So, after 3.5 months on this diet: down 15 pounds. But cholesterol up 30 mg! As a nurse this concerns me. (and before anyone jumps on me, it is not just a nice jump in HDL - my HDL has always been nice and high.)Any thoughts?
thanks,
Barbara

That happens on Low carb sometimes. If your saturated fat consumption was very high and you haven't been eating much monounsaturated fats. What was the change in the ratios? Let us know.
Thanks
Rob

Nurse to nurse, 1. What were all your prior numbers and what are your current ones? 2. What have your triglycerides done? 3. They did do a 14 hour fasting lipid profile, and not some spur of the moment one I trust. As you know (but I repeat for the benefit of those who might not) if you're not fasted, it's not accurate, since to burn fat, you have to first mobilize it and there's only one place for it to be mobile - in your blood stream.

I noticed that my total cholesterol went up a bit initially and stayed up, but my risk ratio (over the last 5 years of eating plenty of fat - meat, dairy and otherwise) has gone from over 5.2 to 2.3 [as of a few weeks ago] and my triglycerides are so low they flag them. Like as if one could suffer from hypotriglyeridemia. LOL! The triglycerides went significantly down first. The HDL/total ratio has improved on every test over the last 5 years.

My physicians are much more concerned with those two markers than they are with total cholesterol numbers.

Maggie
5'1" ~~ Atkins since '98 (160)/Maintaining nicely (110) ~~ Redhead until further notice!

Don't worry about it. My cardiologist told me that would happen and to wait a good 6 month, cheat free, before having it done again. It did improve significantly and has steadily improved ever since.

Atkins Maintainer
Originally registered Feb. 2001
5"1" 96 to 102 lbs
HDL 102
Tryglicerides 64
Glucose 79

Yep, check your ratios before panicking. Anything under a 3 is GOOD.



Barb
Atkins-3/14/03
174/146/135
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."