cholesterol

[franceslee]

How do I know if my test was good??

Total 182
Tri 188
Hdl 31
Ldl 113

Please help me to know what this means an what I should do...  

[franceslee]

I'm going to try to make myself start walking so I can try to get my health better. With my anxiety I'm just so yucky feeling everyday an can't get the get up to do much of anything....

[ed34]

Not just exercise will get the levels better. The exercise will increase your HDL and this will reduce fat stored in the body as reserves, but it won't decrease the LDL in your blood. Little is known about this mechanism except that diet has a big impact on some people, but very little on others. The Liver has the ability to manufacture fats whether you eat them or not. You have done well with the exercise and to have lost 24 pounds. If you want to lower your LDL, you should try diet first. Cut right back on red meat and saturated fat foods, such as butter and milk etc. Go for the low fat varieties. Eat lots of fruit and veg. Fish is very good for you, it gets lots into your body compared to taking supplements and so do nuts. Read the labels for salt content, reduce your intake to no more than 6g a day. If the label says 1g of sodium, this is basically 2g of salt. You will be surprised how much we consume, and this of course raises blood pressure.
In about 6 months, have another fasting lipid blood test. If your lipids haven't changed, then due to family history your Doctor may want to get you on statins. Statins are particularly good with people that have high blood pressure because they have anti inflammatory properties, helping the arteries not to get over stressed.
A lot of light has recently been thrown into the functions of our bodies regarding genes. They took several sets of identical twins where one was obese and one was thin. They found a group of genes which were switched on in one twin, but not the other, yet up until the age of 30, they were both thin. One twin went through a period of family stress, and this seemed to switch the genes. Those genes will also be passed on to her offspring. It has been shown that the environment and even the way we feel can switch groups of genes on and off, which was regarded as impossible just a few years ago. Now they just have to figure out how to switch certain genes off, including the ones for heart disease. They have also discovered 2 hormones, one is the hunger hormone and one is the full hormone. When we get hungry, the hunger hormone levels are high and we consume food. The Stomach tells the brain to then produce full hormones which tell us to stop eating. Obese people have been found to have normal hunger hormones, but the full hormones are always low, so they keep eating. I think there will be some huge advances in medicine in the next few years.

[erijon]

Your numbers are not too bad, however your HDL should be over 50 so that needs some attention. HDL (good Cholesterol) binds with LDL (bad cholesterol) to take it back to the liver to be removed or recycled. You should ask your doctor about Omega 3 fatty acids which help increase HDL as can Niacin. Also, exercise increases HDL, but please talk to your doctor before you start a new exercise routine.

Good luck,

Jon

[franceslee]

I have high blood pressure an pre diabetic.  My grandparents have heart problems.  I am overweight but have lost 24 pounds an am trying to exercise at least 3 days a week.  How long does it take to get the levels better?

[ed34]

These are your lipid counts and lipids are basically transports which carry fats around in your blood stream for the body to use. Whether the results are good, depends if you have heart disease. If you don't have heart disease, then your levels are absolutely fine. If you are at risk of heart disease (family history etc) then they are a tiny bit high, but really not much. If you have heart disease then you need to alter your diet and try to drive the LDL/TRI down and the HDL up. Not knowing your health, I can't really say much more than that.