Comments on: Reader Feedback – Doctors and Cholesterol

By: Ricardo

Ricardo — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 06:56:35 +0000

Don, you're right. By the way, do you know what is the average total colesterol (TC) level of people hospitalized with heart disease? Accordind to the guardians of the Lipid Hypothesis, it should be very high, perhaps 270 or 300 mg/dl, isn't it? Well, actually it is only 174.4 mg/dl, well below the average population TC level of about 200 mg/dl. I just wonder how will they explain his flaw now! Please see more of this in this study:

http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/jac/article/PIIS0002870308007175/
http://astute.cardiosource.com/2007/vposters/pdf/275_Fonarow.pdf

By: Richard Nikoley

Richard Nikoley — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:52:36 +0000

Lynn:

Well, grains combined with borderline on size is interesting. Dr. Davis often talks about wheat and particle size, so it would be interesting to see the effect -- though I have heard from the docs and radiologists that you don't want to get radiated too often. You might end up doing something worse to yourself.

Keep us informed.

By: Lynn M.

Lynn M. — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:08:57 +0000

Following up on on Richard's reply to my earlier comment. I entered my Trig/HDL ratio incorrectly. It's 1.127 mg/dL, not 1.27. Considering that 3.03 is the ratio to use for mg/dL, I'm way off the bell curve for the relationship of LDL particle size to Trig/HDL ratio.

I'm 62, female. My only NMR was 2/18/09. LDL-P 1458, Small LDL-P 1089; Total Chol 191; LDL-C 124; HDL-C 55; Triglycerides 62, Large HDL-P 9.3, Large VLDL-P 0.2. My LDL particle size is 20.5, the highest in the small range. That borderline status may be critical here.

I have eaten a combination of WAPF and Protein Power Dilettante diet since 2001. My husband developed dementia in December 2006 and since then I've gained 25 pounds, probably from eating too much home-made raw cream ice cream, raw cheese, and pumpkin seeds as late-night comfort food. My LDL has doubled since 1/24/07; both HDL and Trigs dropped 25%. Unfortunately I'm not currently exercising. Your blog has inspired me to eliminate all grains, even sourdough foods, and try to lose that extra weight.

By: Richard Nikoley

Richard Nikoley — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:59:26 +0000

I'd echo what Don wrote, Rick.

There's just no way I could be convinced that you are not a whole lot better off having shed 50 pounds and cutting your Trigs in half. You may not have reached optimal, yet, but once you get down to 15% BF then I would say that after a couple of months you'll be able to see what your lipids are from a healthy perspective for you.

You feel great, you have created a situation where your body is reseting itself to be a normal and natural human being. You should pat yourself on the back, enjoy your newfound health, and stop stressing. Stressing out about this stuff might be the worse thing you could do.

By: Sue

Sue — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 03:27:18 +0000

My dad's trig/HDL ratio is 1.83. or 4.18.

Cholesterol: 6.3 mmol/L or 245.7
Trigs: 2.2 mmol/L or 195.8
HDL: 1.2 mmol/L or 46.8
LDL: 4.1 mmol/L or 159.9

Doc wanted to put him on statins but dad refused. Now he wants to put him on Zetia (ezetimibe, ezetrol).
I think he just needs to remove the grains.

By: Paleo Newbie

Paleo Newbie — Sun, 31 May 2009 15:43:02 +0000

The reasons above is why I went into Radiology! Just finishing my 2nd year. We have a problem of reaching weight limits on our CT and MRI scanners which are around 400lbs. About once every couple of weeks we have to weigh a patient to make sure.

By: Todd

Todd — Sun, 31 May 2009 14:13:36 +0000

Lynn, This is actually a pretty common problem for many people over on the Track Your Plaque forum. They'll get their HDL up to 70-80, trigs down below 50 and yet still have a majority of small LDL. It's baffling… If anyone has the answer to your question, I haven't seen it yet.

By: rroscar

rroscar — Sun, 31 May 2009 14:01:30 +0000

Thanks for the info Dan Matesz. I agree being 50 lbs lighter and feeling good is much better than having low LDL? I do not intend to change from low carb to fix the LDL. Even if the carotid test shows some plaque I will try and aviod statins. I may ask for some Nicain to improve my HDL and LDL if they keep pushing the statins.

I am not loosing much wieght right now. I have not lost anything for 90 days or so. I am 6 foot droped from 250 lbs to about 193 since Aug. The last few months I have been doing some strength training. Even though I have not lost wieght for a while I think I am changing some fat to muscle.

I would not really be concerned about the high LDL if my HDL had gone up also or if my LDL partilce size was type A.

Thanks again. This is a great blog.

By: Todd

Todd — Sun, 31 May 2009 13:56:41 +0000

Rick,

Don brings up a good point about lipids being all out of whack when you're losing weight. It sounds like you've lost quite a bit of weight and maybe are still losing?

As for the ultra sound, I'd recommend a CT heart scan. You should check out the track your plaque site: www.trackyourplaque.com A heart scan will tell you how much if any calcified plaque you have.

Lastly, niacin, such as SloNiacin, at about 500 mg per day would probably have some positive effects on your HDL, LDL and your particle size. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/niacin/CL00036

By: Don Matesz

Don Matesz — Sun, 31 May 2009 13:24:32 +0000

You may also need some thyroid support, if you previously had a wheat-based diet, a deficiency of selenium can cause hypothyroidism:

Quote……………………
Stockdale T. Nutr Health. 1998;12(2):131-4.A discussion of the relationship between selenium, thyroxine, and indigestion.

The manner in which wheat is grown affects its selenium content. When wheat which is low in seleno-methionine is poorly digested it is probable that a shortage of seleno-methionine will depress the activity of deiodinases and produce the symptoms of hypothyroidism.
…………………………….. end quote

Of course you can remedy this simply with temporary micro nutrient supplementation.

Don