Concerned about lab work.. Opinions?

Curvycurly223
Curvycurly223 Posts: 44 Member
Hello everyone,

I just had my labs done and I’m a little concerned because my cholesterol has gone up. I'm still in the normal ranges but there seems to be a big change in a months time. I have been eating Keto for 2 months now.

Here are my stats from 04/02/16
( Chol: 158, HDL: 65, LDL: 82, and TRIG:57)

and now here are my results from 05/01/2015
(Chol: 171, HDL: 63, LDL: 97, and Trig: 56)

Should I be concerned? These seem like some pretty big changes only a month apart. Thank you.

Replies

  • wabmester
    wabmester Posts: 2,748 Member
    I would be happy with those numbers. :)

    Your TG/HDL ratio is perfect.

    Your LDL is perfect.

    LDL tends to go up on low-carb, mostly due to increased SFA intake. There's no evidence it's a Bad Thing, and might even be a Good Thing. :)
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    Watch this video and you should feel more confident that your numbers are actually quite good. Even in comparison to your previous numbers.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAWdHYSrh7M
  • KetoTheKingdom
    KetoTheKingdom Posts: 33 Member
    Hello everyone,

    I just had my labs done and I’m a little concerned because my cholesterol has gone up. I'm still in the normal ranges but there seems to be a big change in a months time. I have been eating Keto for 2 months now.

    Here are my stats from 04/02/16
    ( Chol: 158, HDL: 65, LDL: 82, and TRIG:57)

    and now here are my results from 05/01/2015
    (Chol: 171, HDL: 63, LDL: 97, and Trig: 56)

    Should I be concerned? These seem like some pretty big changes only a month apart. Thank you.

    Congratulations!
    The Chol. elevation is not significant, and the LDL rise is probably not an issue either. I'd say you are doing just fine!
  • RalfLott
    RalfLott Posts: 5,036 Member
    edited May 2016
    You should feel more confident that your numbers are actually quite good. Even in comparison to your previous numbers.

    Bingo! I'd pay real cash $ for those ##!
  • KarlaYP
    KarlaYP Posts: 4,436 Member
    Looks great!
  • V_Keto_V
    V_Keto_V Posts: 342 Member
    That amount of variation is nothing concerning; you could get the same results with blood drawn twice on the same day in same fasted state. Keep doing what you're doing; it works.

    Did you mean both draws were from 2016? You posted one from 2015 but said 1 month apart. Would like to have seen baseline values before LCHF & after LCHF....now those are dramatic
  • Curvycurly223
    Curvycurly223 Posts: 44 Member
    Thanks for the replies everyone and yes that's a typo. Both are from 2016. One in the beginning of April and one a few days ago
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
    With the standards tests, increasing cholesterol (and even increasing LDL) isn't necessarily a bad thing.

    First of all, mortality goes down in a cardiovascular event until somewhere a little above 200, so that's actually arguably an improvement (fun fact -- heart patients are just as likely to have "good" or "low" cholesterol as "high" cholesterol).

    Second, it measures concentration -- that is, the volume of the lipoproteins compared to the volume of the blood. That makes it blind to changes in size and density of the lipoproteins. LCHF is known to increase the size of LDL particles, which makes them behave more like HDL particles. This is a good thing. However, that change causes an increase in the number on the standard test, which looks bad.

    In other words, no, you have no need to be concerned about your numbers. :)
  • CMYKRGB
    CMYKRGB Posts: 213 Member
    LDL can also go up independent of your diet. Drop in estrogen made mine spike. High LDL is why I started this WOE (dr recommended).
  • annalisbeth74
    annalisbeth74 Posts: 328 Member
    @Sunny_Bunny_ I just watched that entire video and am confused as ever as to what the biggest risk is concerning LDL. But good Lord, that man is fine. I may watch it again. For reasons.