Blood panel is off?

[Jprahlad]

Hi, I was looking up cholesterol levels on the board and saw that most members have their cholesterol levels go down in about 4-6 months of being on Atkins. I recently got my blood panel done and I've been on Atkins about a month. I know that my cholesterol level before was lower (maybe I'm eating too many eggs? Cholesterol from meat?) and is quite high now, also my LDL is higher than it was before. Kind of alarming even though my fasting glucose has come down and I've been losing weight. Should I be making changes in my diet?
Thanks for your help

[LageNomAi]

Re: Blood panel is off?

First, from my reading on this and other low-carb boards, it's pretty common for your LDL to jump in the early stages of Atkins. You are only a month in, which is still early. Try again in 6 months.

Second, this happened to me. I had blood work done about 4-5 months after starting Atkins and my LDL increased, which is bad. However, so did my HDL, and my triglycerides dropped, both of which are very good.

Because my doctor suggested the possibility of statins in the future, I started researching the heck out of this and learned that (1) it's somewhat common for people on Atkins to have both HDL and LDL increase, and to have their triglycerides drop; (2) increased LDL by itself is not a health problem; (3) there are two types of LDL - the harmless big fluffy kind and the potentially harmful small particle kind - and most people on Atkins who experience an increase are increasing the harmelss, big, fluffy LDL; and (4) when you get your LDL number, it almost certainly was calculated rather than measured, which means there is a good chance that the number is simply wrong.

Read this for a better (and more technical) explanation of what I'm saying here.

I plan to ask for a full lipid panel next time so that my LDL is actually measured, and so that I can ge a measurement of my C-reactive protein, which many think is far more indicative of potential heart-related health ailments. If my LDL is mostly the small particle kind, then I'll start believing that I have a cholesterol issue. Until then, my results seem to be consistent with the typical low-carber.

Also, another poster on this board, Carole (SN: imagoodone) experienced something similar but her LDL decreased longer-term. In other words, it took more than 4-6 months on Atkins for her LDL to reverse course.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[jcapulet]

Re: Blood panel is off?

LageNomai,

Thank you so much for posting that info! I recently got bloodwork done, however it was done while I was on Atkins for only 2 months. Hopefully another 4-6 months my cholesterol will be lower.

I didn't know about the lipid testing or different types of LDL. Will definitely be reading on it now.

[Jprahlad]

Re: Blood panel is off?

Thanks Lagenomai, that helped reassure me. The numbers on the blood panel result just look so scary. I'll check again in february and hopefully they'll go down (at least a little). I actually didn't know there were TWO kinds of LDLs. I might ask my doctor if I could do that in a few months just so I know where I am. Thanks again for the article and I'll keep you guys posted! Good luck,
Jan.

[LageNomAi]

Re: Blood panel is off?

I actually didn't know there were TWO kinds of LDLs.

I suspect if you picked 10 people at random off the street and asked them about LDL, 9 of them wouldn't know there are two kinds. I had no idea until I started doing my research, and was gobsmacked that the entire issue of cholesterol is as unsettled as it is. Based upon popular media and advertisements, you'd think it was cut and dry that high cholesterol = bad, period.

I'm not one for tinfoil hats and conspiracy theories, but my husband is a chemical engineer who works with pharmaceutical companies, and his brother was a physician before he passed away. Let's just say that between the two of them, there was agreement that Big Pharma has more than your good health in mind when it pushes its statins on doctors.

Good luck and keep us posted! I'll be interested to read how things go.