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Calling Dr. ATOT: how bad are these cholestoral numbers?

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manlymatt83

Lifer
I know they are high. I used to be total of 140, but I gained some weight over the past two years. I'm working on losing it again... are these statin levels, or should I just keep losing weight?

Cholestoral: 202 (140 - 199)
HDL: 54 (35 - 80)
LDL: 117 (0 - 129)
Cholestoral/HDL: 3.7 (< 5.0)
LDL/HDL: 2.17 (0.9 - 5.3)
Triglycerides: 154 (0 - 150)
 
These aren't great numbers, but they're not statin numbers, no. You should keep losing weight, but you should also make sure you're doing some form of cardio and modify your diet. Your HDL levels are pretty good. However, your triglycerides are pretty high and your LDL is alright, but not great.

You can increase HDL, decrease LDL, and decrease triglycerides all through 30min of moderate aerobic exercise 5 days a week. That's gonna be a huge variable in your cholesterol equation. Then there's diet.

To increase HDL, you should consume some healthy, natural sources of monounsaturated fats - nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil. To increase HDL and decrease LDL, you should also increase the amount of veggies you eat (due to the fiber and vitamins/minerals). You're on the cusp of a potentially bad outcome. I wouldn't worry so much if your triglycerides weren't as high as they are.

You're at a crossroads here. You can either go headlong into the unhealthy zone (and risk atheromas and stenosis) or address the problem now. You don't NEED medication to do it and a lifestyle change will do you good in more aspects than this. Hope this info helps.
 
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SociallyChallenged said:
These aren't great numbers, but they're not statin numbers, no. You should keep losing weight, but you should also make sure you're doing some form of cardio and modify your diet. Your HDL levels are pretty good. However, your triglycerides are pretty high and your LDL is alright, but not great.

You can increase HDL, decrease LDL, and decrease triglycerides all through 30min of moderate aerobic exercise 5 days a week. That's gonna be a huge variable in your cholesterol equation. Then there's diet.

To increase HDL, you should consume some healthy, natural sources of monounsaturated fats - nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil. To increase HDL and decrease LDL, you should also increase the amount of veggies you eat (due to the fiber and vitamins/minerals). You're on the cusp of a potentially bad outcome. I wouldn't worry so much if your triglycerides weren't as high as they are.

You're at a crossroads here. You can either go headlong into the unhealthy zone (and risk atheromas and stenosis) or address the problem now. You don't NEED medication to do it and a lifestyle change will do you good in more aspects than this. Hope this info helps.
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I already do work out 3 times per week, but that only started a few weeks ago. I WAS working out every day until 2 years ago when I had a really rough time in life. Two years ago my cholestoral was 140. Last June it was 232. So this 202 seems to be an improvement no? I bet it's from the working out.

So you think it'll drop significantly when I get back to a good weight and continue the daily work out I started again a few weeks ago? What are your thoughts on damage: was two years of 200+ enough to cause damage?
 
manlymatt83 said:
I already do work out 3 times per week, but that only started a few weeks ago. I WAS working out every day until 2 years ago when I had a really rough time in life. Two years ago my cholestoral was 140. Last June it was 232. So this 202 seems to be an improvement no? I bet it's from the working out.

So you think it'll drop significantly when I get back to a good weight and continue the daily work out I started again a few weeks ago? What are your thoughts on damage: was two years of 200+ enough to cause damage?
Click to expand...

Three times a week, for individuals with "ehhh" lipid profiles, probably isn't enough. Even going for a walk on two extra days for 30 minutes will make a HUGE difference. I'm sorry to hear about your rough patch. Everybody gets them, but I'm glad your's is over for now. 202 is a great improvement from 232 so you're doing some good things.

Cholesterol is less about weight and more about lifestyle. You don't have to be fat to have high cholesterol levels and you don't have to be skinny to have good cholesterol levels. You need to modify the intake of certain foods. Do you eat a lot of red meat? A lot of saturated fat? That is the main predictor of LDL cholesterol. Decrease that in your diet in conjunction with the other things I stated and you'll really notice some differences. Sorry I forgot to mention that in the last post.

Lemme see if I can explain this. Total cholesterol is not as important as HDL to LDL ratios and triglyceride levels. If you have high LDL, but also have very high HDL, there's a much lesser likelihood of having problems. If you have high triglycerides, you're more likely to have some issues. Two years is a short time. Even cholesterol at 230 isn't too bad. However, there has probably been some plaque progression. Luckily, you're likely fairly young. Diet changes and exercise can aid in plaque regression. You're lucky - this is one of the few things that can actually be undone without any major procedures. Even if you have gained some plaque in your vasculature, you're gonna be ok if you follow through with the suggested lifestyle changes.
 
SociallyChallenged said:
Yeah, fish oil is never a bad idea when aiming to improve cholesterol skew and lower triglycerides.
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OK, now that got my brain sparks flying... up until May 2008, when I had that experience that made my life fly apart and put weight back on, I was taking daily fish oil. I stopped then, too, but also put on weight. I've started working out more, but perhaps the lack of fish oil is hurting me? Should I add it back in? I also used to take garlic. I'm also still overweight, so perhaps it's just a coincidence and the weight is more of a factor - I eat salmon in some form almost every day (salmon sashimi is one of my favorites).
 
manlymatt83 said:
OK, now that got my brain sparks flying... up until May 2008, when I had that experience that made my life fly apart and put weight back on, I was taking daily fish oil. I stopped then, too, but also put on weight. I've started working out more, but perhaps the lack of fish oil is hurting me? Should I add it back in? I also used to take garlic. I'm also still overweight, so perhaps it's just a coincidence and the weight is more of a factor - I eat salmon in some form almost every day (salmon sashimi is one of my favorites).
Click to expand...

Weight is not one of the dominant variables that affects cholesterol. Technically, weight and cholesterol are independent of each other, although those with higher cholesterol tend to have greater weights. That does not mean higher weight causes higher cholesterol levels.

Taking fish oil doesn't magically fix cholesterol problems. It helps push them in the right direction by increasing HDL, decreasing LDL, and decreasing triglycerides, but that's not the only you need to utilize to get healthier. Garlic is an overrated supplement. It doesn't help much, if at all. Salmon is great and is nearly like supplementing fish oil, depending on how much you eat. It couldn't hurt to take ~2,000mg of omega-3s from fish oil each day though.
 
SociallyChallenged said:
Weight is not one of the dominant variables that affects cholesterol. Technically, weight and cholesterol are independent of each other, although those with higher cholesterol tend to have greater weights. That does not mean higher weight causes higher cholesterol levels.

Taking fish oil doesn't magically fix cholesterol problems. It helps push them in the right direction by increasing HDL, decreasing LDL, and decreasing triglycerides, but that's not the only you need to utilize to get healthier. Garlic is an overrated supplement. It doesn't help much, if at all. Salmon is great and is nearly like supplementing fish oil, depending on how much you eat. It couldn't hurt to take ~2,000mg of omega-3s from fish oil each day though.
Click to expand...

and by take, you mean in gel cap form yes?
 
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