Awesome. My Zero Carb Life: "As it turns out, your “total cholesterol” number seems to have only marginal value when it comes to making those predictions. People with high total cholesterol numbers aren’t any more likely to have a heart attack than those with low total cholesterol. It’s been researched and studied and proven. Seriously, Google it.
And if you’re wondering why so many people are on statin drugs to lower their cholesterol, if after all it is indeed a meaningless number, you should know that statins are a $29 B-B-B-BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY. There is CRAZY money to be lost if people stop believing that cholesterol is bad for you. And, in case you haven’t noticed, business people don’t like to lose money. (Here’s a very helpful article about the great cholesterol myth: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/02/01/29-billion-reasons-to-lie-about-cholesterol.aspx )
In my research, I found article after article stating that I really need to know only a few things when it comes to my bloodwork, and none of them include the “total cholesterol” number.
1) Blood sugar. Blood sugar numbers should remain steady throughout the day. Steady, level, not-high, not-low blood sugar numbers allow the body to lose weight and are a very good sign for overall health. Somewhere around 80-100 is where most people end up if they eat a diet that is free from carbs and sugars.
2) The Triglyceride/HDL Ratio. THIS IS A BIG ONE. Your triglyceride number divided by your HDL number is the absolute greatest indicator of your risk for heart disease. Here is an article explaining why: http://www.docsopinion.com/2014/07/17/triglyceride-hdl-ratio/
If you want to focus on any one number when you have blood work done, make it this one. The goal is to get that ratio number as low as you possibly can. To do that, you want your triglycerides low and your HDL (deemed “good cholesterol”) to be high. A ratio of less than two is desirable. Anything above four is statistically a very bad sign that you may be at risk for heart disease. (For further reading: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2664115/)"
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