Concerned about LIPID profile page

[vgorilla]

First of all, I want to share appreciation for Mark and everyone on the site. I have been following for about a year now, and this is my first post.

Over that time, I have moved towards a primal diet in eating fewer carbs, going heavy on Kerrygold and coconut oil and raw eggs. I have a blood panel from before and after. I got a whole plethora of tests, and most everything looks ok, with the exception of lipds:

12/17/11 1/29/13
Cholesterol Total 199 270
HDL 63 82
Triglycerides 58 62
LDL 124 176
VLDL n/a 12

I understand that these results aren't definitive: How to Read a Cholesterol Test | Mark's Daily Apple

However, I am concerned that my LDL went up proportionally more than my HDL. Don't know my bmi, but I'm 6-2 and 175, pretty slender.

Does anyone have any thoughts or recommendations?

[Cryptocode]

I see you joined the forum Feb 2013. When did you start eating PB. If it's only been a few weeks I wouldn't worry. It's been commonly reported here that cholesterol counts go up the first month, then after 2 months are down lower than the starting count.

You could request a thyroid panel each month.

[vgorilla]

It's been more like a year, though I haven't been following Primal explicitly, it is the closest to my diet. Calories, I'm probably 15-20% carbs, 50% fat, 30-35% protein.

[peril]

The rise in LDL is common. The period of the rise may be a lot longer than a couple of months, perhaps even long term. The significance of that increase is a matter of conjecture

If you're concerned, I suggest that you read widely on the paleo blogs. Kresser, Masterjohn, Jaminet and Attia all have things to say. You might also consider getting LDL-P measured (see Attia in particular)

[Artbuc]

The rise in LDL is common. The period of the rise may be a lot longer than a couple of months, perhaps even long term. The significance of that increase is a matter of conjecture

If you're concerned, I suggest that you read widely on the paleo blogs. Kresser, Masterjohn, Jaminet and Attia all have things to say. You might also consider getting LDL-P measured (see Attia in particular)

Attia has backed away from his belief that LDL-P is the most critical risk factor. He addresses this in his last podcast interview by Jimmy Moore. After listening to all of the experts you mentioned plus others such as Dr Dayspring, I believe we do not have a clue about the fundamental cause of atherosclerosis and fatal MI's. Many will say do not worry about high LDL-C as long as you have the big fluffy kind. This may or not be true but one thing for sure is that there is no clear scientific proof that large fluffy LDL's are benign. Does LDL-C oxidize because it gets stuck in the arterial wall or does it stick because it has already oxidized because LDL-receptors have been down regulated? I simply do not worry about my high LDL-C anymore because I think pharmacological intervention would be a real crap shoot.

[LauraSB]

The more I read about cholesterol, the more I wonder if it's just an accessory after the fact, and the real culprit in CAD is chronic systemic inflammation. I keep waiting for a study that teases that relationship out.

[vgorilla]

Is CRP a good measure of "chronic systemic inflammation"? If so, I am in good shape with CRP cardiac <0.1mg/L.

Also, if there is no plaque buildup seen on an echo, then would that indicate that high LDL is not an issue?

[Neckhammer]

CRP is definitely a better measure.

The reason why there are such varied opinions about cholesterol is that it just is not a good marker of much anything. It really just needs to be ditched as an indicator of anything at all outside of the very extreme ranges. In other words if your cholesterol is between 130-320 I call that "within normal limits" and move on to other, better understood markers for function.

Or at the very least realize that lipid numbers are incomplete data without many other markers taken into consideration.

[vgorilla]

Thank you Neckhammer.