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High Cholesterol can be normal?

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lucy123

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I went yesterday for my usual bloods including cholesterol.

She looked at my last reading and said it was high and was I on anything and I said yes Atorvastation but it doesn't seem to do anything.

She then said that some people just naturally have high cholesterol.

Luckily I had been keeping a food diary and showed her what I had been eating and what exercise I had been doing. I have lost well over 3 stone this year by sticking to this healthy regime.

A while back my Personal Trainer said the same thing when I told him. He said with the type and quantity of food I was eating and the exercise, I really couldn't do any more and that his cholesterol was always high when at the GP but he is a top athlete (sprinter) and was also told some people are like this too.

My husband who is 10.5 stone wet through, runs marathons and eats healthily - has also been told his cholesterol is high.

So I guess I am asking - what is all the fuss about cholesterol -and should we take tablets - if some people are just prone to high cholesterol no matter what they do?

I would love to know how many top sportsman have been told to be more healthy due to high cholesterol.

The thing is the nurse never used to believe I ate healthy until I have lost the weight - which has done zilch to lowering my cholesterol.
 
Cholesterol's a tricky one. For a start, there's a growing consensus that the total amount of cholesterol is less important than how it's split between HDL and LDL - this is why no decent doctor or nurse ever orders just a 'total cholesterol' test.

There's also a rising awareness that cholesterol, in itself, might not be a problem. Older people with lower cholesterol actually have a shorter life expectancy than those with higher cholesterol, and despite what many associations and organisations believe, there is actually no proof whatsoever that high cholesterol causes heart disease. High cholesterol may in fact be a response to an underlying problem that causes heart disease - in other words, it's a symptom, and simply treating the symptom doesn't treat the disease.

There is also no consensus whatsoever on what is a 'healthy' diet to reduce cholesterol. Most organisations have woken up to the fact that eating cholesterol doesn't actually affect your cholesterol level - it doesn't work that way. However, quite a few push a line of eating less fat and more starchy carbs.

The problem is that the source for almost all the cholesterol in your body is your liver. Your liver produces the cholesterol that circulates in your blood and it produces more cholesterol when your blood sugar is raised and there is more insulin circulating around. It doesn't therefore take a genius to realise that if you eat more carbohydrate, and therefore produce more insulin (or take more if you are on injections), you produce more cholesterol! And then by a process of logic, it's the foods that don't affect your blood sugar which are more likely to reduce cholesterol production....which is foods that are primarily fat and protein - exactly the foods the doctors are telling you to cut down on. 😱
 
Can't really add to DeusXM's excellent post. What level of cholesterol ydo you have Lucy, that they are calling 'high'? Do you know your HDL/LDL split? The 'offcial' guidelines look for a non-diabetic to have a total chol level of 5.0 or less, for a diabetic 4.0 or less. There are some people who have a genetic disposition to very high chol (familial hypercholesterolaemia), but if you fell into this category, I think they would have already said something to that effect - it's relatively rare.

My total chol is usually around 4.5. It once went to 5.2 but my consultant wasn't concerned.
 
I don't know but know its very high - I think well up in the 7's if I remember correctly - will see what this times results bring.🙂
 
The 'offcial' guidelines look for a non-diabetic to have a total chol level of 5.0 or less, for a diabetic 4.0 or less.
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Which of course is absolutely bonkers because there's no proof that there is a 'bad' total cholesterol level unless you assume the HDL/LDL split is the same for everyone. You could have a total cholesterol level of 7.0 but if most of that is HDL, arguably you are in BETTER shape than someone with a total level of under 4 but most of that is LDL.

I think my last total cholesterol level was 5.2, which my doc tried to tell me was 'high', and then I pointed out that my HDL/LDL ratio was actually in the optimal range and my trig level was LOWER than you'd have in a non-diabetic. Trigs are a definite marker for heart disease and on that basis I was found to be at a lower risk of CVD than someone with a fully working pancreas, so we both agreed that I should probably just carry on as I was.

I don't know but know its very high - I think well up in the 7's if I remember correctly - will see what this times results bring.
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Get a complete lipid work-up - trigs, LDL, HDL, your ratio and your total cholesterol. No-one can make informed health choices based on just total cholesterol.
 
Results are in!

HBA1c 42 -:D

Total Cholesterol 5.8
LDL 4.6
HDL 1.2

and I did check I had these the right way round three times!

I don't think they are too good are they - but cant do anymore to bring them down.🙄
 
lucy123 said:
Results are in!

HBA1c 42 -:D

Total Cholesterol 5.8
LDL 4.6
HDL 1.2

and I did check I had these the right way round three times!

I don't think they are too good are they - but cant do anymore to bring them down.🙄
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Well done Lucy, and that cholesterol doesn't look as high as you were expecting which is good news 🙂
 
Is it really okay KC - I thought the ldl and hdl levels should ideally be the other way round?🙂
 
lucy123 said:
Is it really okay KC - I thought the ldl and hdl levels should ideally be the other way round?🙂
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I think the general aim is for HDL to be more than 1 and LDL less than three, and triglycerides under 1.7, or it used to be, but I was always told triglycerides were the danger area. So in an ideal world you'd want your LDL lower I suppose. It's all quite confusing I found, when I had mine done after diagnosis it was 4.2 total which is high for me, but he said the trigs were almost negligible and it was my HDL that was highest which he seemed pleased with. You'd think they'd make it simpler. Either way that HBA1c is good work 🙂
 
What is most important are your trigs and your total cholesterol to HDL ratio, which you get by dividing your total cholesterol by your HDL. In your case, that's 5.8 divided by 1.2, so your ratio is 4.8.

A normal ratio would be 4.5 or lower, so yes, yours is a little high but it's not dramatically so. Plus, your a1c is bloody great. You can probably alter your ratio quite easily with a little dietary modification - maybe a few more good fats (olive oil etc) and maybe fewer sandwiches or a little less rice or potato.
 
brilliant -thank you for your help on this - I now understand the results.🙂
 
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