMI as a criteria, with details of my body fat percentage and lean body mass, and an article about how very fit people may have a "too high" BMI because of muscle mass, and suggest they either use body fat percentage or fat free mass index (like BMI but based on lean body mass) instead.

My BMI is just about 0.4 away from being in the overweight range at 22% body fat, and I'm currently training and eating for strength gains so i wouldn't be at all surprised if I gain a couple of pounds and become "overweight" in the near future, and really that totally changes my health risk for insurance purposes doesn't it [/sarcasm] :grumble: so yeah, I'd write and point that out if it was me.

As for healthy cholesterol, I don't know... I think egg yolks contain the healthy kind.

I am definitely planning on complaining about the BMI criteria for the exact reasons you expressed.

megalin9

I'm not a huge fish eater, but the "oily" fish are recommended (they have more omega-3 oils, and so are the "better" fish). Unfortunately for me, the few fish I like are not oily; the more oily they are the stronger the fish flavor. I chose instead to take an omega-3 supplement. Not required, but a personal choice. I haven't had my cholesterol checked (I know total from blood donation, which is low), so I have no clue if it's "doing what it's supposed to" or if my HDL was even low before I started supplementation. :shrug:

This is really my issue. I LOVE tilapia, although I don't cook it nearly enough, but it wasn't on the list of things he mentioned. Other than that and catfish, I don't care for fish at all. I guess an Omega-3 supplement is something I will need to seriously look into. Thanks for responding!

megalin9

Hi Megan,

my Dad died of this stuff aged 51, in those days they didn't know too much about HDL & LDL & just recommended that people cut back on cheese, which didn't help lots of people.

In a nutshell; if your LDL is high you should get yourself on statins to lower it. I inherited bad cholesterol production from my father & have been on 20mg a day for about 4 years, (I'm 53 now)

with regards to getting your HDL up there are some simple things to do; (bearing in mind I don't know you)
- Lose weight
- Walk, (I walk 4 miles a day)
- Stop smoking
-cut down alcohol
- Eat oily fish; WILD salmon (not farmed) is great, I eat it all the time, in a sandwich with cucumber is delicious.

Getting total reading down to 2.5 (much better than the 3.5 you're being recommended) is the priority; & that means getting on the statins;
get along to your local Doctor, present your blood test results, or get some new ones done & get on the meds.

the GOOD news is that you've been alerted to the situation, there are loads of folk wandering around with high Cholesterol & High blood pressure who know nothing about it, & they have big problems ahead.

good luck :flowerforyou:

Thanks for responding and sharing your experience. I'm working on the weight issue and have been successful losing nearly 60 pounds so far. I do cardio a few times a week and lift heavy 3X/week. I've never smoked, and I might have 1 social drink 2X/year, although the assessor said that a glass of red wine once a day could bring my number up.

The oily fish is the problem. I just don't like fish that much. I am willing to try more salmon, however, but I think it might come down to taking some kind of supplement. I will do ANYTHING to avoid getting on medication. I'm only 27!

Heart disease does run in my family. Is it possible this low number is mainly due to heart disease/low HDL being heriditary, considering that being overweight and not getting enough omega-3s and good fats are my only other contributing factors?

sunman00

Hi Megan,

my Dad died of this stuff aged 51, in those days they didn't know too much about HDL & LDL & just recommended that people cut back on cheese, which didn't help lots of people.

In a nutshell; if your LDL is high you should get yourself on statins to lower it. I inherited bad cholesterol production from my father & have been on 20mg a day for about 4 years, (I'm 53 now)

with regards to getting your HDL up there are some simple things to do; (bearing in mind I don't know you)
- Lose weight
- Walk, (I walk 4 miles a day)
- Stop smoking
-cut down alcohol
- Eat oily fish; WILD salmon (not farmed) is great, I eat it all the time, in a sandwich with cucumber is delicious.

