cholesterol

[lph]

PS. Any of you knowledgeable women know how much difference fasting before a blood test makes? My test was done as part of a general check-up and I was not told to fast in advance - in fact I sat chowing down on a sandwich in the waiting room just prior to my test. I had biked there and was starving...

But it seems everywhere I read about a "proper" full cholesterol profile being done, it's important to fast in advance, because triglyceride levels react strongly to food intake. So maybe my levels aren't that high anyway.

[Crankin]

I am not a medical person, but in my experience, the results of a non-fasting blood test for cholesterol are usually way off. They can give you an idea that there might be a problem, but I wouldn't go by the results of anything except a fasting test.
Lph, my numbers are similar to yours; when I was 35, my total was 160, at 40 it was 180, and at about 46 it shot up to 245! Perimenopause really affected it. I was exercising, but not cycling. I started cycling at about age 48, and got my total cholesterol down to 222. The last time I had it tested, about 2 years ago, my total was 217, HDL 71, LDL 30 (I think). At one point, about 4 years ago, my HDL was 81 and my doctor said he had never seen a number as high as that! Definitely from cycling. So, my gyno. always says, "see your PCP, your numbers are high." My PCP always says I don't need a statin because my HDL/LDL ratio is so good, even though my total is still a bit high. There's no real heart disease in my family (except self-induced). I guess I should have it tested again. Personally, I don't think eating a few eggs a week (4-5) is going to make your numbers shoot up. Saturated fat is what makes your cholesterol go up.

[Dianyla]

I can see that. I'm not sure if it's "pasture" raised, but I buy free range organic eggs.

Free range organic eggs are usually fed organic corn. Still better than GMO/pesticide laden corn, but feeding livestock high-carb diets creates meat and eggs with more saturated fats and a less healthy Omega 3 vs. 6 ratio of fatty acids.

The key phrase to look for is "grass-fed" or "pastured" meat/dairy products.

PS. Any of you knowledgeable women know how much difference fasting before a blood test makes? My test was done as part of a general check-up and I was not told to fast in advance - in fact I sat chowing down on a sandwich in the waiting room just prior to my test. I had biked there and was starving...

It makes a huge difference! A cholesterol test can also be high if you've had an exceptionally rich dinner the night before. I guess if you eat a rich dinner every night then you should consider your test results normal, but if you're otherwise healthy but you happen to go out and eat a nice rack of lamb with potatoes au gratin and follow it up with the creme brulee for dessert... well expect a slightly abnormal cholesterol test the next day.

Ask me how I know this.

[Jolt]

PS. Any of you knowledgeable women know how much difference fasting before a blood test makes? My test was done as part of a general check-up and I was not told to fast in advance - in fact I sat chowing down on a sandwich in the waiting room just prior to my test. I had biked there and was starving...

But it seems everywhere I read about a "proper" full cholesterol profile being done, it's important to fast in advance, because triglyceride levels react strongly to food intake. So maybe my levels aren't that high anyway.

Yes, it is most certainly important to fast before a cholesterol profile for accurate results. Triglyceride levels are affected by food intake, and an inaccurate triglyceride level will result in an inaccurate LDL calculation.

[lph]

aaahhh - which is presumably why they didn't calculate LDL at all, just gave me HDL and total results.

Thank you all, for much insight!

[smilingcat]

I've been sitting on the fence about asking my question. Seems TMI but I'm not really not getting enough time from my doctor to get the answers...

So my HDL level is high. my LDL level is low. But my triglyceride (sp) is high. My doctor says cut down on my carb intake. Easy for him to say.

I understand that LDL clogs your arteries and that is a very bad thing.
High HDL helps to clear out the LDL in your arteries. Is this right or over simplification?

I've googled on triglyceride and it keeps pointing to some drug informercial

my circulation is supposedly good. and my other stats are BP on the high number is anywhwere from 100 downto 90 and low number is between 55 and 60. And my resting heart rate is around 53-55. And that came from two different doctors. my max heart rate is still around 203. Not too shabby. But should I be concerned about this triglyceride stuff? I understand its another kind of fat. He just said its on the high side... I'll be getting it checked again in April.

I wish my doctor had bit more time to explain these things.

Oh when I donate blood, it goes really quick even with my low BP and low pulse. I guess this is good.

So someone, please explain to me why high triglyceride reading is bad. and should I really try to do, something like cutdown on carb intake. More curious than worried.

Thank you.

[KnottedYet]

My doc always tells me trigycerides are essentially the dietary fat floating around, that the reading will radically change depending on what I ate the day before. If my cells aren't burning fat fast enough compared to how I'm consuming it, then excess floats around looking for a home. (which these days seems to be my thighs...)

So, when my trigycerides are high she tells me I need to cut down on the fat I'm consuming and increase my aerobic exercise.

(she never says anything about carbs)

[malkin]

I thought triglyceride level was all about dietary fat, but I see that it is more complicated than that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triglyceride

If I have to work out a ratio of two different Omega fats, I'll never get it right.

[michelem]

If I have to work out a ratio of two different Omega fats, I'll never get it right.

Check out these posts on this topic:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showp...5&postcount=15

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showp...5&postcount=15

Hope you find them helpful.

For as far back as I can remember, I have had high cholesterol (since my teens, when I was first tested for it). FINALLY, last year, my 40th b-day present was a GREAT cholesterol test result! How did this happen? I attribute it mainly to finally "getting it" about the importance of the Omega 3:Omega 6 ratio.

I recently heard good ol' Dr. Oz put it very simply: omega 3's are calming; omega 6's are inflammatory.

Americans have absolutely no business supplementing with omega 6's -- we get an overabundance as it is.

[smilingcat]

I thought triglyceride level was all about dietary fat, but I see that it is more complicated than that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triglyceride

If I have to work out a ratio of two different Omega fats, I'll never get it right.

thank you for the wiki link. Should of checked there first.

So high triglyceride can lead to pancreatitis. That's not good. Says I should consume Omega-3 to help bring the number down. And my partner is constantly eating flax seed which is high in Omega-3's...

Doesn't sound too hard to do.