Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I thought I was pretty strict with my diet (90/10 for a year of no dairy, grains, lentils, soy or seed oils, limited fruit) until THIS came back. I'll start a food log immediately, but in the mean time anybody have any insight or resources for this? T1D runs in my paternal family, so the glucose being over 89 freaks me out, and my dr is having palpitations over the LDL. Liver function could come from either one. Or is there some other trigger I should be looking for?

FASTED bloodwork:

* Glucose 97 mg/dl
* uric acid 4.8 mg/dl
* yGT (GGT) 11 U/l
* lipase 35 U/l
* iron 113 µg/dl
* Ferritin 136 µg/l
* creatinine 0.9 mg.dl
* GFR(kidney function) 83 ml/min/1.73qm
* Vit D 52 mnol/l

Total cholesterol 341 mg/dl

* Triglycerides 91 mg/dl
* HDL 62
* LDL 270

Thyroid panel

* Free T3 2.7 pg.ml
* Free T4 1.4 ng/dl
* TSH (basal) 2.76 mlU/l
* TPO 15 U/ml (note: this is referred to as Thyreoperioxidase-AAK in the lab report)
* TSH receptor AKK (TRAK) negative

flag	asked Dec 1 2011 at 9:16 LaurenM 419●1●5

	Check THIS out: Eur J Endocrinol February 1, 2006 154 333-340 (N=1200) "Unexplained hepatic iron overload with increased serum ferritin (SF) values has been associated with the insulin resistance syndrome (IRS), defined by the presence of one or more of the following criteria: increased body mass index (BMI > 25 kg/m2), diabetes, hyperlipidemia (> 200 mg/dl) or systolic hypertension (> 160 mmHg). Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between the number of IRS criteria and SF." My BMI is 23, blood pressure low. – LaurenM Dec 1 2011 at 17:07
	Given your family history and these labs, it would be helpful if you could post a retro food log for a few days that is representative of what you've been eating, how often and in what quantities, over this time period, as well with notations for any signifcant changes you have made in macros throughout and specific foods representative of those macros. – Atkins-witha-loincloth Dec 3 2011 at 5:34
	A ferritin level of 136 µg/L is absolutely nothing to be concerned about (in Canada, the upper limit of the reference range was raised to 400 µg/L recently -- probably because iron-deficient people were being denied treatment based on ferritin levels inflated due to inflammation). Was it flagged? – Stephen Nov 3 at 14:24

Jeff · Answer 1 · 2011-12-01 15:59:04Z UTC

This may make you feel better about your cholesterol at least.... http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2753.2011.01767.x/full

Among women, cholesterol had an inverse association with all-cause mortality as well as CVD mortality. The association with IHD mortality was not linear but seemed to follow a ‘U-shaped’ curve, with the highest mortality below 193 mg/dl and greater than 270 mg/dl.

Having cholesterol levels above 213 mg/dl was not associated with increased mortality, either among smokers or among non-smokers.

Conclusion: Our study provides an updated epidemiological indication of possible errors in the CVD risk algorithms of many clinical guidelines. If our findings are generalizable, clinical and public health recommendations regarding the ‘dangers’ of cholesterol should be revised. This is especially true for women, for whom moderately elevated cholesterol (by current standards) may prove to be not only harmless but even beneficial.

With that being said, your numbers do seem high. A food log will be helpful for people here to give suggestions/comments. Good job on the vit D and HDL! Is that with vit D supplements?

Albert · Answer 2 · 2011-12-01 13:13:22Z UTC

No expert here, but your triglycerides could be better -- shoot for ~45 (even though your numbers fall within the "reference range" -- which is no more than a big average). Also, I've heard that an optimal trig:HDL ratio is around 1:1 -- and you'd be there if HDL came up a little and trigs went down.

The LDL number is high -- but you may naturally just produce more cholesterol. Like overall cholesterol, as I understand it, there is "good" and "bad" LDL. You should have a particle density size test done (NMR or VAP) to see what your ratio is of good:bad LDL. Your HDL "good" cholesterol number is good.

Do you take fish oil? If you do, it can spike LDL -- but it also improves the so-called "good" cholesterol. I wonder if your omega 6:3 ratio is off. Are you focusing on eating clean meats? Otherwise, how do you feel? What is your activity level, and how is your performance?

I've been battling this genetic predisposition to high cholesterol my whole life -- runs in the family, and started taking a statin at age 35. My latest bloodwork is the best I've ever seen it -- and it's after almost a year of doing what you describe (90% paleo), plus CrossFit 4X/wk -- and I'd stopped taking my statin for 2 months to get a "true" read. Prior to this, the last time I saw my GP, my numbers had improved as a result of CF and diet changes (I was still taking the statin at the time), and all he had to say was, "your numbers are good -- you're responding well to the medication" -- with absolutely NO consideration for anything else I was doing differently! Totally annoyed me! Point being, don't freak out -- but keep an eye on things. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like a lot of docs have a real deep understanding of the cholesterol picture.

Good luck!

LaurenM · Answer 3 · 2012-01-11 15:44:20Z UTC

Food log from the week after I posted this:

B'fst: 2 Weisswurst w mustard, Lunch: salad w egg, olive oil, Snack: herbal tea, 1/4 c plain yogurt, cashews. Dinner: 250 roasted chestnuts, 1/2 mug hot cider (working at the Christmas market) then later: leftover russian salad.

B'fst: Hatcho miso soup w egg & kimchi. Lunch: turkey breast w saurkraut. Snack: homemade coconut maccaroons. Supper: veggie soup in duck broth, slice chestnut cake (grain & dairy free, homemade, 1" wide wedge.)

B'fst: leftover turkey & sauerkraut, 1/2 cup of coffee. Lunch: meatballs (cont'd rice & veg) in tomato/pepper sauce. Snack: 2x 1" wedges chestnut cake. Supper: 250g roasted chestnuts, 1/2 mug cider, 2 squares 90% chocolate (Christmas market again).

B'fst: skipped. Lunch: turkey stirfry, salad. Snack: 2 sp 90% chocolate, coffee (party). Supper: 450g steak w butter, salad, 1 glass champagne.

B'fst: 2 eggs, 2 strips bacon, black tea. Lunch: 2 handfuls cashews & cranberries. Supper: spinach shrimp frittata, salad.

B'fst: skipped. Luch: turkey veg stirfry w kimchi, herbal tea. Snack: veg soup in duck broth, cashews & cranberries. Supper: broccoli soup, green tea, 2 sp chocolate.

B'fst skipped. Lunch: boiled pork & sauerkraut, coffee. Supper: sauteed spinach, mushrooms & garlic (meat was yucky, picked it out). 2 toffees (damned advents calendar!)

B'fst: skipped. Lunch: donair meat, salad, coffee (exam prep at school). snack: chicken broth, herbal tea. Supper: mixed salad, venison roast w gravy and mashed parsnips. Later: chocolate.

Please note that I a) am pretty sedentary, b) may have a dark chocolate problem, and c) would say that week was unusually lean, even for me.

Fasted glucose, ferritin, LDL all high - where does the circle start?

3 Answers