Just a quite blog post about some blood work I had done last week. 19 hours fasted, 2+ years being practically paleo and here are the results:
Lipid Panel
- Total Cholesterol: 199
- HDL: 71
- LDL: 120 – Calculated, 86 with the recalculation (More on this in a moment)
- Triglycerides: 41
- Total/HDL = 2.8 (average is 4-6 and ideal is 2-3)
- HDL/LDL = .82 (average is .3-.4 and ideal is above .4; extreme end of ideal)
- Triglyceride/HDL = 0.58 (optimal is less than 2, so again, extreme end of ideal)
CRP – <0.16 mg/L (Low risk is < 1.0, so extreme end of ideal)
Fasting Glucose: 80 mg/dl (Range is 70 – 100)
Vitamin D3: 80.17 ng/ml
So I’m feeling pretty good about my diet and health markers. The last time I had a blood draw my HDL was 43 so I’ve increased the amount by nearly 75%. Groovy.
As for the LDL calculation, if you have low Trigs you get screwed by the Freidwald equation. A closer estimation of your actual LDL can be calculated here. Freidwald overestimated me by 50%(!), which is consistent with Richard’s experience over at Free The Animal.
Skyler Tanner 
Who knew? A Paleo-like diet and a smart exercise plan does a body good. Of course, I suppose that according to mainstream medical “knowledge”, you’re simply an “outlier”…
But sooner or later, the mainstream medical community will have to address the efficacy of this diet/fitness lifestyle head-on.
Years ago, eating a “healthy low-fat” diet and exercising over 20 hours a week, my HDL was 32. I added niacin to raise it to 42. Tried by could never get it higher.
18 months ago, I mafe the transition to a high-fat, low-carb eating plan. I was also exercising much less. At 51, I don’t have the exercise-recovery capability I used to. I made adjustments to the foods I ate and got frequent lipid panels. My last test showed an HDL of 70.
I think I’ll continue commiting slow suicide by eating this unhealthy high-fat diet.
P.S. Once I gave up all sweeteners, real and artificial, a lot of foods became “too sweet”. I have the same reaction to sweets that my ancient ancestors would have had they been given something really sweet, namely “this isn’t food”.
Ed,
Exactly; now something like “sweetened dried cranberries” tastes like box candy to me. It’s really amazing.
I get regular lab work back as a bonus for participating in various medical studies. Generally before a study starts, and about 2 weeks post in-house stay (back on my regular diet –whole veggies, fruit, fish, nuts, beans, eggs, & dairy) my cholesterol is around 200 give or take a few points (which the labs consider a high number, but still negligible for their purposes) , with triglycerides around 30. (Blood pressure is low too for whatever that is worth.) The lab does not specify HDL and LDL numbers, so I will have to pay for my own tests at a clinic. Do you know if low triglycerides go hand in hand with low LDL’s?
I find it interesting that on the checkout bloodwork of an extended in house study of a week or more, (regardless of the drug I on) find that my total cholesterol goes down (most recently around 160) and my triglycerides (70 in this past study) . The diets provided there are really crappy: all processed, little to no fresh fruit or vegetables, lots of cookies, cakes sodas and white bread. I usually skip what I can but it is sometimes required that all of the “food” is eaten for the drug sponsor’s requirements. I wish I could see what the LDL/HDL breakdown pre and post in house stay.
Typo- skipped a word: triglycerides go up (though total cholesterol goes down) after a week stay or more….but the numbers are self explanatory.
Jeanne,
Realized I never answered this but no, low Trig’s typically do not go hand in hand with low LDL. Since LDL is calculated during most lipid labs, there tends to be an inverse between trigs in the blood and the LDL calculated. The Freidwald equation used to estimate LDL is: LDL= Total Cholesterol – HDL – (Triglycerides /5). So you’re subtracting a greater “chunk” with higher triglycerides or to put it another way, low triglycerides cause an overestimation based on this formula.
Jeanne,
You asked, “Do you know if low triglycerides go hand in hand with low LDL’s?”
Not necessarily. Recently, my triglycerides were 45, HDL 71, and LDL around 180. I’m not particularly worried because I’m 63 and with advancing age higher cholesterol values are associated with better health and greater longevity.
I don’t know for certain but I suspect that higher triglycerides do go hand in hand with LDL particle size because they’re both related to fructose intake.