Todd what do you supplement with?

-Greg

Todd Moody wrote:

> Debby Padilla-Hudson wrote:
>
>>> No, I think homocysteine is probably an independent
>>> risk factor for heart disease.  I recall other research indicating
>>> somewhat elevated homocysteine levels in people on very lowcarb diets.
>>>   
>>
>>
>> OK, so are you saying that low carb can be bad for the
>> heart, especially because it is usually low in B
>> vitamins in normal practice?
>>  
>>
>
> I think "bad for the heart" is too strong a statement.  But  a diet 
> that is high in meat protein and low in folic acid, B12 and B6 *will* 
> lead to elevated homocysteine levels, and this is believed to make 
> artery walls "stickier".  As I said in the previous message, this need 
> not be the case, since one can get ample folic acid and other B 
> vitamins in liver, for example, and certain greens (remember that 
> "folic" refers to foliage).  But it's a question of making certain 
> choices.  I just don't enjoy liver.  I never ate it as a kid, and as 
> an adult I've found it impossible to acquire a taste for it.  So I 
> choose to supplement and not worry about it.
>
>
>>> Moreover, 8 weeks isn't enough time to draw any firm 
>>> conclusions--although
>>> to see an increase in HDL in so short a time is certainly striking.  
>>> HDL
>>> is one of those numbers that's usually pretty hard to budge.
>>>   
>>
>>
>> OK, so does this mean that in the long run low carb is
>> good for your cholesterol, or that having low
>> cholesterol doesn't matter?  Sorry I'm just trying to
>> get the direct answers to my question, as it seems
>> that your answers gave a lot of
>> speculation/observation/hypothesis but no conclusions.
>>  
>>
>
> That's because I'm an academic, so I wrap my statements in qualifiers, 
> disclaimers, and cautions, so to speak, as it were, if you will, as a 
> rule, generally, notwithstanding.
>
> Seriously, this is one of the most controverted issues in nutrition.  
> We each have to look at the evidence and work out what we think about 
> the cholesterol issue.  For what it's worth, here's what I think.
>
> 1.  For many people, including myself, increased intake of saturated 
> fat raises LDL cholesterol.  The reason for this is that the saturates 
> downregulate the LDL receptors in the liver, decreasing LDL reuptake.  
> A Nobel Prize was awarded for the discovery of this mechanism not too 
> long ago.
>
> 2.  At the same time, reducing carbs should cause the liver to produce 
> less cholesterol, by reducing insulin levels, since insulin signals 
> the liver to make the stuff.
>
> 3.  In a person with significant insulin resistance (IR), it's likely 
> to take a while to get control of insulin levels, so the process in 
> (1) is likely to outrun the process in (2) at first.  The result would 
> be an initial increase in LDL on a lowcarb diet that is also high in 
> saturates.
>
> 4.  A lowcarb diet that is rather high in protein won't achieve good 
> insulin control, because of the need to convert a lot of that protein 
> to glucose.
>
> 5.  What matters is not the absolute amount of LDL cholesterol, but 
> the percentage of it that is small-dense particles.  This is not 
> usually measured in routine lab work, but is strongly correlated with 
> triglycerides.  So if triglycerides are low, the small-dense LDL 
> fraction is likely to be small as well.
>
> 6.  Lowcarb diets are the best way to reduce triglycerides and 
> small-dense LDL.
>
> 7.  A lowcarb diet that doesn't avoid saturated fat is the best 
> dietary way to raise HDL.
>
> That's pretty much where I stand on the cholesterol question, for now.
>
> Todd Moody
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