On Wednesday, October 15, 2003, at 01:27  PM, Mike Knickerbocker wrote:
> Here are the numbers:
>
> Total cholesterol 358
> triglycerides 105
> LDL 259
> HDL 78
>


Hello Mike. I have run into something similar myself. I started paleo
about two years ago, with a total cholesterol about 200. It has climbed
to 270 since then. Hdl is 57. Triglycerides 42. Given my low blood
pressure and active lifestyle that still puts me at "low risk"
according to the online survey I took. Fine, but my doctor and wife
both freaked, and threatened my with drugs too. ;-)

Checking around I found that cholesterol level depends on many factors,
some unknown. Saturated fat raises cholesterol, though, so I cut out a
lot by skipping full cream, and butter, and reducing others like eggs
and fatty pork. In my last blood test my cholesterol fell to 259, in
just a few weeks.

Triglycerides are controlled by carb intake. Low carb lowers
triglycerides, which are a big risk factor according to the theory.

One funny thing, cholesterol is also used by the body to create bile,
to digest fat. So my guess is that a high fat diet but low in saturated
fat might reduce cholesterol. I have never seen this idea anywhere
else, but it would seem to be true. So I upped my olive oil and fish
oil consumption, hoping that this might reduce cholesterol. Who knows.

In fact I personally don't worry too much about it all, since the
science for the whole cholesterol thing is pretty insubstantial. Low
cholesterol is linked in many studies to all kinds of bad things too,
but it is high cholesterol that gets all of the bad press. I am doing
it to maintain a low stress home life. Hey, nothing is more closely
linked to heart disease than home stress!  ;---)