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[zarathustra]

I finally got my cholesterol test results back from my doctor's office over the phone.  My LDL level is kind of high at 227.  I was expecting to hear my HDL level but instead they gave me a ratio of 1.473.

The doc wants me to go on a cholesterol lowering diet and get re-tested in 4 months.  I'm pretty I've been on a relatively low cholesterol diet since joining Weight Watchers in July.  I've also substantially increased my exercise from virtually nothing to almost a solid 40 minutes a day of cardio, especially since the beginning of August.

However, five days before my test in early August, I was at a convention where I ate some pretty rich foods at dinner, like BBQ, frozen custard, crab-stuffed artichoke with tons of butter over the course of 3 days (with relatively lean meals in between).

My questions: do you think 3 days of eating much richer foods than normal could cause a spike in my bad cholesterol level?  or is it even possible to guess?  I think 10 years ago my overall cholesterol was 207 (without fasting) and I wasn't doing any exercise or special diet then. 

Also, what's the deal with the ratio?  I read online that a ratio of HDL/LDL over .4 is ideal.  So what would 1.473 mean? or did I probably hear something wrong over the phone (I wish they would email this junk, it would be clearer)?

I'm going to go and get some fish oil pills and red wine.  They're sending me the diet recommendations in the mail but I'm hoping some of you have a better grip on what that crazy sounding ratio means (I'm math phobic--can I get the HDL # from the ratio?).  My mom is on statins and they aren't working on her because her body just makes cholesterol like crazy.  My blood pressue is low so I was hoping I'd take after dad in this respect. 

Help!

[kryptonite]

I've heard that eating certain foods (not sure if it was sugary stuff, carbs, or fats) can cause a temporary increase in triglycerides. I don't know about the other measurements though.

If I remember correctly, too much sugar and/or carbs can raise triglyceride levels.

[ms_turtle]

I finally got my cholesterol test results back from my doctor's office over the phone.  My LDL level is kind of high at 227.  I was expecting to hear my HDL level but instead they gave me a ratio of 1.473.

Also, what's the deal with the ratio?  I read online that a ratio of HDL/LDL over .4 is ideal.  So what would 1.473 mean? or did I probably hear something wrong over the phone (I wish they would email this junk, it would be clearer)?

Total cholesterol (HDL + LDL) should be 200 or below. The LDL number is always going to be higher than HDL. A little higher is normal, a lot higher is bad. The ratio (HDL/LDL) should be above 0.3 and as you found out ideally above 0.4. I'm wondering if the 1.473 might have been heard wrong. That is unusual.

The basics, lipoproteins (the L) are naturally made in your body and start out with very few proteins embedded in the lipoprotein membrane. That's why they are called very low density lipoproteins (VLDLs). More and more proteins get added to the membrane and then you get low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), and with more proteins, high-density lipoproteins (HDLs). The HDLs are the good kind because they help remove "freely wandering" cholesterol from your blood stream.

A few days of rich foods would push your numbers up a little (maybe 10-15 points).

My total cholesterol is 170, my LDL is 100, and my HDL is 70, and my ratio is 0.7. I'm good to go for that part of my health.

[siduri]

I've heard that eating certain foods (not sure if it was sugary stuff, carbs, or fats) can cause a temporary increase in triglycerides. I don't know about the other measurements though.

If I remember correctly, too much sugar and/or carbs can raise triglyceride levels.

I think this is correct-- a while back my HDL and LDL as well as total numbers were fine, but I had severely elevated triglycerides and I was advised to eat a low-sugar diet--not tecnically low-carb, but a definite emphasis on whole grains.

Zara, that ratio does sound strange, although I'm definitely no expert in this area.  Perhaps you should call the doc's office back and ask for clarification?

[zarathustra]

I finally got my cholesterol test results back from my doctor's office over the phone.  My LDL level is kind of high at 227.  I was expecting to hear my HDL level but instead they gave me a ratio of 1.473.

Also, what's the deal with the ratio?  I read online that a ratio of HDL/LDL over .4 is ideal.  So what would 1.473 mean? or did I probably hear something wrong over the phone (I wish they would email this junk, it would be clearer)?

Total cholesterol (HDL + LDL) should be 200 or below. The LDL number is always going to be higher than HDL. A little higher is normal, a lot higher is bad. The ratio (HDL/LDL) should be above 0.3 and as you found out ideally above 0.4. I'm wondering if the 1.473 might have been heard wrong. That is unusual.

The basics, lipoproteins (the L) are naturally made in your body and start out with very few proteins embedded in the lipoprotein membrane. That's why they are called very low density lipoproteins (VLDLs). More and more proteins get added to the membrane and then you get low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), and with more proteins, high-density lipoproteins (HDLs). The HDLs are the good kind because they help remove "freely wandering" cholesterol from your blood stream.

A few days of rich foods would push your numbers up a little (maybe 10-15 points).

My total cholesterol is 170, my LDL is 100, and my HDL is 70, and my ratio is 0.7. I'm good to go for that part of my health.

So my HDL must be really low for my ratio to be so whack.  Crap. Means I'll probably have to take statins.  My mom works out like a fiend and eats virtually no cholesterol, and her LDL remains high-ish, despite all her efforts and statins.  Plus, statins stop being effective on her after awhile and she's switched medications a few times.  I was hoping that the fact I love fish and red wine would help me.  :(

[conjugate]

You might try over-the-counter niacin supplements, too.  That might help.

[collegekidsmom]

The fact that your mother has high cholesterol is probably key. I know so many people in that boat-people with good diet, lots of exercise, and still high numbers. It is not some kind of death sentence. Millions and millions of people are taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, and that leads me to believe that some pharma companies have a huge stake in the acceptable levels. I also know many elderly people whose levels are very high and they do not take drugs. Hard to know.

