Lab Tests – Page 13 – BJJ Caveman

LDL – Not Quite Ready to Change My Paradigm

Posted on June 27, 2013February 18, 2015 by BJJ Caveman

Reader 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.

The Effect of a Ketogenic Diet on Cholesterol Part 4

Posted on June 23, 2013February 18, 2015 by BJJ Caveman

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

The Effect of a Ketogenic Diet on Thyroid Hormone Part 2

Posted on June 15, 2013October 9, 2014 by BJJ Caveman

In light of the recent discoveries during my n=1 experiment with nutritional ketosis regarding my cholesterol (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), thyroid hormone (Part 1), and skin rash, I decided to take a break from nutritional ketosis to see what would happen.

We’ve already seen that the addition of carbs back into my diet made my rash go away (it’s been a few months out and still no rash, yay!).

I took another blood test to see if my thyroid hormone levels would change. … Read More

Low Carb and Thyroid Hormone

Posted on April 30, 2013October 9, 2014 by BJJ Caveman

Came across this fantastic article that pretty much confirms my the conclusions I came to after my recent thyroid tests, only she says things much more eloquently and comprehensively!… Read More

The Effect of a Ketogenic Diet on Thyroid Hormone

Posted on April 28, 2013March 29, 2016 by BJJ Caveman

During my most recent cholesterol blood work, I also checked my thyroid hormone levels in an effort to figure out why my cholesterol has gotten so high while I’ve been in nutritional ketosis.

One of the possible explanations was that:

Chronic low carb -> Hypothyroidism (low T3) -> Decreased expression of LDL receptors in the liver -> Higher serum cholesterol

Background – Here is an oversimplified explanation of thyroid physiology

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) – This is the hormone your brain sends out telling your thyroid gland to produce more thyroid hormone.

The Effect of a Ketogenic Diet on Cholesterol Part 3

Posted on April 6, 2013November 6, 2014 by BJJ Caveman

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:

Increased consumption of saturated fats -> Increased liver production of fats -> High serums cholesterol
Deficiency in certain micronutrients such as choline and copper -> Through some unknown mechanism -> High serum cholesterol
Natural response of the body being in ketosis is to mobilize more fat for energy -> Higher serum cholesterol
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