I know I am.
I have never had a problem, but honestly, the foods we are allowed, heavy cream, butter, full fat cheese, cream cheese, beef, are all full of saturated fats, the kinds that over time will seriously clog our arteries.
We are all here to learn and are here for better health, lose weight but I really think all this fat is going to get us all admitted to the hospital for an angioplasty one day.
I wonder if all this saturated fat is not so good in the long run.

My latest bloodwork results:

LDL = 114
HDL = 61
VLDL = 12
Triglycerides = 58
Total cholesterol = 187

For women the HDL should be greater than 50 and mine is 61. The LDL should be less than 130 and mine is 114.

Divide LDL cholesterol by HDL cholesterol to obtain a ratio. (This is the same thing as saying the ratio of LDL cholesterol to HDL cholesterol.) In this case, the ratio should be below 3.5. Mine is 3.06, which is lower than the the accepted American average ratios of 4.2 - 6.0. Anything below 5 is acceptable. Again, mine is 3.06.

What, me worry about my cholesterol? I think not, and I've been eating this way for nearly 6 years now....cream, butter, cream cheese, beef, and all.

April
352/210/180
Down 142 pounds
30 to go...

Well, snickers... you just gave something away.

You OBVIOUSLY have not read the book.

First of all, you NEED to get a copy of Atkins or Protein Power and READ IT.
Look, if you're going to follow this woe (way of eating), the least you can do is educate yourself about it. If you had, you would know that:DIETARY CHOLESTEROL DOES NOT RAISE SERUM CHOLESTEROL UNLESS ONE IS EATING A LOT OF CARBOHYDRATES!!!!

Basically, that is what you will learn if you read the book. And Dr. Eades (Protein Power) does the BEST job of explaining this in easy-to-understand terms.

I'm sorry to *yell* , but it really does get frustrating when people come on here and criticize this woe. Especially when their criticism is full of errors. I completely understand your skepticism -- we, as a society, have been fed LIES for so long, it's hard to know what to believe!

I can't go into the whole "scientific theory" here... I'm no scientist and I don't have that much time, but MOST of us here will tell you that this woe (way of eating) will only LOWER your cholesterol.

I had been doing Jenny Craig (VERY low fat) for almost 2 years when my doctor informed me that my cholesterol was elevated. I was ONLY 24 and it was over 225!!
I am now 34 and for the past 2 years, I have been eating steak with melted butter, bacon, eggs, fresh veggies, cream cheese, etc. and my cholesterol is WONDERFUL: LDL -- 106 / HDL -- 55

Not only that, but since I have been eating this way my blood pressure has dropped from 130/90 to 110/65!

AND I have *reversed* my diabetes!

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE read the book. You cannot be successful with this way of life UNLESS you understand how and why it works. And it will allay your fears, I assure you -- far more than anything we can say here.
I truly wish you the best,

Summer


www.herstorygirl.com

Most dr's these days know that the total cholesterol number has little value in predicting cardiovascular disease.

They understand that the most important part of your lipid profile - the part that has the most predictive significance - is the Total/HDL ratio. (Many labs now label this the "risk ratio." That's how important it is.)


As to the Total/HDL, or "risk ratio", 4 or under is considered good. (April made a slight mistake on her post. She gave her correct risk ratio of 3.06, but put in "LDL" where she meant to say "Total Cholesterol". )


My pre-lc risk ratio was over 5. A couple of months ago it was 2.3.

Like April's doc, mine is thrilled.

HTH you think about the issue.

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

I'm not too worried about cholesterol. It takes a long time for a change in blood lipids to affect coronary health, and that's plenty of time for your doctor to notice any significant changes. I don't have my numbers at hand, but they are better than they were a year ago.

There are major studies by peer-reviewed publications like the New England Journal of Medicine that have shown that Atkins dieters improve their blood lipids. That's just a scientific fact. One theory about why eating more of those "bad" fats improves blood lipids is that losing weight by any means is so very effective at improving levels.

I tend to think that saturated fat's just been getting a bum rap for a long time. Sugar is a more likely culprit in high blood cholesterol than dietary cholesterol is.

**************
"Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then on the way out, slam the door."

I've been on cholesterol medication for two years, so my levels have gotten better because of that. But the medicine raised my liver enzyme levels. Now...I'm not quite sure what that means, but I know it's not good. They were elevated before the medicine but got much worse when I started on it. It was getting so critical that my doctor was going to stop the cholesterol meds to get it under control. According to her, they could have been elevated because I have fat on my liver.

I just got back my lab tests, and the liver enzymes are lower than they have been for four years (at least), the time of my first lab test.

I think that of the five pounds I've lost, some of it has come off my liver. Which is a good thing, even though it doesn't show up very much on the scale.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Terrasanct:
I think that of the five pounds I've lost, some of it has come off my liver.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's actually true; the liver is one of the places that glycogen (AKA branched sugar) was stored. After 24-48 hours on induction, it should have been emptied.

