Cholesterol – Page 4

What A Doctor Asks His Lipidologist

Posted on September 8, 2015September 7, 2015 by BJJ Caveman

Despite 3 years of struggling with a markedly elevated LDL cholesterol particle count I’ve finally managed to make substantial progress in bringing it down over the past 4 weeks, but before I go into the results and the exact methods I used, I want to give you a detailed description of everything leading up to it.

After experimenting with different macronutrient ratios and various supplements without much success, I finally decided that I took things as far as I could take them on my own and needed help, so I arranged to meet with a lipidologist.… Read More

Cholesterol, Inflammation and Gum Disease

Posted on August 3, 2015July 26, 2015 by BJJ Caveman

In my last couple of blood tests, along with my elevated cholesterols, I discovered that despite having a normal CRP of less than 1.0, my Lp-PLA2 levels were high (March 2015 and May 2015). This was extremely puzzling to me. CRP is a very sensitive marker for inflammation, so if there is any underlying inflammation in my body, it should be elevated. Lp-PLA2 on the other hand is marketed as a marker that is specific for vascular inflammation.

Here’s a brief review about Lp-PLA2:

The Lp-PLA2 test is used for assessing cardiovascular risk. … Read More

Diving Deeper into Cholesterol: Sterol Testing with Dr. Dayspring

Posted on July 27, 2015July 27, 2015 by BJJ Caveman

One of the tests I came across to help figure out more of what’s going on with my cholesterol status was sterol testing. What this test does is measure particles in your blood that tell you whether the changes in your cholesterol are related to too much absorption or too much formation.

Here are some of the labs that offer this type of testing.

Unfortunately none of this was taught… or even available when I was in med school, so I didn’t know much about this. … Read More

The Gut Biome and Cholesterol Connection

Posted on July 20, 2015July 16, 2017 by BJJ Caveman

My past few posts have been pretty cholesterol centric and I just have to warn you that there will be more to come. Obviously this is a topic that is important to me, and unfortunately at this point science doesn’t have a good answer yet as to what the heck is going on in my particular case.

I’m doing what I can to self experiment (most recently by taking anti-inflammatory supplements and increasing more carbs… and then adding in even more carbs while cutting back saturated fat) and to dive into more research.… Read More

Cholesterol and Thyroid Update from June 2015: Increasing Carbs and Decreasing Fats

Posted on July 13, 2015December 29, 2016 by BJJ Caveman

I learned in March 2015 that my LDL-P and small LDL-P were still elevated and my Lp-PLA2 (marker of vascular inflammation) was also elevated.

I experimented with a trial of daily anti-inflammatory supplements including, Athletic Greens, Thorne Curcumin, and Thorne Omega 3, Lemon Berry while bumping my carbs up from 100 gm to 120 gm. When I retested in May 2015, I discovered that this didn’t really have any effect at all on my cholesterol AND caused a nominal bump in my Lp-PLA2.… Read More

Cholesterol Update from May 2015: What did taking anti-inflammatory supplements and increasing my carbs do?

Posted on June 29, 2015May 9, 2017 by BJJ Caveman

When I saw my blood panel from March 2015, I wasn’t entirely sure what to feel. I felt better that my LDL-P, LDL-C, and total cholesterol were coming down, but was a little worried at the elevation of my small LDL-P to it’s highest level.

While I was assured that my overall inflammation was low because of my CRP of 0.7, I didn’t know what to make of the state of my vascular inflammation because my Lp-PLA2 was high. The high ferritin also seemed to point to possible underlying inflammation (or hemochromatosis).… Read More