Test Item “Normal” Range 01/09/09 05/04/09 09/28/09
Glucose, Serum (mg/dL) 65-99 89 102 86
Cholesterol, Total (mg/dL) 100-199 262 201 192
Triglycerides (mg/dL) 0-149 108 96 99
HDL Cholesterol (mg/dL) >39 40 41 43
VLDL Cholesterol Calc (mg/dL) 5-40 22 19 20
LDL Cholesterol Calc – “Friedewald” (mg/dL) [1][3] 0-99 200.40 140.80 129.20
LDL Cholesterol Calc – “Iranian” (mg/dL) [2][3] 0-99 202.65 144.16 136.36
HDL/LDL Ratio – “Friedewald” — 0.200 0.291 0.333
HDL/LDL Ratio – “Iranian” — 0.197 0.284 0.315
Triglycerides/HDL Ratio [4] <5.00 2.70 2.34 2.30
C-reactive Protein (mg/L) [5] 0.0-4.9 0.3 1.4 0.3

[1] Friedewald method described here: http://www.clinchem.org/cgi/content/abstract/18/6/499

[2] Iranian method described here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18426324

[3] Calculator available: http://homepages.slingshot.co.nz/~geoff36/LDL_mg.htm

[4] This is based upon information found in The 6-Week Cure from Drs. Michael and Mary Dan Eades. From the book: The most meaningful lipid value predictor of heart disease risk is clearly the ratio of triglycerides divided by HDL. A number over 5 warns of increased risk; a number below 5 is a good sign, and the further below, the better.

[5] C-reactive protein is a measure of inflammation in the body: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-reactive_protein

Note: I started these posts before I started reading Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes. I’ve never been overly concerned by cholesterol numbers, but I care even less now. I will, however, continue to track my numbers. Mainly so people will be able to see what eating a high fat (50-65%) diet will do to these numbers. By the way, one of my favorite cheat snacks is one serving (4 sqaures) of a Lindt 90% cocoa “Supreme Dark” chocolate with two tablespoons of coconut oil. That is a 470 kcal snack that is 48g (85%) fat (37g of that is saturated), 14g (11%) carbs, and 5g (4%) protein. Side note, I love coconut oil. I put it on everything.

Note: Prior to my blood test in May, I had not been eating well or working out. In fact, I had been sick off and on (more on than off) since November ‘08. I’ve been paleo-esque for about a month now and trying to hold to a stricter paleo diet going forward from here. We’ll see what the numbers show…

Note 10/7/09: Supposedly C-reactive protein (CRP) is also an indicator of heart disease… at least that’s what my doctor thinks. I’ve got to wonder though. If my total cholesterol was 262 mg/dL which the AHA says is “high risk”, that must mean my risk of heart disease was elevated. If that’s the case, shouldn’t my CRP have been elevated? Oh well, I’ll track it anyway just for the fun of it. If fat, especially saturated fat, is bad, then my cholesterol should go up which should start hurting my heart and cause my CRP to elevate. We shall see.

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