Monday, March 31, 2008

Cholesterol

Here are the results of my latest blood test. To recap, I have been eating healthy for the past two years (Shorty after my first blood test). I lost some weight and have gotten in a lot better shape. This was the first post that I made concerning my cholesterol. Below are all the tests I have ever had.



Overall not great news, but not bad news either. My LDL, triglycerides, and VLDL were all higher. The triglyerides and VLDL were both still within the optimal levels, though. Which is great, I seemed to solve those poblems! The HDL has been rising slowly, which is good. It is now just within the optimal range. Keep in mind, at 60 it starts to confer a protective benefit.

The LDL is higher than it should be, less than 100 is Optimal. As you can see the LDL has been steadily rising since I have started monitoring it. That is really discouraging. I have put in a lot of work and effort. To see that number going to wrong way makes the task at hand seem...impossible. Talking with my doctor, eased some of my concerns. Your cholesterol can vary by a large amount day to day. He also was not worried, because I am young and it takes a long time for cholesterol to kill you. The only positive thing I can think of, is that because I am eating healthier and eating more antioxidants the LDL is not sticking to my arteries as much, so it is building up in my blood stream. The down side is that the LDL is building up in my bloodstream so their is more of it to stick to my arteries.

Recently, my dad (in his 60's) also had a quadruple bypass. His father also had serious heart problems which killed him in his 60's before I was born. My doctor is not worried, but I know the clock is ticking, ticking slowly, but still ticking.

After the test and Dad's bypass I made several changes. I have started drinking more tea. I was already drinking a lot, but I bumped up my consumption. I also have gone organic. Basically it is an experiment to see if my LDL is rising because of something I am eating. Next test we will know something. I also started eating more oatmeal and flax seeds. If that does not help, I am going paleolithic.

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