Cholesterol Surprise After 11 Months

[kjp42]

My wife and I (age 38 and 42) have been doing Whole 30 about 11 months, since October 2015.  We both feel better.  My wife has lost a little weight and discovered a gluten intolerance.  I have lost over 50 lb (down from 220+ lb to 170 lb) and my digestion is much better.   Today, we got our most recent cholesterol numbers, which we were able to compare to yearly tests going back to 2004.   The results were disappointing.

Looking back 10 years, my wife's cholesterol has been in the range of trigylcerides=75-100, total cholesterol=190-200, HDL=65-75, LDL (calculated)=100-110, and chol/HDL ratio=2.6-2.8.   As of August, her numbers are now triglycerides=98, total=394, HDL=95, LDL=279, and ratio=4.1 -- a huge change for the worse.

Looking back 10 years, my cholesterol has normally been in the range of trigylcerides=100-180, total cholesterol=180-215, HDL=36-42, LDL (calculated)=120-140, and chol/HDL ratio=4.5-8.6.  In February, after 4 months on Whole30, numbers were better: triglycerides=69, total=176, HDL=41, LDL=121, and ratio=4.3.  I felt pretty good about this.  However, in August, things changed for the worse: triglycerides=59, total=215, HDL=51, LDL=152, ratio=4.2.

We are both surprised and disappointed.  Although it is a lot of work to stay Whole30 compliant, we have both been motivated to continue based on how we feel.  These numbers make us wonder whether the program is really worth it for us.  By the standard recommendations, my wife's numbers are terrible.  My numbers are borderline, but I don't understand why my numbers would have initially gotten better and then gotten worse again. 

Can anyone offer any advice on how to approach this?  

Thanks,

k

[jmcbn]

I don't purport to be an expert on cholesterol (although I know a rise in numbers is not uncommon following a period of weightloss) so I'm just going to provides some links to threads where raised cholesterol has been discussed previously - hopefully you'll find some information in here somewhere which will be of help to you, and in the meantime I'd focus on how well you are both feeling...

Your wife may also want to have her thyroid checked - she's approaching that age where it can become lazy and this can also impact cholesterol.
 

 

https://chriskresser.com/what-causes-elevated-ldl-particle-number/

https://chriskresser.com/the-diet-heart-myth-why-everyone-should-know-their-ldl-particle-number/

https://chriskresser.com/heart-disease/

 

[kjp42]

Thanks.  After posting this question, I spent a few hours digging through all of the cholesterol-related threads in the forum.  As far as my cholesterol is concerned, we have tentatively decided not to worry right now, at least until my weight stabilizes for a period of time.  My wife's cholesterol level is of much more concern.  It does sound like the thyroid is a possibility.   I already work with a functional medical specialist near home, so we are going to touch base with him and see if this is something he can help us work through.

k 

[Tom Denham]

I have a genetic condition that predisposes me to high cholesterol even if I live on lettuce and water.

I stopped all medication a few years ago to see what would happen and my total cholesterol went to about 350. My doctor put me on a fenofibrate and that brought me down to a semi-tolerable level and then my functional medicine doctor had me start taking niacin twice per day. That got my cholesterol down low enough to make most any doctor happy. Along the way, I learned not to consider my cholesterol level an important health marker, but there are relatively safe ways to bring levels down without standard (and problematic) meds like statins.