Todd,

When I posted my cholesterol readings it was not the entire story. 1 month
after my first test I went and got a home cholesterol test. I took the test
and stopped reading when my reading climbed past 310. I was horrified. Now
the home test may not be 100% accurate, but it is not bad. I went back to
Atkins and read his section on cholesterol. I decided to take some
supplements until I regained some control. I took four tablespoons of
granular lecithin and 6 garlic caps per day. I also went and got the
highest strength multivitamin and mineral supplement I could find. I took
this for 2 months and got my cholesterol down to 225. I stopped the
supplements about 2 months ago. My cholesterol continues to improve. Atkins
does say that often cholesterol rises for a few months and then starts
improving. I have heard some theories that say this is because the arteries
are being cleaned out and this causes more circulating cholesterol. This
may be bunk. You have not been on the low carb type diet for that long and
with Zone and Neaderthin the carbs are not that low. I would decrease my
carbs to more Atkins levels to improve the triglycerides further and to get
the HDL up. I would also get onto an aggressive supplement program. Atkins
says he can always get cholesterol under control without prescription
drugs. He lists about 10 supplements to take. Give this another month and
check the results. If things do not start heading in the right direction
then this diet may definitely not be for you. I bet things will improve.


Gary