Question:

OK, I’ve been a bad boy.  When I started Atkins 22 months ago, I did not get a baseline medical checkup, so I don’t know what I started out with.  Well, I decided to get one now to see quantitatively how well this LC WOL was working.  I specifically asked for a chem panel as well as the other tests the doctor wanted to do.  Of course, the doc was not into low-carb, and I got the standard food pyramid lecture. They had to schedule a separate appointment to draw the blood, since they wanted me to fast for 12 hours. When I got the blood drawn (4 tubes) I passed out cold.  It must have been quite exciting for the nurses who had to deal with me.  When I recovered, my BP was 80/50, so it was presumably lower while I was out. Has this happened to anyone else in this group, or am I just the wimp of the century?   Anyway, I got a summary of the results yesterday, and all of the values are normal, including the chem panel… except cholesterol. Here are the values: Total 269 LDL 215 HDL 39 Triglycerides 75 Obviously triglyceride is great, so I’m satisfied.  But the other numbers were shocking!  So I pulled out my Atkins and PP books, as well as going to the local Barnes & Noble to read up on cholesterol busting strategies.  And since I could go nuts (and broke) if I tried to do everything in those books (even excluding the high-carb options out of hand), I’m asking this group for what measures in particular have helped them.   This is what I am doing: Today, I’ve started taking 6 tablets of GNC 1000 mg fish oil tablets (containing 180mg EPA and 120 mg DHA) and eating one egg yolk for every two eggs, based on the Eades’ recommendation for those sensitive to arachidonic acid.  I don’t know that I am sensitive to AA, but it might make sense in light of the lab results.  I’ll try the other AA strategies in the book, too as time goes on.  Of course I couldn’t talk to the doctor about that… I just got ANOTHER food pyramid rehash.  Isn’t it great to pay money to someone to have them make you pass out then insult your intelligence? More confessions… the only supplementation I’ve been doing the last 22 months has been one Centrum tablet/day (actually a drug store equivelent).  Two weeks ago, based on advice here (Debbie C’s?) I’ve started taking 1/4 tsp Morton’s Lite Salt in water each morning to get potassium.  I also regularly eat eggs, feta and hard cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, heavy cream, half & half, red meat, hamburg, chicken, fish (not often enough), cabbage (love cole slaw with mayo), salad greens, a lot of coffee (both regular & decaf) with saccharin & heavy cream, pecans, almonds, peanut butter (too much!), and of course cheesecake (hey, remember who it is posting!).   Oh, and just to complicate matters further, I’m under a fair amount of stress as well. I don’t want to go into details here, but I think it’s fair to say that a lot of marriages have broken up under less stress than ours is experiencing right now.  And now this charming news… Please help! Do any of the things I’ve listed above look like obvious things to eliminate or eat more of?  Any suggestions? Marc 180/158 (Lowest in Months!  Wish I had the heart to do a happy dance)/155

Response:

Obviously triglyceride is great, so I’m satisfied.  But the other numbers were shocking!  So I pulled out my Atkins and PP books, as well as going to the local Barnes & Noble to read up on cholesterol busting strategies.  And since I could go nuts (and broke) if I tried to do everything in those books (even excluding the high-carb options out of hand), I’m asking this group for what measures in particular have helped them.

Everyone’s different, so keep that in mind. I take a product called "Cholestoril" by Enzymatic Therapy.It contains 300 mg of Pantethine and is a form of Vit amin B5. It’s supposed to assist in the transport and breakdown of triglycerides and colesterol. (Also take coenzyme Q10, L-Carnitine and Chromium Arginate. These seemed to help a little.) This is what I am doing: Today, I’ve started taking 6 tablets of GNC salad greens, a lot of coffee (both regular & decaf) with saccharin &

Bingo. Drop the regular coffee and switch to decalf. Oh, and just to complicate matters further, I’m under a fair amount of stress as well. I don’t want to go into details here, but I think it’s fair to say that a lot of marriages have broken up under less stress than ours is experiencing right now.  And now this charming news…

Consider trying Stress-tabs. (B complex.) Worked for me a few years ago.

Response:

Total 269 LDL 215 HDL 39 Triglycerides 75

If you were my patient and these were your labs after low carb dieting i would certainly start you an antilipidemic therapy with the goal of lowering LDL and also increasing HDL.  Best agents for this are niacin (cheap, side effects for a week or two though) and Lipitor (atorvastatin).  Both are probably equally effective, only niacin has been confirmed to reduce mortality in the long term as it has been around a while.  Note that therapeutic doses of niacin are huge, 3-5gm per day.  You MUST NOT take the sustained release form at these dosages as it can cause hepatitis.  The short acting forms are much safer and their side effects can be minimized with a baby aspirin taken with it.  Lipitor is expensive but insurance should pay for it and there are no significant side effects.  Long term safety is not established, though. If you want to avoid taking cholesterol meds, I would recommend the following: Eat more protein, cut way down on saturated fats (cheese, cream, animal fat, butter).  Naturally unsaturated fats found in olive oil, mayonaise, nuts, and fish are not a problem.  Also avoid egg yolks and canola oil as described in Protein Power. Some supplements you may want to try: Coenzyme Q10 100 mg per day (very expensive) L-carnitine 1000-2000 mg per day (very expensive) Garlic Adkins’ essential oils (expensive) Hope this helps Eric Kovalsky, MD

Response:

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