In a message dated 11/20/02 1:14:39 PM, [log in to unmask] writes:

>My 13
>
>months on Atkins/Eades (Protein Power, not LifePlan) and a >20% weight
>loss
>
>(over first 8-9 months of the diet) produced less change in my total
>
>cholesterol than paleo( with no weight loss) has done.  I went from a SAD
>TC
>
>of 273 in Feb 2000 to a low-carb TC of 233 in April 2001, a percentage
>
>change decrease of only 14.6%.  Contrast this to a 26.6% decrease in TC
>on
>
>Paleo.

Paleo may have continued the same healing of your metabolism that Atkins had 
started or it may be that your LDL was particularly sensitive to dairy. Your 
HDL might increase if you eat more saturated fat and increase exercise. 
Although after reading the Cholesterol Myths by Ravnskov, I don't think it's 
wise to try to micro-manage my body's cholesterol. I think the trillions of 
biochemical processes that have evolved over millions of years manifest an 
intelligence that 'knows' what it's doing and that only modern medical 
quackery would have the hubris to believe it's a system they could improve. 

I just found another study that vindicates the low carb approach. Significant 
that LDL particle size increased with the ketogenic diet.

1: J Nutr 2002 Jul;132(7):1879-85    
  
A ketogenic diet favorably affects serum biomarkers for cardiovascular 
disease in normal-weight men.

Sharman MJ, Kraemer WJ, Love DM, Avery NG, Gomez AL, Scheett TP, Volek JS.

Human Performance Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, University of 
Connecticut, Storrs 06269-1110, USA.

Very low-carbohydrate (ketogenic) diets are popular yet little is known 
regarding the effects on serum biomarkers for cardiovascular disease (CVD). 
This study examined the effects of a 6-wk ketogenic diet on fasting and 
postprandial serum biomarkers in 20 normal-weight, normolipidemic men. Twelve 
men switched from their habitual diet (17% protein, 47% carbohydrate and 32% 
fat) to a ketogenic diet (30% protein, 8% carbohydrate and 61% fat) and eight 
control subjects consumed their habitual diet for 6 wk. Fasting blood lipids, 
insulin, LDL particle size, oxidized LDL and postprandial triacylglycerol 
(TAG) and insulin responses to a fat-rich meal were determined before and 
after treatment. There were significant decreases in fasting serum TAG 
(-33%), postprandial lipemia after a fat-rich meal (-29%), and fasting serum 
insulin concentrations (-34%) after men consumed the ketogenic diet. Fasting 
serum total and LDL cholesterol and oxidized LDL were unaffected and HDL 
cholesterol tended to increase with the ketogenic diet (+11.5%; P = 0.066). 
In subjects with a predominance of small LDL particles pattern B, there were 
significant increases in mean and peak LDL particle diameter and the 
percentage of LDL-1 after the ketogenic diet. There were no significant 
changes in blood lipids in the control group. To our knowledge this is the 
first study to document the effects of a ketogenic diet on fasting and 
postprandial CVD biomarkers independent of weight loss. The results suggest 
that a short-term ketogenic diet does not have a deleterious effect on CVD 
risk profile and may improve the lipid disorders characteristic of 
atherogenic dyslipidemia. 

Namaste, Liz
<A HREF="http://www.csun.edu/~ecm59556/Healthycarb/index.html">
http://www.csun.edu/~ecm59556/Healthycarb/index.html</A>