Hi all,

I've been following low carb/paleo for going on two years and have had
great results, both in terms of weight loss and my lipid profile.  I am
perplexed by results my mother is getting however, and would like to get
some feedback.  She (and her husband) were following a macrobiotic
foodplan for a number of years and generally felt good doing that, but
my mother has had a problem with high cholesterol in recent years.  Her
doctor had her on a statin drug to lower cholesterol, which it did to
some degree.  After discussing low carb with me, and at my suggestions,
she switched to a low carb foodplan and also made the decision to go off
her cholesterol drug.  Her lipid numbers got worse initially, which I
expected, thinking her body would have to adjust to life without the
drug.  But after a solid three months of low carbing without the
cholesterol drug, her numbers are still cause for concern.  She called
me today with her latest test results -- total chol 300, LDL 208, HDL
85.  Unfortunately, she didn't have a triglyceride number to tell me --
either they didn't include it in the test for some dumb reason or they
forgot to tell her the number when she called for her results.  I told
her to call and check on that.

Apparently her doctor has told her in the past that she has a problem
with some liver enzyme which is keeping her cholesterol high.  He is, of
course, concerned by these new numbers and told her he wants to see her
immediately.  My assumption is that he is going to insist she go back on
the statin drug.  At this point, I must admit I'm feeling a bit
squeamish about the whole thing and don't feel confident advising her.

I wondering . . . do some people continue to have cholesterol problems
even after strictly following a low carb plan?  And, if so, is there
anything else that can be done other than those stupid cholesterol
drugs?

Thanks, Chuck