Baffling cholesterol results

@loxie @jen

Well that's really lovely to get such encouragement from a total stranger - especially on Christmas Day - thank you!

I've taken on board the message not to bother with statins!

Do you have any hunch at all about what's keeping the LDL a bit stubborn, at the same time when the triglycerides have been so agreeable?

My only clues are in an article which seems to suggest that there are two types of LDL , A and B. (So why the blood test doesn't tell us that I don't know), the first actually reduces cardio risk. As I understand it, consuming 'good fats' can boost LDL-A, not just HDL.

It's certainly true that apart from getting to the gym a lot more this year I have cut dairy and almost entirely replaced my read meat with (unsalted) peanuts and walnuts, often as a snack with fruit. I also eat more sardines than I used to.

But if it were mainly about the increase in 'good fats' then it doesn't explain to me why the HDL hasn't jumped more than it has.

There's another article about LDL here https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/making-sense-of-cholesterol-tests which has a formula that I'd never heard of, ad is quite interesting:

"Your LDL is computed by plugging the measurements for total cholesterol, HDL, and triglycerides into a: LDL = Total cholesterol – HDL – (Triglycerides ÷ 5). LDL can also be measured directly in a non-fasting blood sample."

So looking at that, it seems to mean that when our Triglycerides go down, it actually increases our LDL ?!!!!! What's that all about?!

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Same reply to you above!

Merry Christmas!

Thanks Jonathan. In a nutshell, are you saying the reason why the LDL is declining at a very much lower rate than the Triglyceride is probably dietary?

Yes, likely in time, if you can keep this up, the numbers will begin to balance out. But, even if they are not what you hope for, You are better off if you eat healthier than those who don't.

I think you're really on to something because despite hugely increasing exercise and reducing red meat and dairy (which might explain radical triglyceride success), I do still 'sin' in other areas (which might explain the slow progress on LDL):

Apart from an occasional week of abstinence I eat two slices of cake or two donuts on a daily basis which of course contain dairy as well as sugar. I'll also maybe twice or three times per week have vegetarian (usually spinach) pizza, which has the white flour and of course cheese.

Am curious, what biological/chemical effect do you think boosting dark green vegetables would have on the body? Is that going to effect what the liver is doing in some way?

Adding more dark green vegetables will always be beneficial. My sister believes in juicing vegetables and then drinking it every few hours all day. She managed to help her new husband who was insulin dependent to get to more normal glucose levels and completely off insulin.

With that said, I would recommend that you get a glucose meter and test your blood after one of those pieces of cake after two hours. If your glucose goes above 160 mg/dL then you should be concerned, because that means you are damaging your body.

Blood glucose and cholesterol numbers are intertwined because the liver also helps to process glucose. That is why some medications that lower cholesterol can raise glucose levels.

So, if you really want to make some better progress then cut down on the cheat days, and add more fresh vegetables, juice or superfood powder. John

Thanks John. I take your point. My glucose readings are within the healthy norm which is why I haven't posted them here, but I understand that they'll fluctuate and be very different right after sugar consumption. And of course all that butter and eggs that goes into cake undermines the reduction in red meat and cheese.

You said that with commitment the figures should 'balance out' a couple of times. Does this mean there is a normal lag between triglyceride reduction and LDL reduction? Is there a causal link between the two, like the triglyceride makes LDL but with a delay, and so reduction in the former will take some time for it to read as a reduction in the latter?

I have not researched the relationship of the three different cholesterol readings, but I know that tests are not always accurate. And your liver health could improve and tweek the numbers back where they should be.

Just do your best, you are ahead of the game because you are aware and concerned.