Low cholesterol, even on paleo diet

[Divide by Zero]

Hi,
I recently had a physical for work and the results came in that my cholesterol was too low.

It was reported as around 120 total.
I never had an issue with cholesterol, and IIRC it was always low around there.

I figured that the cholesterol would have gone up since the last physical 2 years ago, as I eat much more fat.

Blood pressure did go down, I used to be borderline- probably "genetic" as my father is borderline... plus the medical industry kept lowering the limits to sell more drugs.

 

[nicklebleu]

Hi,
I recently had a physical for work and the results came in that my cholesterol was too low.

It was reported as around 120 total.
I never had an issue with cholesterol, and IIRC it was always low around there.

I figured that the cholesterol would have gone up since the last physical 2 years ago, as I eat much more fat.

Blood pressure did go down, I used to be borderline- probably "genetic" as my father is borderline... plus the medical industry kept lowering the limits to sell more drugs.

I wouldn't worry too much, even though some studies have shown low cholesterol levels to be associated with a higher risk of stroke - but that was in the context of a standard Western diet and lowering cholesterol levels with statins.

I believe if you reduce overall inflammation in your body (which might be reflected by your low cholesterol levels) you have done the best you can for your body - nothing that a single pathology result can change! This is also reflected by your normalised blood pressure.

Do you also do resistance training, which might influence your mitochondria in a beneficial way? If not, that would be an additional thing to consider. I slack off with that often ... when I come home tired I don't feel like doing exercise, but I am convinced that this is an important and crucial part of the whole formula.

Keep up the good work!

 

[Rich]

Hi,
I recently had a physical for work and the results came in that my cholesterol was too low.

It was reported as around 120 total.
I never had an issue with cholesterol, and IIRC it was always low around there.

I figured that the cholesterol would have gone up since the last physical 2 years ago, as I eat much more fat.

Interesting result. Useful tool for you if you come across anyone questioning your dietary choices.

Blood pressure did go down, I used to be borderline- probably "genetic" as my father is borderline... plus the medical industry kept lowering the limits to sell more drugs.

Yes, I noticed that recently too when searching for what was considered 'normal'.

It's a little strange. All of a sudden, the experts are telling millions of people who thought they were healthy that they now have this condition called prehypertension. But the idea is to get Americans and their doctors to take action before the blood pressure climbs any higher - and into the range where the risks of heart disease, stroke, and other problems are pronounced.

_http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/update0803a.shtml

And agreeing with you Divide by Zero, there's nothing strange about it, just a way to make more money.

 

[Deleted member 8431]

FWIW, it reminds me of something I saw in one SOTT article.

Link

First off, total cholesterol is limited because it's only telling us the amount of cholesterol contained in all our lipoproteins without saying anything about what kind of lipoproteins we have or how many there are. Second, total cholesterol is limited because it's determined by a bizarre formula - HDL-C+LDL-C+(Triglycerides/5) - that reduces various types of blood lipids, each with a different role in the body and a unique impact on our risk for illness, to mere numbers.

So perhaps you simply have low LDL and low triglycerides - if that is ever how your total cholesterol was measured of course.

 

[Divide by Zero]

I believe in the past the LDL was around 70-80 and the HDL was 40-50, which I read was a good ratio.
I have to ask for the current breakdown when I get back home.
IIRC the triglicerides were always low, even on the old diet.

When I told the doctor my diet, he didn't believe it


I don't work out, but my job is mostly outdoor and physical.

Thanks for the information. I tried to search before but couldn't find much conclusive info.

 

[SeekinTruth]

I think your triglycerides being low is a good sign all around - and also means that your LDL is probably the "good" kind (large, fluffy particles rather than small dense ones). And it's pretty likely that you don't have much chronic inflammation (or oxidation of lipids/lipoproteins) from the signs so far.

 

[l apprenti de forgeron]

I believe in the past the LDL was around 70-80 and the HDL was 40-50, which I read was a good ratio.
I have to ask for the current breakdown when I get back home.
IIRC the triglicerides were always low, even on the old diet.

When I told the doctor my diet, he didn't believe it


I don't work out, but my job is mostly outdoor and physical.

Thanks for the information. I tried to search before but couldn't find much conclusive info.

Thanks for the thread!
This is very similar to my case. I'm in paleo since three years ago (what I did then was a drastic change. A black and white childlike thought at the time. But luckily my adaptation was more or less correct, apparently. Always ate much meat anyway). And today, eating only meat and fat, I still have low cholesterol. My problem was that I was always inflamed for allergies all year (but cholesterol not went up) and with mild asthma. But that change, due to decreased iron in blood and begin consuming cod liver oil. And I started exercising a month ago, more or less.
I want to climb a little cholesterol because I read somewhere that low is associated with depression.