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Cholesterol Concern


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This concern is not so much Whole30 related as it is Paleo related.

I am just on day 4 of Whole30 and feeling great! I have been eating paleo 98% of the time for about a year now.

I exercise/workout almost daily and I don't have an excessive amount of weight to lose.

My cholesterol has always been around 215. Since I have been eating Paleo, it has jumped to 286! (I just had blood work done a week ago) My HDL is good, my triglycerides are good but the LDL is not. This really worries me as I feel better than I ever have, my weight is stable (no more yo-yoing) and I'm looking forward to the other benefits from the Whole30.

I haven't talked to the Dr. yet about the results but I'm so afraid he is going to try to make me eat differently and/or take meds. Am I doing something wrong?

This forum is such a great resource. I really appreciated all of the support that I get from here!

Thanks!

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Kelly, have you lost a lot of weight recently? Losing fat causes the liver to unload a lot of LDL particles into the bloodstream, but it's a temporary thing. Once your weight has stabilized for 3-6 months, get them retested and see if doesn't come back down to your norm. Additionally, make sure that your test directly measures the LDL particles. It's usually a calculated value, and low triglycerides will artificially inflate the number.

Another thing to combat this would be to season your food with turmeric, as it can stimulate your LDL receptor sites (which pick up LDL particles out of your blood)

Lastly, women in ancestral populations had cholesterol levels of around 250. You're a little higher than that, but if you don't have any inflammation, (which you probably don't if you're eating paleo), it's really not THAT high.

Whatever you do (and I'm not a doctor, so this is just my opinion), do NOT go on statins. Nowhere in the literature does it show that it has ANY positive effect on lipid values in women. So you get all the negative side effects, (which are a pretty big deal), with none of the benefit)

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I changed doctors last year because my old one refused to discuss cholesterol with me intelligently. I had been on meds for years and when I asked about coming off meds to see how I would do, he insisted on driving my already low levels lower by increasing use of a statin. I soon found another doctor who would work with me. The new doctor still wants to keep cholesterol under 250 - without meds I went to 298. She recommended a different type of drug than a statin and my level dropped to 238.

Losing weight can drive cholesterol levels up temporarily.

There is a strong reaction to the drug company propaganda that cholesterol is evil and the value of driving it lower and lower. The blogger I read the most is http://www.drbriffa.com/, but other good ones include http://blog.choleste...and-health.com/ and http://eatingacademy.com/.

Not being a scientist myself, I don't have the confidence to conclude that cholesterol levels don't matter, but I am sure that the mainstream message I was fed for years is bogus.

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Thank you for the info! I have not lost any weight, in fact, thats one of the benefits I hope to see from W30. I have remained within 2 pounds all last year. No inflammation either. This is a new Dr. so I am not sure how he is going to be about this. I just know that I do NOT want to go on Statins. But I kind of agree with you Tom, I'm not confident enough to argue that my levels are not too high. :)

Renee, how do I know if the levels were directly measured or calculated? Does it say on the results?

Tom, what other type of medicine did you take that was not a statin?

I guess I will see what the Dr. says and go from there, I just want to be armed with some good arguments if needed. :)

Thanks again for the responses. I think this site is such a great source of information.

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depends on how the results are given to you. My GP (whom I NEVER see), literally has an NP call and will just give numbers over the phone. If you get the actual lab sheets in the mail, it should generally tell you. I just make sure to specify/request for a directly measured value.

Here's what my basic one looks like, see how it says "LDL calculated?" Actually, hold that thought...let me figure out how to attach an image :)

EDIT:

I fail at using this forum, but here are links!

