Should I believe these results?

[ThinkRain]

Hi
I posted a few weeks ago about high cholesterol levels. These are the results from the lab taken on 3-8. I fasted overnight.
Total 274
HDL 61
TRIG 68
LDL 199

Determined to avoid statins if at all possible(both my parents are on them) I made some changes to my diet. I cut out all eggs, lowered sat fat considerably, added soluble fiber and fish oil.

Today I used a home test kit and got a total reading of 189!!!!! :icondance

Should I trust these results?

I have been on this WOL for 7 months and have maintained goal for the past 3.

Thanks
Peggy

[2big4mysize]

First congrats on your great job achieving goal through all your hard work and then maintaining it for this long woo hoo for you

What you are asking if I'm following you is can you compare the test testing methods results. That comes down to a how reliable is the home testing product. It should say on the product what its error % is. Since you didn't say who made the product and is it one of those with a real number or shades of color judging results that too could be a factor in the accuracy of your results.

More importantly have you made significant changes to your Atkins heathy fats and foods to allow for this change to be expected? Did you have an unusually high cholesterol meal the night before your first test?


There are ways you can lower your LDL while still eating Atkins without taking statins if you'd like to learnabout them just read this forum's cholesterol posts.

[ThinkRain]

Hi
Sorry to be unclear with my question.

The test says 97% accurate. It is the kind with color changes. What I'm asking is - is it possible for cholesterol to go down so much in one month?

I cut out all eggs, lowered sat fat considerably, added soluble fiber and fish oil. I had hoped that these changes would get the numbers moving down but so much is making me doubt the result.

I don't remember what I ate before the last test but I do remember being under a fair amount of stress.

Thanks
Peggy

[ttdriver]

Actually, your cholesterol is more determined by genetics than diet.

If you cut back on your cholesterol through diet, your liver will simply compensate by making more cholesterol.

Actually, cholesterol is NOT a bad thing. Its very important to proper bodily functions.

Avoiding statins is WISE. You can lower LDL through the use of taking flush-free Niacin (available at Walmart). I lowered mine by taking 2 500mg capsules a day. Mine went from 177 to 119. My HDL shot up to 106 because I am an avid cardio exerciser (runner).

Avoiding the statins is very wise. Doctors prescribe them like candy because the drug companies push them so hard. The price of those drugs is mind-boggling. I can send you lots of links about the cholesterol myth if you're interested. Please PM me if you want.

Hang in there!

Betty

[Kent]

If I remember right, your first test was marred by not fasting adequately beforehand. (Sorry if I have confused you with smebody else) If so, the home test could certainly be right.

[2big4mysize]

be very very careful with the large doses of niacin needed to get chooesterol changes as it can cause liver damage and those folk who on Dr Prescribed niacin fior chooesterol are constantly being monitored for any sings of liver trouble.

Yep over 75% of the cholesterol in our body is self porduced and of that more then 50% is actually produced in your own cells as cholesterol is a good thing. We need if for many chemical messanges in our body after water the largest compent of our brains is cholesterol, and with out it we'd be a brainless puddle of liquid on the floor as every cell in our bodys has some in the cell memebrane.

You can signigicantly lower your blood cholesterol LDL by dietary changesas a part of your Atkins however because a) you don't take in as much of the building blocks for it buy choising healthier fats, b) you can cause your body to process more of it for explusion to, and c0 you can actually trick the cells into nit making as much by eating certain foods to.

Bile is made of cholesterol and is the only means in the body to remove LDL from the body. When you eat high amountsd of fats and soluble fiber the intestines tell the body we need more bile and the soluble fiber binds up the bile and keeps it from getting reabsorbed back into the body those those Quaker statements about lowering cholesterol with Oatmeal are valid and oat bran is the highest as hit has a proven in medical studies rate for almost 40% lowering effect on blood cholesterol levles.

Atkins mandatory exercise and eatting will also raise your good stuf the HDL which transports the LDL stuff back to the liver to be made into bile for getting rid of. so the higher the HDL the better.

This can give yuo a skewed Cholesterol total number as Desertthorn found out when she was over 200 but it was cause her HDL went up and she had a very healthy ratio of Total to HDL making her healthy even though she was over 200

There are other dietary ways you can effect yourcholesterol too. Omega3s like flax seeds effect the production and so do the plant natuarl stenols which have the same effect at the same spot in the cells cholesterol production as the statin drugs do and why you see more and more commercials for soy as a LDL lowering food.

Hapy low carbing.