Started Atkins on 9/20/03
235--&gt;190; 150 goal

I'm not sure that's the same as fat, but it's all good.

But when the doctor told me I had a fatty liver, I couldn't help but think of fois gras.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> But when the doctor told me I had a fatty liver, I couldn't help but think of fois gras. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>




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

After a year on Atkins, my total cholesterol has indeed gone up.

My HDL/LDL ratio: .81

How low can you go?? I'm not worried, and neither is my doctor.

Barb L.
Started Atkins January 2003
162/137/130

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>the medicine raised my liver enzyme levels. Now...I'm not quite sure what that means, but I know it's not good<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Terra, the medication, like lots of medications, is metabolized in the liver. That's why your Dr is keeping an eye on your liver enzymes


"Do, or do not. There is no 'try'."
- Yoda ('The Empire Strikes Back')
Start Atkins 9.1.03
225/198/130ish
Valentine's Day Goal: 180

Yes, I definitely worry about my cholesterol. That's why I got it checked in September. I've forgotten the actual numbers (which I do with all numbers unless I write them down and study them...I'm kind of innumerate) but I haven't forgotten my doctor actually COMPLIMENTING me on my levels and encouraging me to go right on eating as I am.

Aderyn

I had open-heart surgery at the age of 45. Although it was not related to cholesterol, it's not something I ever want to go through again, so maintaining cardiac health tops my list of priorities. I read everything I can get my hands on about this topic, and grill my cardiologists and other health care professionals about it regularly.

I am convinced that low-carbing is the optimal way to eat for good health in general, and specifically for heart function. In my opinion, there is no credible evidence that saturated fat in and of itself causes risky cholesterol ratios. Just as we now know that eating foods high in cholesterol (like eggs) does not raise serum cholesterol in any significant way, the belief that saturate fat is the villian is falling by the wayside. And we know that eating fat doesn't make you fat any more than eating sugar makes you sweet.

As others have mentioned, it is the total/hdl ratio and triglycerides that are believed to be the most significant markers for potential heart disease (and now homosystein, possibly), although there is debate and emerging science about that too. Personally, I think that the dangers and definitions of "high cholesterol" were determined more by drug companies than by the medical profession, giving it about as much credibility as the agriculturist-created food pyramid.

What we call "bad" cholesterol (LDL) is a necessary substance, and our bodies create it. Basically, it courses through our blood streams and catches on any rough spots it encounters along the way, filling them in. These "rough spots" occur naturally in everyone, but are significantly increased by smoking, and people who exercise regularly seem to have fewer of them. In any event, once the primer coat of cholesterol is laid down, our "good" cholesterol comes along and sands it down, smoothes it over. The whole process is kinda like waxing skiis....step one fills in the nicks and step two slicks things up. It is only when there's not enough "polish" available that layers of the filler might build up and cause narrow areas within the arteries. So it really is all about the proportion/ratio, whether you have a good balance of filler & polish.

As I mentioned, cholesterol was not really an issue for me to start with, but my risk ratio and triglycerides were 3.5 and 96 respectively before low-carbing...not bad, but now they are 1.8 and 44. I attribute this positive change to low-carbing, but is likely also because I lost 40 pounds and I exercise more than I used to.

Having said all that, let me add that this seems to be an area where definitive answers are hard to come by. Different people have vastly different experiences. Some people have extremely dangerous lipid profiles no matter what they eat, including very thin people, vegetarians, and even children. There is a tendency for that to run in families, but not always. Other people may have perfectly acceptable readings even though they are extremely overweight and sedentary and eat nothing but french fries and ice cream. Many people with "high" cholesterol have heart disease, but the majority do not. Drugs designed to improve lipid profiles have a dramatic effect on some people and make no difference in others.

One thing we know for sure is that over the past 20 years, with the accepted mantra of "heart-healthy low-fat eating", the incidence of heart disease in this country has risen at an alarming rate.

I join Doc in his suspicions that if there is a real correlation between diet and unbalanced cholesterol levels, the villian is more likely to be sugar than fat. I also wonder about some of the preservatives and other chemicals we consume. I think the best each of us can do is to be aware of what's happening with our individual bodies, while we keep an eye on the emerging science.

Sky
Atkins since 8/03
186/144/under 150

WOW Sky, very good!!!

Snickers, I would highly suggest you do some reading as Summer suggested.

Did you know that insulin is the NUMBER 1 reason for increased cholesterol? Or that sugar metabolizes to fat? Or that processed carbs PLUS fat raises cholesterol levels? Or that dietary fat, if eaten correctly, doesn't impact cholesterol levels very much?

Do some homework, you'll be glad you did.

Barb - 30 lbs gone FOREVER!
www.iwsgroupinc.com - website design and development


Atkins-3/14/03
174/144/135 5'2"
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."
Knowledge is POWER

Thanks everyone.
You all certainly cleared that up for me. It was just a concern of mine. I will reread my book.
Sorry that I pissed alot of you off, it was not what I intended.