Direct: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B3tKkgIpDQk8THNWc0x5RmNhLUk

Calculated: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B3tKkgIpDQk8M2FTbFJlbVVZODA

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I am sure you will get lots of other good feedback, but anecdotally when I went paleo my LDL increased significantly and my HDL went way down. I'd had normal numbers my whole life and I got scared because people in my family have died from heart disease. My doctor wanted to put me on meds but first suggested I cut out eggs, red meat (I never ate this) and dairy fat (I'm allergic, so this wasn't an issue) and eat nuts and fish instead. I cut out my 3 a day egg habit and my numbers went back to normal fairly quickly and I didn't have to go on meds. I do whole 30 style eating within my own limits and my numbers are all good....yay for sardines and salmon :) I eat eggs only once in a while now...it averages out to 1 or less per day. We're all different, keep up with your doctor visits, be safe and good luck!

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I've had high cholesterol since docs have been checking it, and at 30, a doc tried to get me on statins since I was at a 'higher risk' for heart disease. I reminded her that the only risk factor I had was high cholesterol, and that I refused to take statins and instead wanted to get to the source of the issue. She didn't have an answer for me... Fast forward a year or two, getting my thyroid treated dropped my LDL by 50 points in a really short period of time! Thyroid hormone is critical for the conversion of cholesterol into the steroid hormones. Back in the day, doctors used to treat high cholesterol with thyroid supplementation - who knew? I wanted to rub it in her face, but I chose to never see her again. :)

Strangely, after my first or second Whole30, my numbers cholesterol/triglycerides completely flip-flopped in a bad way. I'm curious to see where it'll all end up 6 months from now.

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Interesting to see this because I recently had blood work done. I've been about 90-95% Primal since mid-Sept (allowing occasional red wine, 90% dark chocolate, and raw dairy). I'm on Day 3 of my Whole30.

The doctor called today and left a voicemail saying his email system is not sending messages out and that he is putting my bloodwork results in the mail to me. He said in the message that my HDL went up and that my LDL did too. He said my LDL is 161 and it "should" be under 160 but he's not concerned both because it's so close and because he knows how I'm eating.

He doesn't endorse how I'm eating -- he officially says "low fat, including 'healthy' grains" -- but he also says that my eating plan sounds reasonable and well thought-out. I'm guessing his thoughts are that I could tweak my intake (as Flynn did) to impact that LDL number.

After that call I went searching on Mark Sisson's site because I remembered him having a post about cholesterol. Well, he has several posts about it. Definitely saying what's covered here -- if someone's in weight-loss mode then there will be more LDL in the blood (I'm losing but really slowly, like 4 ounces a week, so I don't think that accounts for mine). That when folks go Paleo they often stop using iodized table salt but don't necessarily replace the iodine, and he suggests adding seaweed (among other things) for that. And some other suggestions.

Here are the helpful posts I found on his site:

https://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-did-my-cholesterol-go-up-after-going-primal/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/blood-test-markers/#axzz2H374oFBH

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-interpret-cholesterol-test-results/#axzz2H37qSn1s

I do use dulse (seaweed) granules that I sprinkle onto my food. Might not be a sufficient amount, though. I had been eating two eggs a day. I increased that to three eggs after reading ISWF.

Going to wait and see my full blood work results and then decide whether to make adjustments or not.

Terez

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This is all really helpful information. I went gluten-free back in April and lost 20 pounds. I was excited to get my blood checked last month and see where I stood only to find out that my cholesterol shot way up to 255. My doctor asked what I was doing differently and I mentioned that I've mainly been eating paleo for the past few months. He had his NP call and I asked them to call me back and give me more information. I refuse to go on meds for this since I've never had high cholesterol before. The one thing I am wondering about is if I should be eating egg whites instead of eggs on Whole30. The reason I ask is because of my high cholesterol issues. I am on day 1 and still figuring all this out so any advice would be helpful. Thanks!

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Here is what I have decided my plan of attack is.

I am going to cut back on the eggs and try other foods like leftovers for Meal 1.

I am going to cut back on the coconut oil :( because I use it a lot.

I am starting to take fish oil caplets again

I return to the Dr. this week to discuss my bloodwork results and will see how he likes my plan. :)

I do not want to be on medication nor do I want to change my nutrition. I feel better than I ever have eating this way.

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I am going to cut back on the coconut oil :( because I use it a lot.

