On Mon, 11 Oct 1999, Sal Cuccio wrote:

> I wish I could eat like you but my cholesterol goes up on a
> high SF diet which is mostly commercial meats, but I've never been a strict
> PALEO either. I came to this WOE via Atkins and then the ZONE. However the
> other components of my LIPID profile are greatly improved when I increase
> fat of any kind the only negative is the LDL which only seems to be affected
> by eating more fish. I was very interested in Todd Moodys' cholesterol saga
> whic I read in the archives. It seems his experience is very similar to my own.

I think this pattern is not rare, but is not the norm either.  I
have a colleague whose LDL cholesterol also closely tracks the
saturated fat in his diet.  For most people, it seems that
dietary changes cause only modest changes in LDL cholesterol, in
either direction.

The low-carb dogma is that insulin is what causes LDL to rise,
and so a low-carb diet should cause it to fall by reducing
insulin levels.  I don't doubt that this is part of the story,
and in fact many people have spectacular drops in LDL when they
go on low-carb diets, paleo or not.

Some things to consider are the facts that carbs are not the only
thing that affects insulin.  There are non-dietary factors such
as exercise and stress.  Protein also plays a role.

The larger riddle is whether we should be concerned about these
LDL levels or not.  I don't feel that I have an answer to that
question yet that I feel entirely comfortable with.

Todd Moody
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