blood work in and im a disaster!!

[doctorcosa]

been low carb for 2 years and i just got a real shocker of a blood test result that is shaking my faith in low carb.

total: 302
HDL: 59
Trigl: 86
LDL :225

34 year old mail, 5'11" 178 pounds, moderately active.

doctor told me these levels are "disturbingly high" and would require serious dietary intervention or i will go into my 40's as a very serious risk for cardiac disease....

not sure what to do, so much confounding info on the web about if LDL is even something to worry about if th HDL is high..

any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!!!

thank you,

[gitfiddle]

Doctorcosa, the first thing I thought is that your triglycerides look pretty good, but your cholesterol is on the high side. That brings to my mind a blog (http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/weight-loss/low-carbohydrate-diets-increase-ldl-debunking-the-myth/) that Dr. Mike wrote on how LDL is actually calculated. You might find it enlightening.

I've been on Protein Power for four or five years and have not had any problem with blood tests except that the numbers took their sweet time coming down.

There are folks here who may be able to give you the benefit of their experience, but none of us are doctors. A few sample menus from you might be helpful in case there's something obvious. There's not much to go on.

[maxlharris]

First thing that springs to mind is that this was not a properly fasted blood test.
Second is the problem with the indirect measurement of LDL and the inference problem caused by <100 triglycerides.
If the first is true, I would suggest getting scheduled for another one, with a proper no-food period before (I forget if it's 8 or 12... get the first appointment in the morning, cut off your food at 7PM, go to bed and go straight to the docs).
If the improper fasting theory is incorrect, ask you doc about getting a direct measurement of your LDL, rather than a total lipid panel.

[Adriana]

First thing that springs to mind is that this was not a properly fasted blood test.

I am surprised at how casual doctors are about the need to fast before blood work...I take the bull by the horns and go in fasted eeven if they don't request it as it will eliminate one more trip for retesting if the numbers come out suspect.