Cholesterol and all that gubbins...

[mrcharly-YHT]

Just had a vitality health check. My TC was 5.07 mmol/l which means they have told me to go and see my GP (and I don't get the 60 points).

However, the HDL was 1.96 mmol/l, which seems to be at the "very good" level. Do I really need to worry?

The advice was to increase exercise (LOL, I cycle 350 km a week) and change my diet. My weekly diet consists of veg, fruit, salads, olive oil, sardines/mackerel, porridge x 4, 50g cheese, 50g butter, 1l whole milk, 3 eggs/week, peanuts, home-made pizza and chips on Saturday. There's not a huge amount I can change there.

Ditch the above in favour of flax/chia seeds and more fruit and veggies. In particular Bananas, Kale, Spinach and some Blueberries.

Or if you cannot be without milk, buy Soy or Hemp milk.

I'd keep the eggs. They shift the ratios in the correct direction. Add Almonds.

[hellymedic]

Cholesterol and it's inherent health risks is karma for all the animal products that one consumes.

Thankfully trans fats enables the righteous to also enjoy dangerous cholesterol levels

I thought trans fats were EVIL and best avoided.
Synthetic margarines are an offence to the palate anyway. (I say this as a van den Bergh descendant.)

[Chris S]

Cholesterol and it's inherent health risks is karma for all the animal products that one consumes.

Thankfully trans fats enables the righteous to also enjoy dangerous cholesterol levels

I thought trans fats were EVIL and best avoided.
Synthetic margarines are an offence to the palate anyway. (I say this as a van den Bergh descendant.)

I think he was joking, Helly 

[Polar Bear]

Margarine and other vile spreads have always been yukky.   We should know from experience that the food industry rarely ever offers up something better than nature can manage on her own. 

I don't think any 'food' is good for you if it's not consumed in moderation and as part of a balanced and healthy diet, is it?   

[Chris S]

I don't think any 'food' is good for you if it's not consumed in moderation and as part of a balanced and healthy diet, is it?

Indeed, but as nobody actually agrees what this (highlighted) is, we're all a bit in the dark really.

Big Food has come up with some uniquely nasty foods over the years (margarine, HFCS, palm oil, GM foods) and Big Pharma is right there waiting to reap the harvest.

[Polar Bear]

Wouldn't it be a massive surprise to find that big food and big pharma are all part of the same $megaglobalcorps... ?

[Oscar's dad]

I am mildly hacked off and mildly concerned.  Had a cholesterol test and its come back at 5.8, the target is 5 apparently so this puts me in the "borderline" category.

I appreciate that 5.8 is not dangerously high, before the test my GP told me 6.5 to 10 was considered dangerous, but I would like to do something about it.

Any tips or advice?  Thanks in advance 

[Ripio]

I am mildly hacked off and mildly concerned.  Had a cholesterol test and its come back at 5.8, the target is 5 apparently so this puts me in the "borderline" category.

I appreciate that 5.8 is not dangerously high, before the test my GP told me 6.5 to 10 was considered dangerous, but I would like to do something about it.

Any tips or advice?  Thanks in advance 

The total figure of 5.8 is meaningless without knowing the breakdown of LDL, HDL, and Triglycerides.

My result at my last test in september was 5.1, which is slighly above the recommended, but my HDL was 2.1, LDL was 2.8, and triglycerides were 0.6.
So my LDL level (the 'bad' cholesterol) was in the acceptable range, my HDL (good cholesterol) was double the recommended level, and my triglycerides were less than half the recommended limit.
So all good despite being 5.1 total cholesterol.

[toontra]

I am mildly hacked off and mildly concerned.  Had a cholesterol test and its come back at 5.8, the target is 5 apparently so this puts me in the "borderline" category.

I appreciate that 5.8 is not dangerously high, before the test my GP told me 6.5 to 10 was considered dangerous, but I would like to do something about it.

Any tips or advice?  Thanks in advance 

As mentioned upthread, the headline (LDL) figure is pretty meaningless without the "good" (HDL) figure also, so you can establish a ratio.

My LDL rates have been in the 5-6 range for many years and until recently this prompted GP's and others to suggest statins.  On more recent tests in independent health facilities I've been shown to have very high levels of HDL (up to 3 at times), giving me a ratio of around 2:1 and have been told that I have absolutely nothing to worry about.

So ask to see what your HDL level is before worrying.

EDIT:  Cross post with Ripio!

[Oscar's dad]

See!?! yacf is fab for advice on just about everything!  I shall pop into our GP
surgery tomorrow and ask for some clarification.

[Chris S]

Your LDL level is just a remainder from other calculations, it's meaningless.

HDL : Triglycerides ratio is the important figure; <3 is best, <1 is Awesome.

[Ripio]

Your LDL level is just a remainder from other calculations, it's meaningless.

