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cholesterol question

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burt

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I have fought High (bad) choleserol for years. Trying to aboid medicinal drugs, I went on a very strict dieat = NO SAT FATS. It took cholesterol way down! (although NOT where I wanted them)
I am very active (play pickleball 3-5X per week) Im 65 yrs old, 6'1", 274lbs. Yes, I smoke cigars (dont inhale), and do drink a LOT of fluid...mainly light beer. But during ALL of my "dieting", I NEVER gave up my little addition to lip balm...
Is there any way possible, that lip balm, could possibly be absorded into the mouth/lips to increase cholesterol levels????
 
I went on a very strict dieat = NO SAT FATS.
Highly Unlikely

It is highly unlikely that you are consuming "No Saturated Fats".

Saturated Fats usually a percentage of all fats.

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It took cholesterol way down!

Dropped What Down?

A Blood Lipid Panel is composed of:

1) Total Cholesterol

This number alone mean nothing.

It is the total of: HDL + LDL + (Triglycerides divided by 5)

The importance of Total Cholesterol is in determining something something know as your Remanent Cholesterol Number.

2) HDL

This is a meaningful stand alone number. Usually, a higher number is good.

3) LDL

LDL is necessarily good or bad.

What determines if you are in the good or bad zone is which you have a greater percentage of...

a) Good Particle A LDL

or

b) Bad Particle B LDL

There is a test that will determine this. However, physician don't tell you about it.

Also, insurance usually does not cover it.

However, it can pretty much be determine by your HDL:Triglyceride Ratio.

If you know your HDL and Triglyceride Numbers, you can get a good idea of where you are.

4) Triglycerides

This is a stand alone number that is very important.

A high reading isn't good.

It usually means they you consuming too many carbohydrates.

65 yrs old, 6'1", 274lbs.

Decreasing Bofy Weight

Decreasing you body weight will improve you Cholesterol Number.

Knowing How To Interpret A Blood Profile

Many individual, as well as physicians, don't know how to interpret a Blood Lipid Profile.

Part of interpreting a Blood Profile is understanding the relationship between certain numbers.

s there any way possible, that lip balm, could possibly be absorded into the mouth/lips to increase cholesterol levels????

No
 
This is one of those "third rail" topics, but here are my 2 cents.

There are MANY opinions and theories on the risk cholesterol poses but none are fact. The French Paradox as well as the lack of reduction in heart attack deaths despite the nationwide push for non-fat foods and 221,000,000 statin prescriptions (back in 2005) seem to argue against cholesterol as the culprit it's been accused of being.

Traditional cardiologists will want to put you on a statin to lower your overall cholesterol, but the cholesterol question is no longer "good" vs "bad" cholesterol. There's good and bad "good" cholesterol and vice versa. The other end of the cardiology spectrum is the "integrative" cardiologist. They are harder to find but worth investigating. Some people to read for dissenting opinions:
  • Jonny Bowden
  • Gary Taubes
  • Chris Kresser
  • Paul Saladino
I'm sure there are many others. Enjoy the deep dive...
 
To add to all the good replies here:

IMO, the gold standard is the CT Scan for Coronary Calcium. What's bad about cholesterol is buildup in your coronary arteries, and this test addresses that. You can read about it here: Heart scan (coronary calcium scan) - Mayo Clinic

NB: I have always had high total cholesterol but have also always had a lot of the "good" kind and good ratios. I've taken the above-mentioned test twice, once at age 46 because that is the age my father was when he had a heart attack, and again at age 64 just because I thought it was time to see where I was. I scored a zero, the best possible score, both times, and thus have been able to convince my doctors that my high total cholesterol wasn't a cause for concern.

As @John Spezzano mentions, there are varying opinions on total cholesterol. I was 46 twenty years ago, and then, opinions were quite conservative and I had to request, and pay for myself, to have this test done. The second time, insurance covered it.

@burt, get the test done.

-S-
 
I think he is saying that drinking the booze and eating highly palatable foods increases it quickly and easily.

But not sure why he is lumping in all “carbs”. Whole food plant based diets are shown to improve these numbers amazingly well and are mostly carb based.
 
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