lab results
 

i've been on atkins for 3 months and recently had my yearly check-up which included bloodwork... as surprising as it may be, my levels are not very good which is very discouraging... compared to last year's, the things that should've gone down because of atkins, have gone up instead...

cholesterol - 198 ('02) - 238 ('03)
HDL (good) - 74 ('02) - 82 ('03)
LDL (bad) - 106 ('02) - 141 ('03)

has anyone else experienced bad levels since doing atkins? i am seriously considering cutting back on the fats and eating less red meat even though i barely eat it once a week as it is... i am very discouraged because i like this plan but cannot afford to have high cholesterol at 32...

any advice? thanks...

~jodi

If it were me I would cut back on the fats. While it does help some people to lower their cholesterol, it does not help everyone. As good a diet Atkins is not every diet works for everyone, sometimes modifications are necessary.

lab work...
 

you might want to let your doc know you have been on Atkins for only 3 months... I know in DANDR it is suggested that you do wait a while to have blood work done to see positive changes. Maybe your doc will order another set after 6 months or so.

just a thought,
Jan

From the Atkins web site

I'm terrified I'll get bad results when I go back for retesting in August. It will be 2 1/2 months by then, and I've been very faithfully following the rules all along with no cheats, no nitrates, limited red meats and eggs. I've been exercising and taking supplements recommended for reducing cholesterol.

I'll simply be devastated if my cholesterol continues to go up. I'm already considering watching my fat intake, especially saturated (since Atkins says this one needs more research - doesn't build one's confidence does it?)

Hi Jodi,

Did you get the result for your triglycerides? I'd be willing to lay money that they'd be nice and low.

In fact, I think your results are pretty good. Your HDL rocks! Over 60 is protective against heart disease, so you are sitting pretty with 82! :thup:

Have a read through the sticky thread "Cholesterol: Understanding its Numbers" at the top of this forum (I moved you to the Cholesterol forum ;) ). The info there should help reassure you.

:rose:Rosebud:rose:

Your HDL rocks!!??
 

Is this the same generation that celebrated "s*x, drugs, and rock'n'roll"?!

How our perspective changes with time.

If the only change was Atkins then why stay on it???? That means Atkins raised it and you would need a supplement??? I don't see how that is good.

LovableLC, have you read the information about cholesterol in the sticky at the top of this forum?

Atkins does NOT cause harm.

:rose:Rosebud:rose:

high cholestral
 

My cholestral was 885 total last Nov 2002. The dr put me on Liptor and it came down to 285. I went off Liptor because I'm scared of Liver disease so I don't know what it is now. I don't like the doctor so I did not go back. He would not even talk about diet to lower cholestral. After 2 expensive test for blood in urine I was told by the nurse on the phone that no reason was found so it was normal for me, that lots of women over 50 have it.
Does the Atkins diet increase cholestral?

Jodi:

Please look at the sticky - understanding cholesterol numbers - at the top of this thread. It explains that your total cholesterol number is much less important than your HDL and triglycerides -- excerpt below...

-----------------------------------------
HDL RATIOS

A very convenient way of expressing your risk of heart disease which takes into account both the total (bad) and HDL (good) cholesterol is the ratio between the two. If this is under 4.5, you don't need to worry, although a 'perfect' score would be under 3.5. So if your total cholesterol is 200 mg/dl and your HDL 50 mg/dl, your ratio is 4, and you're OK. But if your total is 200 and your HDL 35, your ratio is 5.7, and you may have a problem.
---------------------------------------------------

Honey, your ratio is 2.9 - that's great! Based on that, your corony risk is low.

Jane

When reading the Atkins book last night he went into some people being fat sensitive and their cholesterol going up instead of down and that those people may go ahead with the diet doing lean meats. So right there isn't he admitting that to SOME people it may have adverse effects?

Jody, as someone with very serious cholesterol problems, I second what Rosebud said. Those are GOOD cholesterol numbers! The total cholesterol level is relatively unimportant. What matters is the ratio of HDL to LDL, and yours is fine! Also, as she wrote, the triglyceride number is very important, and I don't know of a soul--not a single person--whose triglycerides haven't improved on Atkins.

I suspect that what happens biochemically is that the triglycerides are the first things that are affected. Usually they plummet like a rock when people begin to low-carb. (Mine went from nearly 200 to 75 in a couple of months!!!). The cholesterol readings can lag behind, but I would bet that within six months to a year, they alter for the better, too.

Donna: If your concern about liver disease was the reason you got off Lipitor, I'd say not to worry about it at all. The protocol for prescribing Lipitor includes blood testing at very frequent intervals to make sure the liver is ok. At the slightest hint that anything was going wrong, the doctor would take you off of it.

Jodi,

I calculated your triglyceride levels on the two tests as being 90 and 75. Both are good values. Your HDL/Trigylceride ratio went from 1.2 to 0.9. Both are excellent ratios (The lower the better, with 1.0 or lower being ideal). I do not think that your lipid results are a problem at all. Your LDL is most likely the large fluffy kind that is actually good.