HDL : Triglycerides ratio is the important figure; <3 is best, <1 is Awesome.

Something wrong with that, my HDL: Triglycerides ratio is 2.1: 0.6 which is 3.5 and is good.

[TPMB12]

After seeing a cholesterol self test in boots I bought it out of curiosity. It gave me a result of 200 possibly 220 in different units. By my reckoning that's 5.18 to 5.7. Since the instructions said anything above 200 or 5.18 to to get checked by gp blood test.

So I went in and tried to book a cholesterol test only to be asked who has asked me to get one. It seems you need to go through gp appointment. So now I have gp appointment which I'm guessing means 10 minutes of a busy GP's time to just get told to see the practise nurse / phlebotomist.

I'm mid forties which I've been told is in the age range where you can ask for 5 yearly cholesterol checks. Why so much hassle? I've now got two appointments plus no doubt a third to get told it's ok or a bit high.

It seems to me there's a lot of faff in the system. Why?

BTW my mum had years of being told her cholesterol was too high (7 IIRC) and she changed her diet a lot without any change in the results. Then one gp said they needed a breakdown test of the hdl and ldl levels. Turns out she's got a low bad cholesterol but a very high good cholesterol level. The gp told her she was not at risk. So she was very nearly put on medication for cholesterol levels. It was really an afterthought from the gp to get the breakdown that stopped her going on unnecessary medication. Always get a breakdown of cholesterols. Any other single figure result isn't really worth much.

[rafletcher]

Check and see if you have a local Lloyd’s pharmacy, some of which offer cholesterol checking and monitoring, afaik wi5hout needing a GP referral.

[TPMB12]

They will only do a test for a single figure. I've got that from the self test kit. It's a breakdown that's really needed. I don't really see the point of a single headline figure when it's the ratio of hdl to ldl that's important.

[MikeFromLFE]

Your LDL level is just a remainder from other calculations, it's meaningless.

HDL : Triglycerides ratio is the important figure; <3 is best, <1 is Awesome.

Be very aware though that Triglycerides are the fats most affected by recent dietary intake. Measuring Triglyceride is the only/most valid reason for measuring lipids in a fasting state.

Sent from my P01W using Tapatalk

[TPMB12]

When I did the home self test I didn't eat for 12 hours. Then went to work and didn't eat for a further 3 hours. I was hungry to say the least. Why do you get so hungry when you can't eat for some reason but it's not an issue when you're free to eat?

[hellymedic]

When you're free to eat and happen not to ingest, there will be multiple activities and issues to distract you from food.

Boredom is often a cue to eat, as is the sight, smell and availability of food.

[TPMB12]

So nhs health check came back positive with everything OK. Total cholesterol was ok at 5.8, ratio was 4.7. Now Google search gives total above 5 is high and ratios of above 4 is bad too.

So how are my figures classed as ok?

Is it simply that my healthy lifestyle (never smoked, 2 units alcohol a week, exercise levels, no heart issues in the family until later in life, etc.) just means cholesterol levels higher than recommended are not a significant risk? Kind of I've got a healthy lifestyle so one risk factor on it's own isn't a worry?

[JonJo]

My health check results are a little concerning:
BMI = 29 - it was 23 5 years ago
BP = 150/95 - not good
Blood sugars - can't remember reading but in 'Very High' risk of type 2 diabetes category
Cholesterol = 9 - can't remember ratio but it wasn't good

It's been the wake up I needed to get me back out on the bike and cut out pork pies. Spoke to doctor and we've agreed that I'll try lifestyle changes for 6 months and then get a retest.

[perpetual dan]

Good luck with the lifestyle change. It did that and got a "could do better" after 6 months, still a work in progress.

[Frank9755]

Bad news today.
I've managed to keep my cholesterol at 6 (down from peak just under 10 when first picked up about 20 years ago) for the last couple of years, taking Ezetimibe but no statins (as they'd given me liver and memory loss issues) and doing 'good' lifestyle stuff (no meat / caffeine, exercising, weight, etc).  But I found out this afternoon that the years of higher cholesterol before I started cycling and lost weight have taken their toll.  Apparently my heart is above the 90th percentile for calcification, which is not good.  So I am now on stronger drugs (Alirocumab) and off energetic exercise, at least until I see the cardiologist. 

[JonJo]

Hope that goes OK for you @Frank9755.

[Frank9755]

Thanks - should know more after I've seen the cardiologist this evening.
In the meantime I've scaled back my TCR training schedule somewhat!  Somehow, I don't expect I'll be able to restart it, but it will be good to know what I am allowed to do. 

Edit - actually went quite well. Only minor restriction on blood flow. Need to have angiogram but only 20-25% chance i'll need a stent.  And I can carry on riding in the meantime.

[simonp]

Sounds hopeful.