The story on Nightline shows me getting my cholesterol tested. The actual results are shown below.
As I explain in my book, neither total cholesterol nor LDL-C turn out not to be very reliable predictors of heart-attack risk in the great majority of people. More reliable biomarkers are a combination of HDL-C, triglycerides, LDL particle number and LDL size.
MY CHOLESTEROL TEST MARCH 1998
View the Canyon Ranch test laboratory report.
Total cholesterol 188 mg/dL
LDL-C 104 mg/dL
HDL-C 62 mg/dL
Triglycerides 134 mg/dL
This test was done when I was at Canyon Ranch, a health spa that emphasized a very low-fat diet. At that point, I had been eating a near-vegetarian diet and exercised (running, biking) for about an hour a day.
MY CHOLESTEROL TEST for Nightline, MAY 2014
View the 2014 Cholesterol Tests laboratory report.
Traditional biomarkers:
Total cholesterol 205 mg/dL
LDL-C 110 mg/dL
HDL-C 82 mg/dL
Triglycerides 67 mg/dL
New (better) biomarkers:
LDL-P (particle number) 1179 umol/L
LDL size 21.6 nm (Large–Pattern A)
Small LDL-P 99 umol/L
HDL-P 40.1 umol/L
All my current numbers look great. My diet is probably about 60% fat (plenty of it saturated), 25% protein and 15% carbohydrates, but that’s really just an estimate. On exercise: I haven’t had time for it over the past year since I’ve been working so hard on my book, but I am planning to get back into the habit.
Both sets of results look OK, but my current ones look better. My HDL-C and triglycerides have clearly improved. For women, a high total cholesterol is associated with longer life (despite what you’ve heard…), so my level, around 200 mg/dL, seems just fine.
I was a victim of the low fat diet’s and the push to eat more wheat. Luckily, my body pushed back and gave me celiac, which was fine as it saved my thyroid. Your diet you state is aprox 60% fat (plenty of it saturated), 25% protein and 15% , Would you mind giving an idea what an average day is for you? It is really hard to change what was feed to us for so long. I was always a big meat eater, not so much a veg one- I am working on that. It feels great to drink whole milk, eat seeds and nuts again and though I crave ice cream at times I get low carb ( not healthy ingredients, but it is what it is for now). I do wish that you would write a recipe/ diet for life type book based on your research.
I will try to do that. Many have asked the same…. Switching over to low-carb is a process and takes time to find new foods and lose one’s taste for old ones. I agree low-carb ice cream is pretty bad! Try whip cream with a touch of artificial sweetener. That might hit the spot..