Well, Bayrat, whatchagonnado??? Me, I'm totally bamboozled by the whole cholesterol controversy. You and your doctor(s) know all the factors pertinent to you, and that's what matters.

For the sake of discussion, here's my case of One:
--no family history of heart problems
--no personal history of high cholesterol
--total cholesterol jumped from 165-ish to 239 in the first six months of Atkins
--Total cholesterol (after three-plus years of LC) at 215, with 90 LDL, 117 HDL (yes, HDL is way high), triglycerides at 36.
--Regular exercise is an important part of my everyday life.
--I try to consume at least 20 gms fiber daily from veggies, flaxseed, wheat bran.

My doc doesn't have a problem with any of this. Personally, I believe exercise is vital to improving HDL and all other conditions of life.

Best wishes.

Unfortunately the medical profession is in full acceptance of statin drugs, not sure what the alternatives are there. No, this person will not be my doctor after this next visit, that has already been decided.

I still eat fat, but compared to my full Atkins diet I consider the amount very small. I don't eat chicken skin, never have. I do eat a good steak, clams dipped in drawn butter (Saturday), occasional fried eggs, peanut butter, real cream in my coffee and many other foods which contain fat. But I watch the proportions to reduce total calories a bit.

I am taking the next phase one step at a time as I see the numbers. Rash decisions can come back on a person and since I stopped medication several months ago I am in no danger of further harm. My diet change has amounted only to a reduction of fatty foods and inclusion of grains along with some supplements as stated below.

Bayrat,

I liked the easy weight-loss that Atkins caused but like you my cholesterol went up and up. Years before trying Atkins I had tried the Zone Diet. As I recall, my cholesterol dropped to 150 or so while on the Zone. I lost a lot of fat while on it but constantly having to measure protein and carb at every meal got a bit boring. Also the Zone could be called a calorie-restricted diet. At 170 pounds, I was eating around 1000 calories per day. But I wasn't hungry. A typical meal might be a small tuna steak plus half a bag of frozen veggies. It was difficult to eat that much veg as one meal.

Dr. Atkins Vita-Nutrient Solution includes a long list of medications known to reduce cholesterol. I used Pantethine and no-flush Niacin. I don't remember all the numbers, but I think I went from 260 to 210 while taking the supplements. And my doctor says that's still too high.

As I understand it, the liver makes all the cholesterol the body needs. Elevated cholesterol is caused by too much fat in the diet. On this web, most seem able to eat a hi-fat diet and still not have cholesterol problems. Or don't believe their elevated cholesterol is a health problem.

In the Zone Diet, it starts with knowing one's protein requirements. Then enough carb is added to balance the protein. Fat is inert, meaning more won't hurt you, but will slow weight loss. I'm rereading the Zone Diet books now, finding things I had missed or ignored when first reading them. Ths Zone might be a healthy middle ground if you can't give up Atkins completely but want to reduce your cholesterol.

Just my two cents worth of opinion.

I have a strong family history of bowel cancer (both parents, aunts, uncles), I have colonoscopies ever year. My consultant gastroenterologist (sp) likes my low carb diet and says he personally hasnt seen any anecdotal evidence that high fibre/low fat diets have any affect on bowel cancer either way. I have low cholesterol which has been suggested as a possible indication of being prone to cancer???? who knows?

Anyway, when my consultant sees me he always tells me to keep doing what I'm doing - but give up the cigarettes!!!! hmmmmmmm!?

It just goes to show how different all these professionals are. If even they cant agree then what hope is there?

Jo

No one would consider those numbers high.
Furthermore, they might actually be a sign of improvement, if they coexist with more dramatic rises in HDL and reductions in triglycerides.

We cannot accurately asses your cholesterol profile with LDL and total cholesterol alone. It would be very beneficial if you could post HDL, LDL, triglycerides and total cholesterol before the diet, after the diet, and after lipitor.


LDL cholesterol will raise on LC if your cholesterol was not high to begin with.
Furthermore, it is not high cholesterol that is a problem, but the balance that really determines health. Case in point? Myself!
Check out these numbers. They were taken a few months into atkins, one year later (thin), and almost 3 years later (still thin, 8 pounds less maybe).




HDL rises dramatically year after year.
Triglycerides drop dramatically year after year.
Ratio of cholesterol to HDL improves.

Any educated person knows my risk of vascular probs are non existent (insulin diseases).
Yet, total cholesterol is higher than it ever was, and LDL is not going down much.

You are doing yourself a disservice looking only at LDL and total cholesterol.

Barbara,

Thanks for the note. I have increased my exercise about five-fold in the last month as well. Going to call doctor today as I am unsure of the HDL number as my LDL was 130 prior to statin. I have been on Atkins a long time as well.

Thanks so much! I will see what I can get from the doc to compare with here.

Sept 2003; HDL 52/LDL 131/Total 205/Tri 109 after four months of Atkins
Sept 2005; HDL 66/LDL 142/Total 235/Tri 135 still on Atkins
Jan 2006; HDL 69/LDL 105/Total 200/Tri 130 on Atkins and Lipitor
February 2006 OFF LIPITOR!!

Ratios run 3.9, 3.6 and 2.9 respectively.

Next test is end of this week. I have to admit, I still don't understand these numbers. The doctor's office (not the doctor) just told me high numbers are not good for you.

Odd that your triglycerides are still so high. You being pretty good with the carbs? Or are you cheating a bit?

Your total cholesterol ratio 4 months into atkins was 3.94 which is a little high but relatively normal.
Your hdl:chol ratio 2 years later was 3.56. This is an improvement. So your cholesterol went from a bit unfavorable, to more desirable.

Why are you on lipitor again?
Oh, yeah, that's right... your doctor is an idiot.
Either that or he is padding his pockets.

It is strange you have such high triglyceride and they seem to have increased after such a long time of LC. This is highly unusual. They usually drop right away... although I have heard visceral fat can keep triglycerides elevated even when carbs are really low (as they were for me).

How were you doing the diet might I ask? How faithfully did you stick to it? Is it possible you did not take the test fasting?

130 is not high for a triglyceride reading, especially for someone who may not be at induction levels of carb intake.
Some other things that can raise triglycerides are transfats and alcohol.

First answer, I am not on lipitor. I took it between October and February at which point connected the drug to my many side effects and ditched it.

Secondly, I was pretty much in a holding pattern with Atkins as far as weight is concerned, no gain or loss. That is fine as I was about where I wanted to be. I felt so crappy the last few months on Lipitor I gained weight from lack of exercise but that is now slowly coming off. Only thing really off the menu other than occasionally some hash (not often!) with my eggs is white wine.

I need to research the numbers a bit more.

It seems my numbers are fairly borderline with the exception of the >200 the talking heads say we need.

Now how does alcohol affect the numbers? Is it the sugar or some other factor? I will wait to see what happens at the next test later this week.

kaypeeoh, I think that is close to where I am at now, thanks!

This link may help answer your question on how alcohol affects triglyceride levels. From what I've read, even a couple of glasses of wine per week can raise triglyceride levels in people who are susceptible to that effect.

Thank you Lisa, it appears we have to be almost saints to be healthy after reading all the different sources today!