My Cholesterol test has me disappointed

[LTR]

I completed my whole30 during the month of August. I extended my re-introduction period because I wanted to be free of any symptoms before re-introducing a new food group. I have only deviated from Whole30 for the purposes of reintroducing certain groups back.

 

Yesterday I went in for a routine check up and today I was called back with the news that my cholesterol is high. I'm in shock! I started this journey just to see if my skin would clear up. I have been dealing some unexplained skin rashes. 

 

Test Results            2012        2013

Hdl Cholesterol          61             59

Ldl Cholesterol          96           151

Total Cholesterol     170           225

Triglycerides              67            77

 

I'm so disappointed. My good cholesterol went down, bad cholesterol went up. I don't understand. What could have caused a 55 mg increase in my LDL and 10 mg increase in triglycerides? 

 

During the last few days of whole30 I felt more energy, less muscle soreness, I dropped some weight, my skin improved. I thought my doctor's visit was going to return awesome health statistics. 

 

I have noticed that since I started my re-introduction period I'm reacting to certain foods. All of a sudden I'm having allergic reactions to nuts. Which I had with no problem during Whole30. Could just be coincidence. Just the other night I began to feel my throat swelling after having a chicken stir fry that I cooked myself. Just chicken, bell peppers, shredded carrots, onion, garlic, and a hot pepper cooked in olive oil. I'm baffled! Has anyone else had a similar experience? Did it eventually go away? I've never had any allergic reactions to any food.

 

I'm still waiting on the results of my nut allergy tests.

 

My doctors recommendation was to add a fish oil supplement. I'm due for a follow up in three months. I was told that if my numbers don't improve the next step would be medication. The last thing I want is to be on cholesterol medication. I'm only 27! I'm 5'2'' and weigh 116.5 lbs.

 

Worst of all, these unexpected health consequences has me craving cookies!! I had gotten to the point where I no longer craved a sugary snack on day 31. I'm afraid I'm on the verge of going completely off track and binge eating baked goods. My brain is telling me "your health numbers were better before anyways." I'm now certain I have a sugar problem that is much more worse than I had previously thought. 

[James Murphy]

A few things:

 

First, there has been more time between these results than simply pre- and post- Whole30.  It's difficult to understand whether or not the Whole30 itself has changed your cholesterol numbers significantly either positively or negatively based on this information.

 

Second, this cholesterol information alone isn't terribly indicative of any particular health issue, but there is more going on than simply your food intake that's involved with what your serum cholesterol numbers may be.  We also don't know what your food intake has looked like during the Whole30, or what it was previously when your 2012 measurements were taken.  

 

I think your point that you have been feeling good is an important one to keep in mind.  I could speculate as to what is happening, but I think it's probably better if I refrain.

 

"During the last few days of whole30 I felt more energy, less muscle soreness, I dropped some weight, my skin improved."  --  What has changed between this time period, and what you're doing right now? 

 

Try your best to not allow the results from the blood work to stress you out, as it's pretty clear that the stress from this is having a negative impact on your thoughts toward food.  Understand that whatever has happened to make your cholesterol numbers what they are currently has occurred over more than 30 days (in fact, over 250 days have passed since your last test), and that continuing to eat healthily and to live a lifestyle that addresses other areas of health (see 9 factors) is what's necessary to help correct these issues, if you want to try to prevent the use of medications.

[LTR]

I was very frustrated not being able to explain why my numbers came back the way they did. I have been tracking my cholesterol every year for the past 5 years and I have always had my numbers come back in the healthy range. The only dramatic change my diet has seen is my whole30 adventure. I have been feeling less than optimal in the last couple of weeks because of the foods that I re-introduced mainly gluten and dairy. Needless to say I'm now gluten and dairy free. I also had the allergy symptoms to deal with.  

 

I was not able to find a similar issue on this forum so I posted my problem. I did however follow some links that were posted in regards to cholesterol. The links below address some reasons why you could see a rise in LDL after completing whole30. 

 

I'm proactive about my health and have found answers in the following links:

 

Link #1: http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarb101/a/LDL-On-A-Low-Carb-Diet.htm

 

Link #2: http://blog.cholesterol-and-health.com/2011/08/central-role-of-thyroid-hormone-in.html

 

Link #3: http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2011/09/high-ldl-on-paleo-revisited-low-carb-the-thyroid/

 

 

More than likely I fall in the category of my LDL being temporarily high since this is the first time my diet is low carb. 

 

"There have been quite a few studies now tracking LDL on a low-carb diet. In some of them, there is a tendency in some people to have elevated LDL at the 3-4 month mark, but by month 6 or 8, it tends to go back down. I have heard a lot of stories along these lines from low-carbers as well. So it seems prudent to keep your hand off the panic button in the early months of your low-carb eating program." - Link #1

 

I will schedule my next test 6 months from now. I plan on staying whole30 compliant until then at which point I will also have my thyroid checked just in case. 

[sheba-kitty]

My numbers have been high for a number of years now, and so I was disappointed that my numbers didn't improve. But oddly my new doctor is not worried about my numbers. My total combined is 229. I am currently still 46 yo and 30+ overweight. My thyroid has been out of whack for years too. I plan to continue my clean Paleo eating and get tested again in 3 months.

[ponzon]

I, too, have had a disappointing bio-metric screening post Whole 30.  I started on August 15, 2013 and have been in compliance ever since (41 days).  My weight has gone from 235 to 203.  However, my test results were alarming.  Here they are:

 

Age:  28

Height:  5'6

Weight:  203lbs

 

Test Results            8/6/13       9/24/13

Hdl Cholesterol               49                  29

Ldl Cholesterol              142               154

Total Cholesterol           214               208

Triglycerides                 115               125

Cholestoral/HDL Ratio     4.4               7.3

 

 

Can someone please explain this to me?

 

My diet for the past 40 days has consisted of Organic Cage-Free Eggs, organic cage free hormone free grilled chicken, grilled grass fed organic meats, tomatoes, onions, zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, leafy greens all from local farmers market, organic cashews and almonds, organic strawberries and Primal Pacs (whole 30 approved and promoted).  I have been drinking water only. 

 

Can someone please help!!!  I'm extremely shocked and disappointed.

 

 

[Renee Lee]

Hey ponzon, if you're concerned with your values, you should definitely talk it over with your doc...but I don't see anything particularly alarming. You actually don't have a huge change in most of your values. The only curious thing would be the big drop in HDL, but even that makes sense, given that you lost twenty lbs recently (your LDL values will spike when you lose a lot of fat. it takes 2-3 months for them to stabilize)

 

There's a lot wrong with lipid testing to determine cardiovascular health/risk, and I encourage you to do some reading about it. Personally, I like Chris Masterjohn's website (http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/), but Tom has another Dr. that he plugs here often, Dr. Boffa, I believe?

 

I think you're doing okay! Talk to your doc, see if they're concerned, and maybe schedule a followup test in a couple of months?