On Thu, 17 May 2001, Charles Alban wrote:

> << << and 36 million should be taking
>  cholesterol-lowering drugs, compared with 13 million
>  who are prescribed the drugs >>
>
>  Unbelievable!  No mention whatsoever that high
>  cholesterol can be caused by undetected thyroid
>  disease, which when treated with thyroid medication
>  usually corrects the cholesterol level. >>
>
> But surely all this can be corrected by proper diet and exercise?

A couple of points.  Although the bad news is that this "press
release" will inspire doctors to badger many more people into
taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, the good news is that it at
least acknowledges the existence of a "metabolic syndrome" that
comprises a constellation of risk factors, including high
triglycerides and small-dense LDL.  In fact, I think the
correlation between TG and small-dense LDL is the complete
explanation of the LDL risk factor, since most people with high
LDL also have high TG.  Small-dense LDL is not normally measured
in lab tests, but TG is a reliable marker.  The Eades explain
this well in Protein Power Lifeplan.  So, despite this recent
excitement about LDL, the day may not be far off when we see a
focus on small-dense LDL as the villain.

This is important for paleodieters, since it is not uncommon for
people on a lowcarb, high-fat paleo diet to get a reduction in TG
along with an increase in HDL *and* LDL.  That has been my
experience, and I know I'm not the only one.  The new guidelines
are for HDL to be over 40 (usd to be 35) and LDL to be under 100,
with TG under 200.  My HDL went from 32 to 50, so that's good,
but my LDL never goes below 200, which is considered "high risk"
by current standards.  My TG is around 80 lately.  So everything
is okay except LDL (and therefore total cholesterol).

I can push the LDL number down by sharply restricting saturated
fat, but I don't think I could get it to 100.  When I
experimented with soy protein I found it to be very effective as
well, but it's not paleo and there are decent reasons to avoid
the stuff, in my opinion.  It is possible that there is an
underlying thyroid problem, but it's clear enough that 4 years of
paleo nutrition and exercise have *not* corrected it.  And no lab
tests have confirmed it to my doctor's satisfaction.

I work in a department of 14 people, most of whom make some
attempt to follow the food pyramid -- not too much meat, low-fat,
whole grains, etc.  I am the nutritional pariah, the paleo
iconoclast.  Regrettably, I am also the overwieght guy with high
cholesterol.

Todd Moody
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