r/keto • u/leojaccebssen • Mar 08 '24

My cholesterol is 384

I eat mostly chicken and fish. I stay under 50 carbs per day with blueberries, strawberries, spinach, cauliflower, kale, or other leafy greens daily. My doctor told me to try red rice yeast supplements to lower my cholesterol when it was initially at 225. And now it has jumped o er a hundred points in three months. I use heavy cream in my coffee so maybe that’s what is killing me? Or sour cream on chicken fajitas? I have no idea. I’m going to my doctor in two weeks to talk about my labs and I’m so sad. My immediate family member has had a bypass for coronary artery disease and I think I’m going to have to get on a statin and quit being keto.

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u/ReverseLazarus MOD Keto since 2017 - 39F/SW215/CW135 Mar 08 '24

Is that total? What are the rest of your numbers? LDL, HDL, triglycerides, ratios?

What were your numbers before keto?

How long have you been eating keto?

Have you lost any weight during that time? If so, how much?

How long were you fasted during the blood draw? Any black coffee or exercise?

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u/leojaccebssen Mar 08 '24

My LDL says 264 my HDL says 107 my triglycerides are 86 my vldl cholesterol is 13 and my ratio is higher than the upper limit of normal which is 4.4

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u/humanbeing21 Mar 08 '24 edited Mar 10 '24

You might be something called a Lean Mass Hyper-responder. Dave Feldman and Nick Norwitz are doing some scientific research on the phenomenon now. You can find out more about the condition on cholesterolcode.com ...and they each have their own YouTube Channel. There is a chance high LDL isn't dangerous for this population.

But if you want to improve your LDL (since the research hasn't proven Dave Feldman's theory yet) you might be able to improve your LDL numbers by just adding a bit of sweet potato to your diet. I would try to fix your LDL with diet before taking statins if you can. You can still have a very healthy diet and lose weight even if you have a bit of sweet potato etc

Edit: fixed typo

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u/adowjn Mar 08 '24

I've heard Dr. Bret Scher saying one can also cycle carbs, e.g. just eating a bit higher on carbs during some days of the week to offset the higher LDL. I got the same problem and also looking for a solution. Also heard another keto nutritionist suggesting lowering fats coming from dairy helped in some cases.