paul jaminet – BJJ Caveman

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 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

The Effect of a Ketogenic Diet on Cholesterol Part 2

Posted on March 14, 2013February 18, 2015 by BJJ Caveman

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