High LDL is "safe" if this other number is within range. Why looking at oxidized LDL matters. What test you need to ask your doctor for and here are the functional ranges for that test.
Look at these lab test numbers together and know the functional range of this test. Can HDL be too high?
Don’t look at LDL in isolation.
This 18:56-minute video regarding cholesterol was very eye-opening. After listening, I went down a bit of a rabbit hole listening to similar videos listed underneath this one at the YouTube link.
One of the reasons I am so fascinated with cholesterol and the myths that surround it is because most people have it so engrained that cholesterol is “bad and dangerous,” and often, the medical and mainstream news establishment promotes this belief.
Even people who are very health conscious struggle to believe anything other than what they have been told about cholesterol, such as that LDL is bad cholesterol and a high LDL and TC are dangerous and unhealthy. The marketing surrounding this belief has been so powerful.
Think about it.
Drug companies often spend more money promoting and marketing their drug than they do on their research studies. This study found that during COV!D-19, 7 out of 10 big pharmaceutical companies spent more on sales and marketing than on research and development.
All paid subscribers receive supplement and consult discounts
Takeaways from the video below with Dr. Paul Saladino
LDL plays a positive functional role in the body, including playing a role in steroid hormones
Think of LDL as a bus that carries cholesterol
Cholesterol is essential for human life
Studies indicate that people with the highest LDL have longer life span
Population studies: Break the cohort down, and a pattern emerges that people with greater insulin resistance also have lower HDL. Subfraction the study by HDL and people with the lowest HDL will have insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes.
Your doctor should check your fasting insulin and look at that in context with the lipid panel.
Population studies indicate that for persons with high (in range) HDL and low triglycerides but with high LDL, there is no relationship between high LDL and CVD in these people.
If you have not had a heart attack, there is not a lot of data to support statin use.
If you are metabolically healthy and have elevated LDL, it is not a risk factor for CVD, but if you have insulin resistance and elevated LDL, you do have CVD risk.
If you have type 2 diabetes and high LDL, fix the insulin resistance first.
Eating less meat can reduce LDL, even consuming canola oil will lower LDL but oxidized LDL goes up when you eat these polyunsaturated fats and Lp (a) will go up but LDL will go down-loook at oxidized LDL not LDL. (what he is saying here is that even if you switch over to oxidized oils such as canola and soybean, it may look like your LDL is improving since the number is going down, but if you perform an advanced lipid panel, you may find that much of this LDL is oxidized).
My comments on the Dr. Saladino video
Polyunsaturated fats versus saturated fats:
Polyunsaturated fats that are best avoided include soybean, safflower, and corn. Some healthier foods that contain polyunsaturated fats include walnuts and raw sunflower seeds.
I remember which fats are saturated because I think “SATurated fats SAT on the counter and stay solid.” Saturated fats are usually solid at room temperature and include meat, lard, tallow, cheese, butter, and coconut oil.
Fasting insulin versus fasting glucose:
A fasting insulin test is different from a fasting glucose test. While you often see your fasting glucose test result on your labs, it may be rare to see a fasting insulin marker on the lab work your doctor has ordered.
You will have to ask for a fasting insulin test!
A fasting glucose test will measure blood glucose levels while fasting and can detect hypo or hyperglycemia. Glucose, a simple sugar, provides energy to your cells, especially the brain and muscle cells. If glucose remains elevated in the blood, it can lead to damaging effects on proteins, cells, tissues, and blood vessels, ultimately resulting in chronic health issues such as diabetes, CVD, and kidney failure.
Insulin is a pancreatic hormone that helps to regulate blood glucose levels by promoting glucose absorption into the cells. If the fasting insulin is elevated, this is associated with type 2 diabetes. It is best to look at both fasting glucose and fasting insulin.
Optimal ranges for fasting insulin
The standard fasting insulin range is 2-18.4 uIU/ml (13. 89-127.78 pmol/L)
The functional (optimal from a holistic and functional perspective) range for fasting insulin is 2-5 uIU/mL (13.89-34.72 pmol/L)
Can HDL be too high?
Yes, it can! You want your lab numbers to be balanced, not too high or too low.
For instance, a new study indicated that in adults 65 and older, an HDL score of over 80 mg/dL had a 27% greater risk of dementia. The study also suggested that research already exists linking high HDL to all-cause mortality, age-related macular degeneration, sepsis, and fractures.
So perhaps instead of looking to see if HDL is greater than 55, we should look to see if HDL is in the range of 55 to 80 mg/dL. Currently, the functional range that I look at is 55 mg/dL to 93 mg/dl, but perhaps this range should be narrowed down at least in adults 65 and older.
All paid subscribers receive supplement and consult discounts!
Sources
Katz, A., Nambi, S. S., Mather, K., Baron, A. D., Follmann, D. A., Sullivan, G., & Quon, M. J. (2000). Quantitative insulin sensitivity check index: a simple, accurate method for assessing insulin sensitivity in humans. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 85(7), 2402–2410. https://doi.org/10.1210/jcem.85.7.6661
Weatherby, D. & Ferguson, S. (2002). Blood chemistry and CBC analysis. Clinical laboratory testing from a functional perspective. Bear Mountain Publishing.