cholesterol

[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.

[Jolt]

All this discussion of high triglycerides reminded me of a story. After college, I was working on some research studies in the area of preventive medicine (primarily diabetes and cardiovascular disease). One day I was meeting with the cardiologist who was in charge of one of the studies and he got a call from a patient during our meeting. When he got off the phone, he told me that this was a guy whose triglycerides were 8000 (yes, that's eight THOUSAND, it's not a typo). I hadn't realized they could get that high! He also said that blood drawn from a patient with that kind of triglyceride level looks a bit like cream of tomato soup (yuck)!

[KnottedYet]

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.

I looooove the cold milled flax seed I buy at Costco. (www.flaxusa.com) I add it to all kinds of things. Easiest is just to dump a scoop into my yogurt. I like the taste, and it adds a rich nuttiness to things.

[malkin]

I put Flax on the Costco list and Brewer only found granola with some flax...It's ok, in the category that my family have historically called "Cookie-Nola" because it shares a flavor with another basic food group.

When I eat it, it seems like the flax seeds get stuck in my teeth; I wonder if I am getting any nutritional benefits from them. No matter, it is at least a reminder to floss which is also important!

[lph]

quick update: based on the good info I got here I did go get a proper fasting cholesterol test done, and am very glad I did so

Just got the results back now, this is with no diet change:
total cholesterol 189 (non-fasting 209 two months ago)
HDL 98 (non-fasting 85 two months ago)
LDL 85
Triglycerides 35,4 (I was starving)

I wasn't worried, but am very pleased. It's a bit like thinking you might have a crack in your bike frame and discovering than not only is it fine but the drivetrain is in better shape than you thought too

I am a bit curious as to how much the difference in numbers is due to fasting/non-fasting and how much is just normal fluctuation or measurement uncertainty.

[OakLeaf]

There ya go.