Bah. I mean, I'm not a real believer in the whole cholesterol craze. I've read articles that say it's largely a genetic thing. That if you have a genetic tendency to be affected adversely by high cholesterol, it's dangerous, and that if you don't, it's not.
A friend of mine's father had super high cholesterol, and he lowered it by taking garlic oil capsules.
Whatever. In any case, I gave blood yesterday, and I called their "automated cholesterol hot line" today. Apparently, I have a cholesterol of 268, which they say is high. And no, they didn't break it down into the different types of cholesterol for me.
I have a fairly low and incredibly stable blood pressure. It's always always around 110/60. It didn't change when I broke my thumb. I enjoy freaking out the nurses when I go to the doctor by calling it at 111/62 and never being off by more than a tiny bit. My normal body temperature is about 97.7, and my sitting pulse varies between 65 and 74. Actually 74 is fairly high for me.
But I'm sedentary (she said, typing away at her keyboard). My fingers get most of my exercise. And I'm overweight, though I've dropped about 20 lbs over the past couple of months. I still have 30 to go.
How much should I worry about a cholesterol level of 268?
Posted by MattP (Member # 10495) on :
I've always heard that the ratio was more important than the absolute levels. I'm surprised they only provided that single number.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lisa: How much should I worry about a cholesterol level of 268?
Enough to get a fasting lipid test done, so you can see if it's really a problem.
Posted by anti_maven (Member # 9789) on :
As I understand it, low is good and 268 is borderline high. Depending on the type of cholesterol it is.
Loosing a bit of weight and having Benecol yoghurt drink a day brought my "bad" cholesterol cound right down.
Like Rivka says, get a check and see if there's a problem.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
Dieting is breaking down your own body fat. How could you not have a high count? Mentioned just as a confounding factor which should be pointed out to the physician during any checkup.
[ January 30, 2008, 04:20 AM: Message edited by: aspectre ]
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Weight loss correlates with increased serum cholesterol? I had no idea. Where did you hear that?
Posted by Tammy (Member # 4119) on :
Lisa,
I'm still trying to figure the whole Cholesterol equation out myself.
I can tell you that according to my lab reference range paperwork, a number of 268 is high, whatever it stands for in the Cholesterol kingdom.
My bad cholesterol levels are high according to the Reference Range (and my doctor). My good cholesterol levels are good.
He didn't suggest any medication at this time, which I was thankful for, because I don't want to go there. He just suggested that I get off of an oral contraceptive, start a low-cholesterol diet and exercise. He suggested that I check out the diet plan on the American Heart Association website.
He did specifically say no red meat or shellfish.
Hope this helps a bit.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Yeah, Lisa, you really need more specific data to make a conclusion of any kind.
My cholesterol test a year ago came back at 229 total; but the HDL was 91 (rates as 'very good') and the LDL was 117 ("near optimal") and the TC/HDL ratio was 2.5 ("ideal" is what the chart says).
Just had another one this year and my overall is even lower (although they didn't give me the break-out this time yet)
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
"Weight loss correlates with increased serum cholesterol? I had no idea. Where did you hear that?"
I think it was from articles about why yo-yo dieting is worse than remaining*overweight. Or I may have inferred that conclusion from reading articles about how bodyfat is broken down, transported, and processed to provide energy to the body during weightloss. Unfortunately I can't come up with the correct set of keywords to narrow Google's search sufficiently to come up with a useful list of matches.
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