high cholesterol, low vitamin D.....help! page

[balanced]

I recently had bloodwork done and was not happy with the results. I have been primal for about 5 months with great success. I was not looking to lose weight but rather feel a vitality i was lacking with my low fat, low carb diet. I was always a big believer in conventional wisdom until a friend gave me the Primal Blueprint. I became a believer shortly after starting....my energy level was consistent, my moods evened out, I got stronger faster, dropped body fat and most importantly the nagging pain in my stomach subsided (I suspect I was gluten intolerant). I was very anxious to see my bloodwork as compared to last years results. My cholesterol climbed even higher and my vitamin D sank even lower! I am not so concerned about the cholesterol number after becoming a part of the PB community. I have learned so much from just reading other members posts and responses. In fact I forwarded some of the videos regarding cholesterol and fat to my doc. Havent heard back from him yet....
The vitamin D number worries me however. What can I do aside from basking in the sun to improve my numbers? My doc gave me a perscription strength vitamin D supplement that I haven't started taking yet. Wanted to weigh in with the PB experts first. Can anyone shed some light on the Vitamin D situation?

Results....
Vita D 19
Total Chol 243
Trig 52
LDL 161
HDL 69
VLDL 13

[Knifegill]

Your cholesterol looks amazing. HDL of 69. And with your trigs being so low, you can't trust the LDL number. It's just a guess, they don't actually test for it. Get more sun, eat more fish, or (if you really think you need to) supplement the vitamin D.

[bryanccfshr]

Only thing you need is sunshine ot vitamin d 3 supplement until you can get it. I agree that the cholesteral looks great to me. your trigs are low, the hdl is fantastic! THe LDL as previously stated is a calculation and healthy trigs through that calculation off

[PrimalPam]

Dr. Michael Eades (proteinpower.com) has some great blogs on why LDL is misleading. Basically, on a LC diet, LDL does tend to increase. But it's the TYPE of LDL that matters. LDL is comprised of particles, some dense and some light & fluffy. The light & fluffy particles are protective, while the dense particles are the artery-cloggers. What's important is to get your LDL analyzed to see which type of particles you have. Chances are, if you've truly been Paleo (not a lot of cheats, not a lot of wheat), your higher LDL will be due to inreased # of light, fluffly, "good" particles.

[sbhikes]

Why not take the prescription vitamin D and once you're levels rise switch to OTC.

[Go Tribe]

Ahhh. PA huh? I live in Ohio and I'm up to 4000 IU of vitamin D because the sun never shines here. My doc recommends his patients to take 3000 IU in the winter time just to offset the lack of sun due to the short days and cloudy skies.

[Ouaouaron]

What is OTC?

Why not take the prescription vitamin D and once you're levels rise switch to OTC.

[Karma]

OTC = Over the counter

If you are truely primal, have your doc run a VAP test for actual LDL particle size. You should find a vast majority are Type A (light fluffy), which are good LDL, and the doctor can STFU. (Shut the F*#@ up).

With trigs below 100 your calculated LDL will be off if they use Freidwald's Equation. Run the numbers using the Iranian equation for more accurate numbers.

FYI - My total CH is 248, LDL at 169, trigs at 81, HDL @63. Doc still wanted to put me on statins for high LDL. We ran a VAP test, showed all type A. She still couldn't imagine I was healthy and so I simply told we were going to have to agree to disagree. IU told her that if she felt compelled to write the perscription to feel better then that was fine, I just let her know she would find it in the trash can in the lobby on her way out if she needed it for any reason.

[jammies]

I would buy a good quality oil based Vitamin D3 and supplement 5k-10k units a day until your D3 is at least in the 40's. It may be a good idea to make sure you are getting plenty of magnesium and vitamin K2 while upping your D.

If the prescription is for D2 - don't take it. It causes unstable peaks and drops in circulating D levels.

I would not worry about those cholesterol levels at all.

ETA: As you age, you become slightly less efficient at making D from the sun. Primal eating is great for a lot of things - but on it's own it won't really raise your D levels. This time of year you are completely unable to make D from the sun anyway.

[Uncephalized]

The mid-200s is the range that correlates with the lowest all-cause mortality, if I remember correctly. And the individual breakdowns look great, especially when the Iranian LDL equation puts your LDL at about 130, not 160.

The vitamin D is low but it's cheap and easy to supplement. I suggest this one, the best combination of price, ease of use and dosage I have found. I do 8000IU/day in winter and 4000 in summer.