Cholesterol

[PeteinSQ]

Morning everyone,

today I took part in the Our Future Health study. They take various measurements including blood pressure and cholesterol.

I'm 41 years old and my total cholesterol is 8.28 - this seems quite a bit higher than the BHF recommendations.

Do any of you have an expert view on that level in a 41 year old man? Is it excessive, do I need to change my diet? Are there any other recommendations you'd make?

Or do I just ignore it? I'm guessing not.

[PeteinSQ]

RichTT said:

43 here, so hopefully relevant.

Lose weight, cut out refined sugars entirely and most carbs. Cook from whole foods. Fast intermittently (6 or 8 hr eating window) I do from 12pm to 8pm as my eating window.

About 8 months ago I received a medical that showed 142 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/l) fasting blood sugar (defined as diabetic) and 226 mg/dl (12.5 mmol/l) defined as borderline risk as well as elevated blood pressure.



Went mostly Carnivore / Keto. Lots of red meat, lots of eggs and fatty foods. Weights 3-4 times a week and light cardio 5-8k steps + swimming 2 x a week. Cut out refined sugars by about 95%, cut down on carbs initiall.

Dropped from 107kg at my heaviest to about 97kg now. At ±20% body fat and intend on bringing that down to about 15%.

Results a few weeks ago (convert mmol/L to mg/dL mulitply by 18)

82.8 mg/dl Fasting Blood Sugar
88.2 mg/dl Cholestorol



The original studies on LDL/HDL causes of Heart Disease have been seriously challenged in recent years (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19751443/) and studies do show that too low cholesterol is far more dangerous for longevity than too high cholesterol in isolation. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8436563/)

Control of systemic inflammation is far more important than cholesterol levels (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5986484/). The Med diet being a prime example. As well as the Longevity of people in countries like Japan.

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”. - Hypocrates

thanks - so you're not worried about cholesterol then?

I was 86kg, waist circumference was slightly too big so I could probably do with losing a few KG. Blood pressure was just slightly above where you'd like it ideally but not excessive. Triglycerides were spot on.

Should I be consulting the GP with a view to getting on atorvastatin?

[PeteinSQ]

mikiec said:

“Serious atorvastatin side effects are rare but possible. They include liver, kidney, and severe muscle damage. Atorvastatin can also cause blood glucose (sugar) levels to rise, increasing the risk of diabetes in certain people. But for most people prescribed atorvastatin, its benefits outweigh this risk.”

So you could take atorvastatin, or you could look at what you eat and drink and how you sleep. The pill is easy but has consequences. Changing lifestyle is a lot harder but no health downside.

From what I've read 85% of cholesterol is made by your liver. Does diet play a role in how much it manufactures?

[PeteinSQ]

RichTT said:

Absolutely not in the slightest. Avoid medication if you can, the urge for people to jump on to taking Statins when any issues can be fixed with diet and exercise really is the heart of the problem with modern medicine.

Can you fix it with diet if 85% is made by your body though? These are genuine questions btw. I happen to work for one of the largest statin manufacturers in the world so my livelihood depends on everyone taking them...

[PeteinSQ]

That's encouraging, I hadn't realised that carbs had anything to do with cholesterol, I thought it was to do with fat?

What exercise are you doing? I was a runner until a few years ago when I got problems with my Achilles. I've stopped running and do weights but that has seen a decline in cardio fitness. I've no idea what my cholesterol was before as this is the first time it has been tested.

[PeteinSQ]

DaveGrohl said:

It’s worth pointing out that foods like butter and cheese can make the measured LDL number go up. But this isn’t a bad thing, as the type of LDL raised is normal LDL. Many will point at the LDL number going up and proclaim look bad. They are operating from a position of lack of detailed knowledge though. The butter is bad for heart attacks dead-end has been left behind now thankfully. A lot of people are still clinging onto the deceased parrot though. Money depends on its life-support remaining on.

Just on the financial aspects of statins. No big pharma company is making significant money from them anymore. They've all been generic for a pretty long time and the price has fallen through the floor. Atorvastatin is a little bit short in the UK right now and prices have increased but are still below the cost of a coffee per month. The prevailing price for months has been below that of a chocolate bar per month and total profit for the entire industry in the UK on statins would have been below £10m p.a. That doesn't leave a lot of money to make massive data manipulation and lobbying worthwhile.

I've no idea about the science and the posts in this thread all conflict with the typical advice given by the BHF and have left me confused.

I genuinely didn't think my diet was that bad, I eat butter, red meat, cheddar cheese etx already. Yes I eat bread, pasta and rice but I'm not obese or even overweight. I exercise three times a week and until relatively recently was doing sub 20 minute 5ks. So I'm really surprised/shocked at this result. I've gone from thinking I'd live to be 80 plus to thinking that I'd snuff it in my 50s.