Good news - coconut oil has NO cholesterol - it's only found in animals!

My compounding pharmacy always seems to send out a newsletter regarding a topic of recent discussion. In my opinion, they always do a good job of fully explaining the issue, with resources, and I almost always agree with them: http://www.womensinternational.com/connections/cholesterol.html?utm_source=January+2013+Newsletter&utm_campaign=January+2013+Newsletter&utm_medium=email

"By focusing so fervently on lowering cholesterol, we are likely to miss a number of safe, proven opportunities to improve our cardiovascular health. This is especially true for healthy people, for whom lifestyle changes should always be the first course of action in promoting overall wellness. Nowhere is this clearer than in our approach to diet. Tragically, the single-minded focus on lowering dietary cholesterol over the past 50 years has spawned a huge food industry promoting low-fat, yet high carbohydrate, processed foods. Kauffman and others note that high-carb diets tend to raise blood sugar, contributing to the development of obesity and diabetes, and often raise the amount of omega 6 and trans fats consumed, which are thought to raise inflammation.

In addition, “heart healthy†labels are often stamped on foods of questionable nutritional value, contributing to the decline in consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs and meat—real food containing the vitamins, minerals, enzymes and anti-oxidants our bodies need."

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This website rocks! I don't know why I don't get on here more often! I have started my second Whole30...again...today. Had a unfortunate (and way too tasty) mishap with some chocolate covered cookies last night. After years of being overweight, I lost 50 pounds doing HCG. I got off of the HCG becuase I am positive it has affected my hormone levels. A year later, enter Paleo. I did my first Whole30 right out of the bat and did pretty well. I felt great and lost about 25 pounds that I had regained after the HCG diet. 6 months ago, my doctor put me on statins for high cholesterol. I was at 262 after NEVER having any issue with cholesterol. After much research and the development of painful joints in my upper body, I have gotten off of the statins. I'm pretty nervous about the number, though I feel better after having read about how recent weight loss can affect levels and I'm interested in having my levels checked again with some of my new found info. I also am in the market for a new doctor. She was nice but never listened to me. I feel now like she was more interested in writing prescriptions than listening to my thoughts and wished for better health and helping me reach those without medications.

That's all...thoughts.

Have a great day everyone!

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gAdina - your hormone levels can affect your cholesterol number, too. Cholesterol is the precursor to all the steroid hormones in the body - progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, cortisol, etc. (http://drtunisjr.com/end-your-hormonal-problems-with-the-correct-tests/ I didn't read the article so I can't vouch for the content - I just posted it for the cascade chart.) If you have reason to believe that those are low, that can also help explain high cholesterol. Might be something else to keep an eye on.

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  • 4 months later...

Hello - I found this conversation trail very helpful. Last May, I had my cholesterol taken and my total cholesterol was 197 but my LDL was 132. I just got my results from a recent test and my Total cholesterol is now 242 with my LDL at 154. I have good HDL (69) but obviously my total is too high and has gone up 20+% in the past year. I have been eating primarily paleo (have done 3 whole 30's) since September and have not strayed too far off plan. I do eat 2 eggs each morning (organic, cage free) and have not been afraid of red meet (grass fed). I eat plenty of vegetables and have had only a taste or two of dairy since September.

I have dropped some weight, but overall, it is minimal looking across the past year. I hate to even go to my doctor because she was not a proponent of this plan when I started.

I was really hoping my blood would improve (since it was the high end of normal) so I am extremely discouraged to the point that I don't know what to eat anymore!!!!! I hate to go back to grains and low fat since I have really been enjoying my food and the quality of sleep I have been getting. Help!!!!

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  • 3 months later...

When I found out that I had high cholesterol, I've become more careful about what I eat, that was one of the reasons I started the program. I also eat more cholesterol lowering products, there is a big lists of such foods, drink coconut milk (you can read about coconut milk cholesterol lowering properties) and I stopped smoking. Just recently I had cholesterol check recently and its lower than was before.

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