 As you get older, your levels can get higher. Anecdotally, I see many friends going through perimenopause and menopause who are seeing their levels going up. A cardiologist recently told me she has a patient with total cholesterol of 350, who is 85 years old, and refuses to take medication. I think the jury is out on the medications.

You probably have high cholesterol-regardless of your few days of bad diet. Probably best not to worry a lot about it, and if your blood pressure is normal, it is unlikely you are headed for metabolic syndrome. I know one person with the worst diet-lots of bacon, sausage, hardly any fruits or vegetables-and he has the lowest total cholesterol numbers I've seen. Of course, you don't want too low cholesterol -that's problematic too. So much is genetic.

If you eat well, exercise well, and keep your weight at a good place, then there's nothing more you can do. Then you have to decide whether a lifetime of medication is what you want to do. There are some over-the-counter plant sterol products such as "CholestOff" that can be found at any drugstore. There are no easy answers, but certainly a lot of company when you are talking about high cholesterol.

[zarathustra]

The fact that your mother has high cholesterol is probably key. I know so many people in that boat-people with good diet, lots of exercise, and still high numbers. It is not some kind of death sentence. Millions and millions of people are taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, and that leads me to believe that some pharma companies have a huge stake in the acceptable levels. I also know many elderly people whose levels are very high and they do not take drugs. Hard to know.

 As you get older, your levels can get higher. Anecdotally, I see many friends going through perimenopause and menopause who are seeing their levels going up. A cardiologist recently told me she has a patient with total cholesterol of 350, who is 85 years old, and refuses to take medication. I think the jury is out on the medications.

You probably have high cholesterol-regardless of your few days of bad diet. Probably best not to worry a lot about it, and if your blood pressure is normal, it is unlikely you are headed for metabolic syndrome. I know one person with the worst diet-lots of bacon, sausage, hardly any fruits or vegetables-and he has the lowest total cholesterol numbers I've seen. Of course, you don't want too low cholesterol -that's problematic too. So much is genetic.

If you eat well, exercise well, and keep your weight at a good place, then there's nothing more you can do. Then you have to decide whether a lifetime of medication is what you want to do. There are some over-the-counter plant sterol products such as "CholestOff" that can be found at any drugstore. There are no easy answers, but certainly a lot of company when you are talking about high cholesterol.

Thanks everyone, this is interesting info. 

I guess time will tell.  I do try to eat more "good cholesterol" promoting foods like avocado, olive oil, fish, (nuts?) and red wine (or is it just any limited amount of alcohol?) which are foods my mom doesn't eat. My mom eats a lot of foods where fat has been removed (some less than natural) so it'll be interesting to see if I can boost the good cholesterol more through different food choices. 

[conjugate]

I guess time will tell.  I do try to eat more "good cholesterol" promoting foods like avocado, olive oil, fish, (nuts?) and red wine (or is it just any limited amount of alcohol?) which are foods my mom doesn't eat. My mom eats a lot of foods where fat has been removed (some less than natural) so it'll be interesting to see if I can boost the good cholesterol more through different food choices. 

The red wine contains antioxidants that the other limited quantities of alcohol do not.  I don't know about dark beer, but I would suspect it contains more antioxidants than the lighter lagers or ales.

Here is one link I found without much effort; no doubt there are many others.

[secretweapon]

FWIW, my doctor told me there is something produced in the deep red colour of various fruits that has a positive effect - so she recommended red wine, grapes, plums, and red berries. 

[zarathustra]

Ooops, OP here.  I knew I shouldn't have posted without my little note from when the doctor's office called:

My levels actually are:

overall: 227
LDL = 147
ratio is 4.73

That's even weirder. 

Possible dumb question: can I subtract the LDL from the 227 and get my HDL? 

[envisioneer]

That's not at all a dumb question, 'specially because the answer isn't what you think it will be. When I had my cholesterol tested this summer, I had:

HDL: 70
LDL: 95

Yet my total cholesterol was 180-something. So there's got to be some other sort of lipid that shows up in the test for "total cholesterol count" that doesn't appear as an independent measurement.

[anthroid]

First, here are the components of a total cholesterol reading.  I think actually that the reading should include only LDL and HDL, though I stand ready to be corrected.  Mine is around 175; my LDL is 99 and my HDL is 74 or so.  My triglycerides are somewhere around 120.  (This is from about a year ago, and I don't have the figures in front of me, so I could be off.)

Second, my SO has had pretty high cholesterol in his life and was able to lower it substantially through a combination of Cholest-off, mentioned above, and eating oatmeal every morning.  He lowered from about 265 to about 230 over the course of 3 months, but that wasn't good enough for his doctor and he's now on statins (and his cholesterol is LDL 120 and HDL 60 so he's good with cholesterol.  He also adores red wine but probably drinks too much of it to be healthful.  :)

[hoot_owl]

Hi Zara,

Sorry to hear about your cholesterol, but I'm in the same boat and have been since my early 20s. I have a great HDL number but my LDL is too high. It's mostly genetic. However, my doctor won't consider putting me on medication until after my childbearing years are passed. They are too risky for potential birth defects should you get pregnant while taking them, and the long-term side effects with regards to pregnancy are unknown. So, depending on your age and plans (oh, and gender -- I'm not sure if you are even female) - then you should ask your doctor about these things.

Best of luck!

[bibliothecula]

My former GP (sob! I miss her) recommended I eat raw almonds. It helped by several points.

Watch out for statins. My new GP (boo! hiss!) put me on some--first one kind, then another. I swear they made me stupid. I stopped taking them. I'd rather die early and be smart the whole time than live to 100 and be a dolt.