Low TG and HDL, high LDL, feedback welcome

L

luisHK

Hi Elite Health Consultants, just go a bunch of info through blood test, it's mostly good, especially Testosterone went up to 862 from 401 from Clomid/HCG bitherapy (either compound used by itselft only raised Test to 600 ). I will stick with that process for a while, glad to get decent test levels without shutting off HPTA.
So everything is basically fine in the tests, including liver values, BP in the mornings manage to show below 120/80 and often slightly more later in the day, I regularly check blood glucose levels at home and there's no problem so far.
Yet HDL/LDL levels are out of range, i went through the 14 pages of the statin thread and suspect some of you guys might have some comment to add. Here are the values :

TG : 87 mg/dl
CHOL: 186
HDL: 30.50
LDL : 154

Good thing is Triglycerides are low, which seems to make the other numbers a little less alarming. Ratios look sligthly healthier and I read that LDL numbers get skewed higher by TG numbers below 100.
Still LDL @154 is borderline high and HDL@30.50 is well below the at least 40 advised for males.

I don't remember ever doing that blood panel so have no idea how long out of wack HDL/LDL numbers have been in the making. Using at least 4mg fish oil per day, not sure it helped but TGs sure look good. taking a bunch of other supplements but nothing specific for HDL and LDL.
Can you guys chime in with some not too smartass comment/advice ?

Fwiw I got the blood panels done in a hospital near my house but that's not the kind of place i would ask advice from the doctor, hence i'm researching the issue online before any further step.
 
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I had a case where my cholesterol levels were not good. The doctor then advised me to reduce the amount of pork, lamb and beef in my food. I followed his advise and replaced those by eating some more chicken and fish. Three months later, at a retest, was all fine.
 
HDL seems low but overall numbers seem fine and ratio Total/HDL might be high but again it is not so black and white. Numbers are always first step so have to dig a little deeper and ask your doctor....
 
Thanks both for your replies.
HobbyTrading, I noticed your same reply in the statin thread, glad to see dieting only was enough to sort out the issue, some claim that diet has only a minor influence on cholesterol issues (even more so when drug use is involved, steroids wreak havoc on HDL/LDL, not sure about the treatment I'm following) . Already having a very hard time to get enough to eat and enjoy it (over here at least, i'm quite happy with the food in most western countries) and keen on putting on weight so giving up red meat doesn't sound great. Yet most red meat served around here would get a cook shot in New Zealand, more fish and chicken might be worth exploring, although they're not any more appetizing...
85, thanks for your feedback, what specialist would you go and see to discuss those levels ? Not so keen on doing that but might have to if supplements and more cardio (swimming) don't get the numbers to better levels.
Will post again later about supplements, still reading about those.
 
luisHK said:
HobbyTrading, I noticed your same reply in the statin thread, glad to see dieting only was enough to sort out the issue, some claim that diet has only a minor influence on cholesterol issues (even more so when drug use is involved, steroids wreak havoc on HDL/LDL, not sure about the treatment I'm following) . Already having a very hard time to get enough to eat and enjoy it (over here at least, i'm quite happy with the food in most western countries) and keen on putting on weight so giving up red meat doesn't sound great.
More...
To be honest: I was also surprised at the results I got as I hadn't expected any serious influence either. I overlooked your description of the medication you are using and am not a specialist.
I'm not saying that you have to give up eating red meat altogether (I didn't stop eating beef and pork), but just change the balance a bit. Gaining lean mass (i.e. not fat mass) isn't easy and isn't getting any easier when the years pass by. Use the muscles and eat sufficient protein.
 
I was referring to regular doctor.

Triglycerides are not high but in the 80s above which could indicate (complete guess here) a higher balance of carbs to healthy fats. One suggestion is cut back on sugars and refined carbs, add more fiber (fiber veggies), unsaturated fats and mix in lean proteins and it might balance out the TRI, LDL, HDL numbers. Exercise is also helpful as an adjunct.

When we reduce carbs and increase healthy fats, Tris go down and HDL goes up. LDL is the tricky part. Some of us just produce a lot of cholesterol and high saturated fats on regular basis can push LDL up. But as we mentioned in another thread it is the make up of the LDL that is more significant (light fluffy particles v. heavy dense ones). There is another test for that.

But I would bet that if you gave yourself 2 months of reduced/eliminating added sugars and reduced natural sugars/carbs down to a minimum, ate increased healthy fats and more fiber the numbers would change IMHO.
 
Most important thing to do here is to try to raise your HDL. Best way to do that is stop smoking (if you smoke). Second best way is aerobic exercise daily. Of course, there are drugs, but your doctor will have to help you make that decision based on other factors.
 
I did a lot of reading about this a few years ago. Here is what I know... and practice.

Many years ago, high total cholesterol was bad. Then they learned about HDL and LDL. HDL is considered good cholesterol while LDL is considered bad cholesterol. This is where you are today.

Current research suggests that LDL is composed of good and bad types; SDLDL and LBLDL.

Small Dense LDL is bad and Large Buoyant LDL is good.

You need a new test called NMR Lipoprofile test.

My research into all this had me change my diet to monitor my fructose consumption and to generally keep my fructose consumption under 25 gms daily. Otherwise, I eat plenty of protein and fat. I eat carbs to maintain my activity; skiing, biking, hiking, weight lifting, etc.

I have had the lipoprofile test done and I have mostly the good LDL (4:1)

My cholesterol numbers are generally. I consider these numbers to be healthy.
TG : 50-60 mg/dl
CHOL:195-220
HDL: 60-80
LDL : 110-130

My suggestion is this;
1. avoid statins
2. reduce fructose consumption
3. raise HDL by exercise (HIIT)
4. raise HDL by drinking red wine (Whooo Hoooo!). Avoid all other alcohol until you have good numbers.
5. Get a lipoprofile test after doing the above for 8 weeks. Consider Life Extension for testing
6. Don't trust a word of what I have posted. There is a significant amount of information in this post. Google these terms and read about what is going on. There are really good articles out there, but I don't remember where. Lustig (sp?) comes to mind as a place to start.

Good Luck
 
There is confusing advice in clinical practice & literature on atherosclerosis risk.
At this point, I am not seeking to raise my HDL to reduce risk.

"However, the contemporary era has witnessed the disappointing results of major clinical trials, in which therapeutic approaches to HDL-C raising with niacin (4) and cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitors (5,6) have failed to beneficially lower cardiovascular event rates compared with standard of care alone......they reported that low HDL-C levels were associated with a greater risk of death due to cardiovascular, cancer, or other causes, whereas very high HDL-C levels were associated with a greater risk of noncardiovascular death."
in:
Will Big Data Shine Light at the End of the Tunnel for HDL? | JACC: Journal of the American College of Cardiology
 
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