Getting total reading down to 2.5 (much better than the 3.5 you're being recommended) is the priority; & that means getting on the statins;
get along to your local Doctor, present your blood test results, or get some new ones done & get on the meds.

the GOOD news is that you've been alerted to the situation, there are loads of folk wandering around with high Cholesterol & High blood pressure who know nothing about it, & they have big problems ahead.

good luck :flowerforyou:

Thanks for responding and sharing your experience. I'm working on the weight issue and have been successful losing nearly 60 pounds so far. I do cardio a few times a week and lift heavy 3X/week. I've never smoked, and I might have 1 social drink 2X/year, although the assessor said that a glass of red wine once a day could bring my number up.

The oily fish is the problem. I just don't like fish that much. I am willing to try more salmon, however, but I think it might come down to taking some kind of supplement. I will do ANYTHING to avoid getting on medication. I'm only 27!

Heart disease does run in my family. Is it possible this low number is mainly due to heart disease/low HDL being heriditary, considering that being overweight and not getting enough omega-3s and good fats are my only other contributing factors?

your GOOD news is your age; when my Dad died they told me not to start getting checked until I was 35, & I eventually got on meds in my 40's, young people don't die of this stuff but the arterial problems build so you need to keep eyes on things.

the reason I said get to a Doc is that I was on holiday last year, needed new meds while I was there & they wouldn't give me any without a blood check, so I had one; this was in Brisbane, Australia; the Doc told me that in Aus & the US there was a new approach to cholesterol where getting the overall reading below 2.5 was the new 'thing'; my worst overall was 5.8, which was ok but made up of 0.2HDL & 5.6 LDL!! yikes, so the dosage was upped.

the Cholesterol reality is that our livers crank it out, that part is hereditary, we can only influence 20% through diet, exercise & weight control; you've done FANTASTICALLY well in losing 60lb, well done you!!, keep up the cardio & try the wild tinned salmon, more edible somehow than cooking salmon steaks if you don't like it.
but the bottom line is if like you & me we inherit the mega high LDL production from our folks then one day you'll need the statins so put blood tests (including LFT's (liver function tests)) in your diary, it really does save lives.

megalin9

your GOOD news is your age; when my Dad died they told me not to start getting checked until I was 35, & I eventually got on meds in my 40's, young people don't die of this stuff but the arterial problems build so you need to keep eyes on things.

the reason I said get to a Doc is that I was on holiday last year, needed new meds while I was there & they wouldn't give me any without a blood check, so I had one; this was in Brisbane, Australia; the Doc told me that in Aus & the US there was a new approach to cholesterol where getting the overall reading below 2.5 was the new 'thing'; my worst overall was 5.8, which was ok but made up of 0.2HDL & 5.6 LDL!! yikes, so the dosage was upped.

the Cholesterol reality is that our livers crank it out, that part is hereditary, we can only influence 20% through diet, exercise & weight control; you've done FANTASTICALLY well in losing 60lb, well done you!!, keep up the cardio & try the wild tinned salmon, more edible somehow than cooking salmon steaks if you don't like it.
but the bottom line is if like you & me we inherit the mega high LDL production from our folks then one day you'll need the statins so put blood tests (including LFT's (liver function tests)) in your diary, it really does save lives.

THANK YOU THANK YOU!

I'm not going to rule out the wild salmon. I've had it before, and if it were prepared differently, I mighta liked it. It was too plain. I've already got some recipes saved.

For now, I'm not going to stress about it because I'm doing all the right things, but I will continue to do these free health assessments and check in with my regular physician so that I'm at least aware of what's going on and next steps to take.

:drinker: :flowerforyou:

Sarauk2sf

Apologies for missing this one earlier, but it looks as though you got some very good answers.

Locking so we can keep track of active threads. If you have further questions and wish for the thread to be unlocked please feel free to PM either myself or SideSteel, including a link to this thread and we will unlock it so you can as them.