Ketogenic diet and high LDL

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Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    The alleged heart risk is more related to ratios like total/HDL - how do they look ?

    If the LDL is calculated the reduced triglycerides of low carb eating can throw out some odd results too.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    I would take a second test (while fasting) however if results are similar and physician recommend medication, I would take it. Never not take a medication because you think your are "to young" to be on it.
  • kuranda10
    kuranda10 Posts: 593 Member
    thecommoncold40299 wrote: »
    If it doesn't contain saturated fats then it's full of carbs!!!!!

    I'm assuming you know the difference between saturated and non-saturated fats?

    I eat a fairly LCHF diet, but the majority my fats come from nuts, olive oils, etc. My latest overall cholesterol, as of last monday, is 2.7 (not sure what that is in American). The doctor told me it is less than 1/2 what they would expect to see in a woman my age.

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    thecommoncold40299 wrote: »
    Thank you all. I'm going to talk to my doc. Going back through my food logs I am only averaging about 25 grams of saturated fat a day. Both my cholesterol and sodium levels are either at normal levels or below. I've lost 40 pounds. I feel so much better and I would hate to have to stop this diet. Of course if I have no choice I will, but I'm going to discuss this with him. I'm also wondering if the fact that he told me I didn't need to fast before the lipid panel was taken would affect the results. I had eaten about 4 hours prior to the test.

    How To Get Your Cholesterol Tested

    ...Your doctor will tell you if you should fast (avoid consuming food, beverages and medications, usually for nine to 12 hours) before your blood test. If you aren't fasting when the blood sample is drawn, only the values for total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol will be usable. That's because the amount of LDL (bad) cholesterol level and triglycerides can be affected by what you've recently consumed.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    AlabasterVerve wrote: »
    Whether your LDL/diet is a cause for concern or not I honestly don't know but an otherwise healthy 35 year old women being prescribed a statin on the basis on one test? That's outrageous and cause for concern, IMO.

    Please get a second opinion if you can afford it.

    Agreed. Glad she's following up with her doctor, but a second opinion might not be a bad idea as well.
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
    edited December 2015
    I once ate a spaghetti meal and 3 beers a night before a test and my numbers were all fouled up. I believe fasting is necessary AND you should watch what you eat the night before.
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
    AlabasterVerve wrote: »
    Whether your LDL/diet is a cause for concern or not I honestly don't know but an otherwise healthy 35 year old women being prescribed a statin on the basis on one test? That's outrageous and cause for concern, IMO.

    Please get a second opinion if you can afford it.

    Not quite sure how you can determine they are healthy. OP has lost 40 pounds. Was it in 10 weeks/months/years? Maybe the better question is why was the test ordered? More importantly why was it not performed in a fasted state? OP, as others have said, a second test makes sense. Maybe semi-annually if you have a family history of CVD or death at early ages in your family.
  • ogmomma2012
    ogmomma2012 Posts: 1,520 Member
    Traveler120 wrote: »
    A couple years ago my LDL was 201 and total cholesterol was 287 when I was eating a low carb, high fat diet with plenty of meat, cheese, eggs and added oils. My weight was about 140-145 lbs at the time. My dr told me if I don't get it under control, I'd have to go on meds.

    I've now changed my diet to low fat, whole foods plant-based diet starting a few months ago and my total cholesterol is now 168, LDL is 105, HDL is 46 and Triglycerides 71, tested in September. My macros are now roughly 75/15/10% - C/P/F. My weight is down to 125 lbs. The weight difference is only 15-20 lbs so the key for me was the diet. I had to cut back on fat.

    So if you want to improve your lipid panel, you may have to rethink the ketogenic diet. The only people I know who need it are people with seizures/epilepsy. It's completely unnecessary for weight loss, and it's obviously having a direct negative effect on your cholesterol.

    That is really odd because there is such a thing as Vegan Keto. It's not all meat and cheese all day long. In fact it's very doable for vegetarians and vegans. Exercise, from what my doctor says, makes the biggest different towards a healthy cholesterol level. Cholesterol is made and used by our own bodies. Even with a complete diet change diet only affects by about 8%. The correlation between dietary fat and heart disease is no longer written in stone.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    thecommoncold40299 wrote: »
    If it doesn't contain saturated fats then it's full of carbs!!!!! Ugh! But I am not giving up. Somehow I'm going to find a happy medium in this mess! I've got another 40 to lose and I'm not quitting.

    Nothing wrong with carbs.

    You don't have to do Keto to lose weight. Most people who lose weight don't do Keto.
  • thecommoncold40299
    thecommoncold40299 Posts: 12 Member
    _Terrapin_ wrote: »
    AlabasterVerve wrote: »
    Whether your LDL/diet is a cause for concern or not I honestly don't know but an otherwise healthy 35 year old women being prescribed a statin on the basis on one test? That's outrageous and cause for concern, IMO.

