Category: Cholesterol

Cholesterol Clarity: What The HDL Is Wrong With My Numbers? by Jimmy Moore – Review

Posted on by BJJ Caveman

Cholesterol Clarity

Cholesterol Clarity: What The HDL Is Wrong With My Numbers?

This was a book I’ve been looking forward to, especially since it was Jimmy’s own n=1 experiments that inspired me to get off my butt and begin my own n=1 experiments.  I was also eager to see what he had to say regarding the phenomenon of elevated LDL on a low carb diet that many of us seem to be experiencing.

Jimmy is upfront right away about his lack of credentials and gives credit to all the experts he’s consulted for his information.  … Read More

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Low Carb and High Cholesterol from Around the Web

Posted on by BJJ Caveman

Great article by Mark Sisson of Mark’s Daily Apple, a blog I follow daily, discussing potential reasons for elevated LDL in people who eat Primal (a paleo low carb variation).  Potential explanations include:

  • Weight Loss
  • Micronutrient deficiency
  • Grazing all day
  • Activity levels that don’t match carb intake
  • Not moving frequently at a slow pace
  • Not lifting heavy things

An interesting point is his description of the role iodine and thyroid hormone plays in the expression of LDL receptors and subsequently LDL-C which pretty much is in line with everything I’ve been reading about.… Read More

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LDL – Not Quite Ready to Change My Paradigm

Posted on by BJJ Caveman

StethoscopeReader Peter commented recently:

Ever consider changing your paradigm, as we long-term lob carbers are using markers levels for general populations who eat mostly SAD.
Instead of measuring and interpreting SAD bio-marker levels as proxies for probable risk, why not actually verify if you have the disease itself. For example, (hat tip to Dr. Rakesh Patel) carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) measures occlusion or arterial plaque buildup in one’s carotid artery. According to a quick Google, a CIMT runs about $200.

An NMR runs about $100 and Lipid panel $60.

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The Effect of a Ketogenic Diet on Cholesterol Part 4

Posted on by BJJ Caveman

Cholesterol Part 4

 

After more than 30 days of increasing my carb intake it looks like my cholesterol numbers have all improved.  At this point I haven’t bothered to check my blood ketones because I know that I’m out of ketosis.  I’ve been trying to keep my carb intake to around 100 gm per day.  Sometimes I go over and sometimes I go under, but on average it’s around 100 gm.

When I last left off in Part 3, I was still trying to piece together the possible causes for my sky high cholesterols despite being in ketosis.  … Read More

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The Effect of a Ketogenic Diet on Cholesterol Part 3

Posted on by BJJ Caveman

Cholesterol Part 3
As you can see with my cholesterol numbers, despite cutting back on my saturated fats for 3 weeks by restricting the amount of coconut oil and grassfed butter that I typically eat, my LDL-C and Total Cholesterol have continued to go up!

Here is a brief summary of potential explanation as to why LDL and total cholesterol can be elevated in people who are in ketosis from Part 2:

  1. Increased consumption of saturated fats -> Increased liver production of fats -> High serums cholesterol
  2. Deficiency in certain micronutrients such as choline and copper -> Through some unknown mechanism -> High serum cholesterol
  3. Natural response of the body being in ketosis is to mobilize more fat for energy -> Higher serum cholesterol
  4. Chronic low carb -> Hypothyroidism (low T3) -> Decreased expression of LDL receptors in the liver -> Higher serum cholesterol

So it looks like I’ve eliminated #1 as a potential explanation.  … Read More

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The Effect of a Ketogenic Diet on Cholesterol Part 2

Posted on by BJJ Caveman

Cholesterol 1

Here are my cholesterol tests from the past couple of years along with my most recent results.  My initial results from 2010 when I was following the standard american diet actually look remarkably ideal, despite the diet, however I was running almost 3 miles a day during this period AND I was carrying around more weight and a greater body fat percentage.  So while my blood work looked ideal, my outside appearance didn’t really reflect it… and I was exhausted from all the running I was doing.… Read More

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