Cholesterol Results after 6 months Keto.
CMYKRGB
Posts: 213 Member
I started LCHF in September 2015, and evolved to ketogenic after about 30 days. I had my cholesterol checked, and it was because of high cholesterol (LDL) that my primary care doctor recommended I try LCHF.
Here are my results, side by side, with Before listed first, and After listed second:
TG: 82 -> 97 (triglycerides)
HDL: 71 -> 78
LDL: 141 -> 191 (!!!)
VLDL: 16 -> 19
...and now she's putting me on a statin because the LDL is out of control.
What am I doing wrong that I've ended up with such a ridiculously high LDL cholesterol level?
What suggestions does anyone have to naturally reduce LDL?
Here are my results, side by side, with Before listed first, and After listed second:
TG: 82 -> 97 (triglycerides)
HDL: 71 -> 78
LDL: 141 -> 191 (!!!)
VLDL: 16 -> 19
...and now she's putting me on a statin because the LDL is out of control.
What am I doing wrong that I've ended up with such a ridiculously high LDL cholesterol level?
What suggestions does anyone have to naturally reduce LDL?
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Replies
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Saturated fats usually raise LDL. I'm a bit surprised your doc recommended LCHF if she's concerned about LDL.
If you want to try to manipulate the numbers, switch to olive oil for your main source of fat.
If your doc is really concerned, get a VAP or NMR to dig into the LDL. Chances are the particle number hasn't changed much, and it's just that the particles are bigger (and less atherogenic).
LDL goes up for about 1/3 of us on this diet. Probably genetic. Ask your doc about ApoE4, for example.0 -
What's ApoE4? The Alzheimer's gene?
I'm pretty discouraged, but am reluctant to give up this WOE. I also don't want to start on statins.0 -
It is associated with Alz, but it's also associated with how we respond to SFA intake.
It's your choice to accept or reject statins, but your doc would just be following guidelines to recommend them. Personally, I'd look into it more. LDL is considered a risk mostly by association. It's unknown if it's still a risk in certain contexts, such as the low-inflammation environment normally associated with a LCHF diet.
Have your CRP tested for starters.0 -
Thx. I've also learned that it will interfere with thyroxine, which I have to take. Part of me wants to wait another 6 months to see if the LDL levels out once my weight stabilizes. I'm just 9 lbs away from goal.0
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I started LCHF in September 2015, and evolved to ketogenic after about 30 days. I had my cholesterol checked, and it was because of high cholesterol (LDL) that my primary care doctor recommended I try LCHF.
Here are my results, side by side, with Before listed first, and After listed second:
TG: 82 -> 97 (triglycerides)
HDL: 71 -> 78
LDL: 141 -> 191 (!!!)
VLDL: 16 -> 19
...and now she's putting me on a statin because the LDL is out of control.
What am I doing wrong that I've ended up with such a ridiculously high LDL cholesterol level?
What suggestions does anyone have to naturally reduce LDL?
You might inquire of @GaleHawkins, who mentioned some recent research that provided some relief regarding "elevated" LDL levels.
Your TG and HDL look good!
I'm among the LCHF folks whose LDL rose noticeably, but my HDL hasn't budged (yet). Hrrmmph...0 -
Years ago, before starting Keto, my doctor recommended a Red Yeast Rice supplement to 'normalize' my cholesterol numbers. It worked wonders in 3 months ... now that I'm doing keto I continue to take it and the numbers are still good. Don't know if it's necessary now but why change if it's not broken.0
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LDL is the good stuff!0
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I started LCHF in September 2015, and evolved to ketogenic after about 30 days. I had my cholesterol checked, and it was because of high cholesterol (LDL) that my primary care doctor recommended I try LCHF.
Here are my results, side by side, with Before listed first, and After listed second:
TG: 82 -> 97 (triglycerides)
HDL: 71 -> 78
LDL: 141 -> 191 (!!!)
VLDL: 16 -> 19
...and now she's putting me on a statin because the LDL is out of control.
What am I doing wrong that I've ended up with such a ridiculously high LDL cholesterol level?
What suggestions does anyone have to naturally reduce LDL?
I do not give advice but I suggest you read up on how the numbers are meaningless for the first six months at least.
Dropping cholesterol too low is known to increase the risks of premature death especially if over 60 years of age.
Google will become your friend. The findings will be conflicting so do not give up.
I had to decide if I was going to use diet or Rx meds to recover my health. This may or may not be a valid for another to do.
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@ladipost I call LDL good stuff because if I drop it low then I am asking to speed up Alzheimer's risk developing.
Medically speaking we past prematurely without enough of both HDL and LDL.0 -
I meet with my primary care on Wednesday. It could be that my higher LDL has nothing to do with my diet. Previous cholesterol levels have always been perfect with high HDL. Last October's labs were the first time my LDL levels were elevated. Ever. And that was before I started this WOE. Perhaps it's because I hit menopause years ago. Why not? Everything else seems to have changed. Hypothyroid. Carb intolerance. Fibromyalgia. Nothing life threatening, but I'd be lying if I said this doesn't freak me out a wee bit.
Also, according to a few articles I've read, reduced thyroid function (hypothyroid), which I've had for the past two years (treated), is connected to raised LDL levels.0 -
Oh, now that you mention it....