    Please get a second opinion if you can afford it.

    Not quite sure how you can determine they are healthy. OP has lost 40 pounds. Was it in 10 weeks/months/years? Maybe the better question is why was the test ordered? More importantly why was it not performed in a fasted state? OP, as others have said, a second test makes sense. Maybe semi-annually if you have a family history of CVD or death at early ages in your family.

    This was my first visit with this doctor. While examining me he happened to ask when my last physical was. I said about 2 years ago. He said well let's do one while your here. So as we are heading down to the lab I told him that I obviously hasn't fasted because I didn't know he would do a physical on the spot. (Usually our doctors have you call and make a separate app for that) that's when heck told me it was fine.
    I've lost 41 pounds since September 10th
  • thecommoncold40299
    thecommoncold40299 Posts: 12 Member
    thecommoncold40299 wrote: »
    _Terrapin_ wrote: »
    AlabasterVerve wrote: »
    Whether your LDL/diet is a cause for concern or not I honestly don't know but an otherwise healthy 35 year old women being prescribed a statin on the basis on one test? That's outrageous and cause for concern, IMO.

    Please get a second opinion if you can afford it.

    Not quite sure how you can determine they are healthy. OP has lost 40 pounds. Was it in 10 weeks/months/years? Maybe the better question is why was the test ordered? More importantly why was it not performed in a fasted state? OP, as others have said, a second test makes sense. Maybe semi-annually if you have a family history of CVD or death at early ages in your family.

    This was my first visit with this doctor. While examining me he happened to ask when my last physical was. I said about 2 years ago. He said well let's do one while your here. So as we are heading down to the lab I told him that I obviously hasn't fasted because I didn't know he would do a physical on the spot. (Usually our doctors have you call and make a separate app for that) that's when heck told me it was fine.
    I've lost 41 pounds since September 10th

    My mom died of a heart attack in 2005. The crazy thing was is that she was much smaller than me, and had no Heath issues (Bp & cholesterol were always normal!!!) She had a hysterectomy about a week before she died. Not sure if the surgery had anything to do with it or not. My other family members who have passed died from much different circumstances (none health related) so she's the only one in my family history that may put me at risk since she had a heart attack. I assume anyway. I would really like to do another test (fasting) even though my doc says it doesn't matter. I think a Statin is a drastic measure with a lot of undesirable side effects. Of course I know that heart attacks and strokes have undesirable effects as well, and I will take the meds if I have to, I'm just wondering if he's just trying to push these pills. One test result after meeting me for about 10 mins before the test was taken and he wants to put me on meds. He didn't ask many questions and honestly I don't know if he even looked at my file.
  • Expatmommy79
    Expatmommy79 Posts: 940 Member
    thecommoncold40299 wrote: »
    thecommoncold40299 wrote: »
    _Terrapin_ wrote: »
    AlabasterVerve wrote: »
    Whether your LDL/diet is a cause for concern or not I honestly don't know but an otherwise healthy 35 year old women being prescribed a statin on the basis on one test? That's outrageous and cause for concern, IMO.

    Please get a second opinion if you can afford it.

    Not quite sure how you can determine they are healthy. OP has lost 40 pounds. Was it in 10 weeks/months/years? Maybe the better question is why was the test ordered? More importantly why was it not performed in a fasted state? OP, as others have said, a second test makes sense. Maybe semi-annually if you have a family history of CVD or death at early ages in your family.

    This was my first visit with this doctor. While examining me he happened to ask when my last physical was. I said about 2 years ago. He said well let's do one while your here. So as we are heading down to the lab I told him that I obviously hasn't fasted because I didn't know he would do a physical on the spot. (Usually our doctors have you call and make a separate app for that) that's when heck told me it was fine.
    I've lost 41 pounds since September 10th

    My mom died of a heart attack in 2005. The crazy thing was is that she was much smaller than me, and had no Heath issues (Bp & cholesterol were always normal!!!) She had a hysterectomy about a week before she died. Not sure if the surgery had anything to do with it or not. My other family members who have passed died from much different circumstances (none health related) so she's the only one in my family history that may put me at risk since she had a heart attack. I assume anyway. I would really like to do another test (fasting) even though my doc says it doesn't matter. I think a Statin is a drastic measure with a lot of undesirable side effects. Of course I know that heart attacks and strokes have undesirable effects as well, and I will take the meds if I have to, I'm just wondering if he's just trying to push these pills. One test result after meeting me for about 10 mins before the test was taken and he wants to put me on meds. He didn't ask many questions and honestly I don't know if he even looked at my file.

