Well, I promised to give everyone the update to my cholesterol screening numbers, so here it is. As you may remember from my previous post regarding cholesterol, my numbers were fairly high by the current standards of the medical community. Although, with keto, cholesterol readings tend to be a bit higher than average because our bodies run on fat. Since keto is a high fat way of eating, it is undoubtedly floating around in our bloodstream more so than with the Standard American diet (SAD). If you haven’t yet read my initial post regarding cholesterol, I encourage you to do so here.
So let’s have a short recap. My cholesterol numbers have always run high, like close to 300, at least during the past ten years or so when I began getting them tested. I started following a ketogenic diet in June of 2017. I was curious what effect, if any, keto was having on my numbers. My doctor ran some blood work on me in September of 2017. My numbers were alarmingly high still and he wanted to put me on a statin immediately. Here are the “normal ranges” in the opinion of current medical thinking:
Here are my results in 9/2017:
- Total-289
- LDL-193
- VLDL-30
- Triglycerides-148
- HDL-66
Pretty scary, right? Luckily, I have an amazing doctor who is both willing to listen and willing to trust me when I say that keto can fix this. We agreed to retest in 3 months and I was on my merry way.
In December of 2017, I again went in for blood work. And again, my doctor was concerned for my health because my results still showed what he believed to be a very unhealthy level of cholesterol. These were my numbers:
- Total-296
- LDL-165
- VLDL-21
- Triglycerides-104
- HDL-110
While I understand my doc’s perspective, look at those numbers in comparison to the first set. All the “bad” cholesterol decreased, while the “good” went through the roof. I call that progress. Still referring to my cholesterol as “disgustingly high”, my very understanding doctor agreed to yet another retest in three months.
So here we are in April 2018. It’s time to shit or get off the pot right? I was a bit nervous but also confident, as I know that keto works. The changes I have experienced in all areas of my life over the past 10 months have convinced me of that much. Doc comes in with this half grin-half smirk on his face, and I already had my answer. Painfully, I pried each number out of him.
- Total-240
- LDL-135
- VLDL-20
- Triglycerides-99
- HDL-85
Well, well, well, will you lookee here. Not too shabby for a girl who just 6 months ago would have been put on some serious meds. I asked him if this were the first time we tested, would he want to put me on medication? His answer, no. This was straight keto people, no meds, no other life changes. I brought my cholesterol from alarmingly high, to normal IN SIX MONTHS WITH ZERO DRUGS. Can you say keto for the win? I am over the moon with these results. Not to mention the laundry list of other health benefits I have reaped from this lifestyle.
Was it hard to start and adjust to? Yup. Is it challenging even now at times to sustain? Yup. Would I ever go back to how I lived before? No freaking way.
Keto has been documented to reverse not only high cholesterol, but high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, arthritis, brain fog, joint pain, depression, fatigue, and so much more.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Be well.
~nicole