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2856606/
Only total cholesterol, LDL-C, and apolipoprotein-B demonstrated substantial increases within the 1 year interval before and after FMP, consistent with menopause-induced changes.0 -
Hmm...that's interesting. I'll look into this relationship further. Perhaps it will level out as the body eventually adjusts.0
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Keep us posted. I don't really have any insights for you. My LDL and HDL each went up 16 points after my first 5 months on keto (VLDL went down 2 so total cholesterol went up 30). I am curious to see if it stabilizes over time.0
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I went to the doc this week for 6 month check. Last saw him mid-September; started keto last week in October. Total cholesterol went up 30. Weight went down 19 pounds. He never asked what I was eating or made any suggestion that the two major changes were correlated. The total cholesterol range is 200-240, and mine was 207. He wants me on statins. No thank you. I will be looking to find another PCP. I have been with this doc for 6 years...totally turned off after this visit. I have never had a cholesterol issue..the good one has always been too low, now it is perfect.
I am definitely interested in this as well. My DIL is an endocrine doc, and I will have a consult with her today. We discussed my previous labs when I first started, and she was very encouraging but also said that levels would most likely rise before leveling out.
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lovesretirement wrote: »I went to the doc this week for 6 month check. Total cholesterol went up 30. Weight went down 19 pounds since I last saw him. He never asked what I was eating or made any suggestion that the two major changes were correlated. The total cholesterol range is 200-240, and mine was 207. He wants me on statins. No thank you. I will be looking to find another PCP. I have been with this doc for 6 years...totally turned off after this visit.
I ran into the same thing last year. Do they not know after age 60 a total cholesterol level <200 carries a higher risk of death for us?0 -
One step I'm taking is to quit BPC, eliminate coconut oil, and use olive oil when possible instead of butter. By May, I should be at goal weight and can add more foods that help control and reduce LDL. There's definitely a link between early menopause and CHD and stroke, so there's a real concern there.0
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One step I'm taking is to quit BPC, eliminate coconut oil, and use olive oil when possible instead of butter. By May, I should be at goal weight and can add more foods that help control and reduce LDL. There's definitely a link between early menopause and CHD and stroke, so there's a real concern there.
Have you tried to use Coconut Oil vs butter for BPC? Better is not a go-to fat for some reason.
Something about olive oil burns my throat going down. Have you ever experience this?0 -
Phinney in one of his lectures put me onto a 50-50 combination of coconut and olive oil, which you can scoop and serve like soft margarine but without the trans fats and with better taste (and perhaps without the burn).0
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Phinney in one of his lectures put me onto a 50-50 combination of coconut and olive oil, which you can scoop and serve like soft margarine but without the trans fats and with better taste (and perhaps without the burn).
That sounds interesting especially in the winter when it can get so hard.0 -
Read Jimmy Moore or Johnny Bowden's books on cholesterol and what you should actually be looking for.
The LDL doesn't tell you if it's the fluffy, benign kind, or the dense, mean kind.0 -
Read Jimmy Moore or Johnny Bowden's books on cholesterol and what you should actually be looking for.
The LDL doesn't tell you if it's the fluffy, benign kind, or the dense, mean kind.
I have read Jimmy Moore's book and it got it though my thick skull.
If triglycerides are going down and HDL is going up at the same time one can expect where LDL is going up or down it is getting more fluffy (so to speak). LDL is not a predictor of any health risk as I understand current lipid research. The triglyceride/HLD ratio how ever is and should be less than 2 and the lower the number the better.0 -
I wish I had my results with me, but I don't. Last month my results came back with all my markers improving, except LDL which rose to a very similar number bumping my total cholesterol just over 300 - a number which included a fabulous reading of HDL of ~100 and VLDL of ~16. (Trigs were low too, can't recall them right now). However, my doc did not put me on statin as we both agreed that it is common and therefor not overly alarming with low carb diets and fast weight loss. I was doing both. So personally I wouldn't go on statins until you can get a partical test of your cholesterol to really make sense of it, because not all LDL are bad. You want to avoid oxidized VLDL, and the low carb diet inherently reduces those.
Here is a link to newsletter I received that may help explain why seeing high LDL during the early phase of low carb dieting is likely not that alarming. https://id226.infusionsoft.com/app/hostedEmail/11006277/6d29be5d979866e8?inf_contact_key=5bd8b0e5f10b2538b6d50450100ab3ca1f6ff4263aed42fef153a1d6be8dd085A typical response in the cholesterol panel of someone who has eliminated all wheat, grains, and sugars would look something like this:
Triglycerides 50 mg/dl
LDL cholesterol (calculated) — mg/dl
HDL cholesterol 70 mg/dl
Total cholesterol 200 mg/dl
I left the LDL cholesterol blank because it can do just about anything: go up, go down, remain unchanged—but it doesn’t matter, because it is inaccurate, unreliable, invalid. If you were to measure advanced lipoproteins, however, you would see a dramatic reduction or elimination of small LDL particles and reduction of the total count of LDL particles (since the small LDL component has been reduced or eliminated) with large LDL particles remaining.0 -
Dr. Davis' Wheat Belly Total Health is a helpful book in my case over the crazy cholesterol numbers I got at first.0
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have to admit i'm a bit concerned about what my blood work will show, not that i'm getting new reports anytime soon.
am happy however that eating lower carbs has resulted in an easier WOE than i've ever had.
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LDL is considered a risk mostly by association. It's unknown if it's still a risk in certain contexts, such as the low-inflammation environment normally associated with a LCHF diet.
I brought this topic up when I saw Doc Naiman yesterday. Good news! He gave me a relevant study:
Hyperinsulinemia as an Independent Risk Factor for Ischemic Heart Disease
This strongly suggests that if you keep insulin low (via low carb, of course), high LDL and other traditional risk factors are much less risky!0 -
@wabmester that is an awesome find of old Canadian data on the subject.
My take if one would from the get go eat in a way that would likely prevent the metabolic syndrome from ever developing the odds of premature deaths might drop like a rock.
However we know to do so is against human nature perhaps.0
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