    Get a second opinion
  • pollypocket1021
    pollypocket1021 Posts: 533 Member
    thecommoncold40299 wrote: »
    _Terrapin_ wrote: »
    AlabasterVerve wrote: »
    Whether your LDL/diet is a cause for concern or not I honestly don't know but an otherwise healthy 35 year old women being prescribed a statin on the basis on one test? That's outrageous and cause for concern, IMO.

    Please get a second opinion if you can afford it.

    Not quite sure how you can determine they are healthy. OP has lost 40 pounds. Was it in 10 weeks/months/years? Maybe the better question is why was the test ordered? More importantly why was it not performed in a fasted state? OP, as others have said, a second test makes sense. Maybe semi-annually if you have a family history of CVD or death at early ages in your family.

    This was my first visit with this doctor. While examining me he happened to ask when my last physical was. I said about 2 years ago. He said well let's do one while your here. So as we are heading down to the lab I told him that I obviously hasn't fasted because I didn't know he would do a physical on the spot. (Usually our doctors have you call and make a separate app for that) that's when heck told me it was fine.
    I've lost 41 pounds since September 10th

    I would be beyond pissed. It sounds like he added that on at the end so he could bill more for the same visit without putting the necessary work in. And I bet your insurance company won't cover another well check if they have this cities on the books for another year.
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
    thecommoncold40299 wrote: »
    _Terrapin_ wrote: »
    AlabasterVerve wrote: »
    Whether your LDL/diet is a cause for concern or not I honestly don't know but an otherwise healthy 35 year old women being prescribed a statin on the basis on one test? That's outrageous and cause for concern, IMO.

    Please get a second opinion if you can afford it.

    Not quite sure how you can determine they are healthy. OP has lost 40 pounds. Was it in 10 weeks/months/years? Maybe the better question is why was the test ordered? More importantly why was it not performed in a fasted state? OP, as others have said, a second test makes sense. Maybe semi-annually if you have a family history of CVD or death at early ages in your family.

    This was my first visit with this doctor. While examining me he happened to ask when my last physical was. I said about 2 years ago. He said well let's do one while your here. So as we are heading down to the lab I told him that I obviously hasn't fasted because I didn't know he would do a physical on the spot. (Usually our doctors have you call and make a separate app for that) that's when heck told me it was fine.
    I've lost 41 pounds since September 10th
    So, your doctor has much more information on your health then we have handy. I'd recommend having the test in a fasted state. Cardiology group I started going to said 8 hours is fine and I've done 12 before. So, ask questions about fasting state if they re-test you. Also, losing 41 pounds in about 4 months the majority of the weight dump is fat so your cholesterol reading will or ought to be somewhat different in 2 weeks versus weight maintenance for example in 3 months. Make sense? At any rate, I would think most doctors would be inclined to recommend a drug if you cannot improve the markers. The 'if' means, I have a doctor say to me "If, x, then Y" and I'll say "if x goes down by blah blah, then I do not need Y correct?" It comes down being your own advocate.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    _Terrapin_ wrote: »
    thecommoncold40299 wrote: »
    _Terrapin_ wrote: »
    AlabasterVerve wrote: »
    Whether your LDL/diet is a cause for concern or not I honestly don't know but an otherwise healthy 35 year old women being prescribed a statin on the basis on one test? That's outrageous and cause for concern, IMO.

    Please get a second opinion if you can afford it.

    Not quite sure how you can determine they are healthy. OP has lost 40 pounds. Was it in 10 weeks/months/years? Maybe the better question is why was the test ordered? More importantly why was it not performed in a fasted state? OP, as others have said, a second test makes sense. Maybe semi-annually if you have a family history of CVD or death at early ages in your family.

    This was my first visit with this doctor. While examining me he happened to ask when my last physical was. I said about 2 years ago. He said well let's do one while your here. So as we are heading down to the lab I told him that I obviously hasn't fasted because I didn't know he would do a physical on the spot. (Usually our doctors have you call and make a separate app for that) that's when heck told me it was fine.
    I've lost 41 pounds since September 10th
    So, your doctor has much more information on your health then we have handy. I'd recommend having the test in a fasted state. Cardiology group I started going to said 8 hours is fine and I've done 12 before. So, ask questions about fasting state if they re-test you. Also, losing 41 pounds in about 4 months the majority of the weight dump is fat so your cholesterol reading will or ought to be somewhat different in 2 weeks versus weight maintenance for example in 3 months. Make sense? At any rate, I would think most doctors would be inclined to recommend a drug if you cannot improve the markers. The 'if' means, I have a doctor say to me "If, x, then Y" and I'll say "if x goes down by blah blah, then I do not need Y correct?" It comes down being your own advocate.

    This^^ Please get a second opinion or at the very least a retake while fasted.
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