Need interpreting for new Cholesterol Numbers

[tenngirl]

I have been LC since Feb. 09 to reduce fasting BS. Thankfully it is good now, but the first screening for cholesterol was done today and I feel a bit unsettled about the numbers. Here goes:

Feb. 09 (before LC)
Tot. Chol. 234
HDL 68.3
LDL 154.5
Trig. 56
BS 114


Nov. 09 (after 8-9 mos. LC)
Tot. Chol. 353
HDL >85
LDL 255 (214 Iranian)
Trig. 63
BS 82

I am 69 yrs. old 5'5" tall, wt. 116 and I feel great. I do a cardio, wt. lifting class 3x/wk. I feel a little unsettled about these numbers (I've never had a Tot. Chol. that high) but I have read Protein Power LP.
Can you tell me if I'm on the right track? If not, what suggestions do you have....and thank you very much.

[gitfiddle]

Tenngirl, I'm not sure about the total cholesterol, but I'm pretty sure it contributed to the high ldl if it's calculated. Your hdl and bs are great! It makes me wonder if the lab made an error. TG is up a bit, but still at a good level.

I'm not a scientist or a medically trained person, but I'd be interested to see what someone else had to say, too.

[tenngirl]

Thank you for responding Gitfiddle. I've had a little time to ponder over this, so tell me if you think 3 eggs a day could just be too much cholesterol over this period of 8-9 months. The Eades recommend getting (for me) 27 gm of protein for each meal....so the eggs were convenient as part of my breakfast. I am in the process of changing my primary care Dr. so I really don't have any pro-carb medical person to discuss this with right now. Anyway, I trust this site to help get me on the right track.

[maxlharris]

Question: Was it a fasting test?
If not, it is not worth the paper your results were returned on.
If so, I would suspect lab issues. Doesn't track that BS would be better controlled (would like to have HbA1c numbers rather than spot BS) while LDL shot up that much.

The eggs are not your problem, in all likelihood.

[mcsblues]

Thank you for responding Gitfiddle. I've had a little time to ponder over this, so tell me if you think 3 eggs a day could just be too much cholesterol over this period of 8-9 months. The Eades recommend getting (for me) 27 gm of protein for each meal....so the eggs were convenient as part of my breakfast. I am in the process of changing my primary care Dr. so I really don't have any pro-carb medical person to discuss this with right now. Anyway, I trust this site to help get me on the right track.

Dietary cholesterol (such as that from eggs) is not an issue (and never has been). Even the man largely responsibls for the adoption of the low fat, high carb disaster (a guy called Ancel Keys) was saying way back in the 1950s that dietary cholesterol intake had no effect on blood levels (they did tests back then where massive doses of cholesterol were given to human and animal test subjects - the only cases of more than a transient response occurred in herbivorous animals such as rabbits - which makes sense as rabbits would encounter next to zero cholesterol in their natural diet).

HTH

[tenngirl]

Yes, maxlharris, it was a fasting test...all testing done with finger stick.

[Frank Hagan]

Your LDL is probably overstated due to the low Trig under 100, but both tests have Trig under 100. You might want to have them do a direct-to-ldl test next time. Its more accurate (but I think there's an even more accurate test that is rarely used ... someone here may remember).

The total cholesterol number is just the sum of LDL, HDL and one-fifth of the Trigs. What the doctor will probably focus on is the LDL number (the other two "component values" ... HDL and Trig ... are great!)

Are you taking any other supplements like niacin, etc? If you are eating very LC, and are in ketosis, that can cause an elevated LDL reading (at least, according to the studies of ketogenic diets in epilepsy patients ... it controls seizures but tends to lead to higher LDL levels).

[tenngirl]

Yes, Frank Hagan, I do eat very low carb...and I do not take any niacin. What is the best way to tell if I am in ketosis?

[MichelleAkers]

Yes, Frank Hagan, I do eat very low carb...and I do not take any niacin. What is the best way to tell if I am in ketosis?

I'm not Frank, but I can answer that one -- urine test strips, available at any pharmacy. One common brand is Ketostix. Cost will vary from <$8 (Wal-Mart) to probably $13 or so for a little jar of I think 50 test strips.

Look in the "Diabetic supplies" area. If you don't find them, just ask the pharmacist to point you to the ketone test strips.

-- Michelle