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Cholesterol levels

I have some questions about my cholesterol levels.  I am 44 year old male, nonsmoker and no alcohol and weigh 168 lbs. For the last year and half I have been lifting weights 4 to 6 times per week and jogging 2 to 3 times per week for about 30 to 45 min.  I have lost about 25 lbs.  I watch what I eat.  No trans fat and little as possible of the saturated fats.  I do not eat anything fried or very little.  I take flax seed oil and other EFA’s.  I drink protein shakes 3 times a day and one with soy milk (added DHA).  
My father died at age 69 with a heart attaches and my brother died at age 39 with lung cancer.


6/30/07 cholesterol screen
   Total cholesterol 184, hdl 31, ldl 123, triglycerides 154, hdl ratio 5.9, ldl ratio 4.0

7/30/07 cholesterol screen
  Total cholesterol 149, hdl 27, ldl 97, triglycerides 123, hdl ratio 5.5, ldl ratio 3.6

My family Dr put me on crestor 5mg 8/6/07.

9/10/07 cholesterol screen:
Total cholesterol 97, hdl 29, ldl 50, triglycerides 90, hdl ratio 3.3, ldl ratio 1.72

Should I be concern about total cholesterol being to low? Does this increase my chances of getting cancer?
Why is my hdl still low after exercising?  Is it just my genetics?  How concerned should I be? What else should I do to increase my hdl?  Is drinking one glass of red wine an option?  Since my last hdl ratio is less than 3.5, should I still be concerned as much with
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Avatar universal
I'm not a doctor, of course, but optimally, your HDL should be over 60 and your LDL under 100.  HDL over 50 is still good as long as the LDL remains under 100 or 110.  I think mine's 57 and 108.  I'd like to get my HDL over 60 and my LDL down a little, but I've been told I'm in the safe range.
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Avatar universal
Should I try to increase my HDL to above 40?  Since my HDL ratio is less than 3.5 is that enough protection for my heart?
Helpful - 0
242509 tn?1196922598
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
You can increase your HDL by one drink of red wine daily, by taking medications such as Niacin or Gemfibrozil, or by continued aerobic exercise. I would make sure that the protein shakes do not contain any anabolic steroids or their derivatives (DHEA, etc), as this can seriously lower you hdl, and increase the risk for coronary atherosclerosis. The crestor usually lowers LDL by 20%, and also tends to increase HDL in small amounts, but in your case it had the opposite effect on the HDL; it is not clear why this happenned.
The original publication on mevacor showed that the intestinal cells of rats became hypertrophied and looked cancerous macroscopically, but when seen under microscope actually simply contained cholesterol and other fatty acids. These cells were not cancerous, and there has been no evidence of cancer linked to low HDL, although advanced cancer can through hormonal dis-regulation, malnourishment and chemotherapy lower both LDL and HDL.
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