Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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An intriguing twist has entered into my previously mentioned high LDL cholesterol situation:

http://paleohacks.com/questions/67905/skyrocketing-ldl-at-313-concerns#axzz1eBZAk3W7

It turns out I’ve also got a H. pylori infection which has been causing havoc in my system. A bit of searching on the net and it seems H.pylori that there are potential links to so many diseases from Alzheimer's to cancer.

And low and behold, it has also been linked to high LDL:

http://jkms.org/DOIx.php?id=10.3346/jkms.2011.26.5.654

I posted a comment on Paul Jaminet's Perfect Health Diet blog and Paul responded with some more studies in his reply:

http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?p=4457&cpage=2#comment-38715

Now I've just checked Paleohacks and AdrianaG has just made a comment about her infection with h.pylori and high LDL in the following thread:

http://paleohacks.com/questions/78030/is-high-cholesterol-a-sign-of-systemic-inflammation-and-what-to-do-about-it#axzz1eBZAk3W7

A point to note is that I also have a normal TSH but low T3 and high rT3 which is also associated with high LDL. I wonder if h.pylori could be impacting on conversion of T4 to T3 and increasing the LDL that way or whether it is something more direct.

Maybe my period of VLC provided the right environment for an explosion of h.pylori. Based on my life's symptoms I believe I have probably been infected for decades and it has been suggested that most infections occur in childhood.

You can test for h.pylori by blood test or breath test. I had the blood test which I believe is cheaper.

Are there any other Paleo Hackers out there who have high LDL and have been tested for h.pylori?

It would be awesome if you have high LDL if you could have a blood test for h.pylori to see if this is not the underlying cause behind VLC and the extremely high LDL. It is estimated that around 25 to 30% of the population (in Australia where I live) has h.pylori infection. So that could possibly explain why VLC Paleo seems to raise LDL in a percentage of us.

If you do get tested and you haven't already, it would also be good to test for free T3, free T4 and rT3. You probably need to insist your doctor do this as they tend to want to only test for TSH which will likely be in lab range anyway.

Please find this thread again and post your results when tested.

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks.

flag	asked Nov 19 2011 at 21:15 PrimalAspie 279●1●8

This is an excellent question. I went VLC and developed heartburn and suspected a link to h.pylori. I ended up taking active manuka honey for a couple months and it really seemed to help, but then I stopped taking it in february. Docs usually treat HP with PPI or ant-acids, which do not help. – Jack Kronk Nov 19 2011 at 23:09

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Actually the usual conventional treatment for h.pylori is a course of 2 antibiotics plus a PPI for 5 to 7 days. It has about an 80% success rate. I am taking this path - I want to be totally rid of it and am prepared to go with antibiotics to achieve that goal. – PrimalAspie Nov 20 2011 at 2:29

I would take antibiotics before PPI. I think antibiotics are usually a last resort. But in some cases, I would do it too and just work hard to restore my gut afterward. Let's put it this way, if antibiotics could help me, I'd take em with the swiftness. – Jack Kronk Nov 20 2011 at 8:27

AdrianaG · Answer 1 · 2011-11-20 02:32:22Z UTC

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I have somewhat high LDL of 180 and was diagnosed with H. Pylori and a non-candida yeast/fungus overgrowth. Treated both over the course of a month and got rid of the pylori but not the yeast/fungus. LDL levels did not improve. Am continuing with revised treatment and will be retesting in another couple of weeks. Dr K has been monitoring my labs and thinks the high LDL and high FBG are due to gut issues. Stay posted...

I suspect the h. Pylori had not be cleared long enough to be reflected in LDL - i'm guessing I should give it 4-6weeks.

edited Nov 20 2011 at 2:32

answered Nov 20 2011 at 2:19

AdrianaG
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	Adriana - "gut issues" could be very correct, but remember that H.pylori has a profound impact on your gut. – Jack Kronk Nov 20 2011 at 2:22
	Exactly...I know. – AdrianaG Nov 20 2011 at 2:33
	Adriana - have you had your free T3 and rT3 tested? I'm intrigued as to whether low T3 goes hand in hand with h.pylori. Have you been re-tested for h.pylori to confirm you are definitely rid of it? - this should be done with a breath test and at least 4 weeks after treatment (blood test is no good as antibodies can remain in blood for a long time). – PrimalAspie Nov 20 2011 at 5:04
	I have not had T3 and rT3 tested. Yes I had the Metametrix GI Effects stool test done which showed up 0 for h. Pylori. – AdrianaG Nov 20 2011 at 6:26

AdrianaG · Answer 2 · 2011-11-20 15:01:16Z UTC

Whatever treatment you decide on, I highly recommend that you combine it with Interfase Plus which will break up any biofilm. I followed the biofilm protocol developed by Dr. Anju Usman http://thinkfamily.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Biofilm-Protocol.pdf. I followed the simplified protocol on page 4. And got great results.

I got the Interfase Plus on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Klaire-Labs-InterFase-Plus-Caps/dp/B002MQMA2G/ref=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1321801247&sr=1-1

Perry · Answer 3 · 2012-11-07 21:39:01Z UTC

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Any updates on your status'?

answered Nov 7 at 21:39

Perry
11●1

Lazza · Answer 4 · 2012-11-07 22:25:53Z UTC

Shortly after I had blood work (LDL=68) I was diagnosed with an H. pylori infection. I did the multiple antibiotic plus PPI treatment - truly awful. My IBS completed cleared within a couple of months (!). Although I have not had my cholesterol levels checked since the treatment I would be surprised if it changed much. Going completely Paleo early this year caused my total cholesterol level and LDL level to drop 10-15% despite being infected with H. pylori (...I probably had the bacteria for as long as I had IBS, which was several years).

Not sure if there is a thyroid connection either. Part of my blood work included a thyroid level check, my first ever. Although my free T4 was normal my TSH was 5.86 (normal 0.5 - 4.5). After H. pylori eradication my free T4 dropped (still in a comfortable range) and my TSH dropped to 5.36. I'm not so sure this is a significant decrease, and I am even less sure it has anything to do with H. pylori eradication. At this point I am not on thyroid meds since I am really not suffering from any overt hypothyroid symptoms. My next check is in February. If my TSH goes in the wrong direction I will ask for a full thyroid panel, which will include a free T3 test.

But based on my experience I can only recommend:

1) Get tested for H. pylori if you have any sort of digestion complaint (reflux, IBS, ..). IMHO the bacteria is nasty enough to warrant the megadoses of antibiotics to get rid of it.

2) Although testing of thyroid levels is probably normal procedure for women, most especially for post-menopausal women, I am proof that an otherwise healthy man also can suffer from thyroid abnormalities. Guys, get your thyroid tested every five years starting at age 40. A wonky thyroid can lead to all sorts of seemingly strange symptoms (eg, digestion problems, low libido). I got my first thyroid test at age 55, which is WAY too late.

_Lazza

H. pylori and high LDL cholesterol link

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