Statins and Cholesterol

They say as l wont take statins l am at higher risk one of the q was do you take statins...and explosion kicked off.

Everyone is trying to make money ....

I do,take statins ...was a 7 now I am a 3
I am fine with this for now ....  

If statins are indicated and are working, that's great. It's when they're prescribed just as a precaution that is not always a good idea.

My total cholesterol is:
HDL 1.3
LDL 6
Triglycerides 0.61
Don't know how to work out ratios.   

Scandichic wrote:My total cholesterol is:
HDL 1.3
LDL 6
Triglycerides 0.61
Don't know how to work out ratios.   

Hi Scandi!

After entering your results into an online calculator it came back with the following results...

Your Total Cholesterol/HDL ratio is: 5.83 - (preferably under 5.0, ideally under 3.5) AT RISK

Your HDL/LDL ratio is: 0.217 - (preferably over 0.3, ideally over 0.4) AT RISK

Your triglycerides/HDL ratio is: 1.074 - (preferably under 4, ideally under 2) IDEAL

paul1976 wrote:

Scandichic wrote:My total cholesterol is:
HDL 1.3
LDL 6
Triglycerides 0.61
Don't know how to work out ratios.   

Hi Scandi!

After entering your results into an online calculator it came back with the following results...

Your Total Cholesterol/HDL ratio is: 5.83 - (preferably under 5.0, ideally under 3.5) AT RISK


Your HDL/LDL ratio is: 0.217 - (preferably over 0.3, ideally over 0.4) AT RISK

Your triglycerides/HDL ratio is: 1.074 - (preferably under 4, ideally under 2) IDEAL

Many thanks to the gentleman in the top hat!
Still don't want to take statins! Horrendous effect on memory and I'm blonde as it is so I need all the help I can get!

This article of Zoe Harcombe's has an interesting section on how they keep moving the goalposts on what is "normal" cholesterol:

http://www.zoeharcombe.com/2014/06/diabetes-cholesterol-bp-normal-is-no-longer-normal/

What would you consider acceptable levels Indy ? Must admit, my knowledge of cholesterol is pretty poor.

mo1905 wrote:What would you consider acceptable levels Indy ? Must admit, my knowledge of cholesterol is pretty poor.

I'm not really bothered by cholesterol levels - I figure my body wants them at the level they are for a reason. More and more it seems that higher levels as we age are protective, so I'm not gonna stress about it. My trigs/HDL ratio is excellent and most experts seem to say that's the one that really counts.

Part of my initial diagnosis was also hypothyroidism and high cholesterol is linked to that - my thyroid levels are fine now that I've lost weight and changed my diet. Mostly I just think the whole cholesterol thing is a red herring.

mo1905 wrote:I'm not really bothered by cholesterol levels - I figure my body wants them at the level they are for a reason. More and more it seems that higher levels as we age are protective, so I'm not gonna stress about it.

I have come around to this way of thinking also. My goal is to manage my BG which causes glycation of not only hemoglobin*, but lipids and other cells and proteins as well and it is this glycation that may be the real source of heart disease. I also think that oxidation also plays a role so that it is important reduce polyunsaturated fats in your diet.  

For me the most upsetting aspect of my cholesterol levels is that my doctor really really seems to believe that I should take a statin to lower my LDL. Since I do not like confrontation I find this upsetting. Yet, I still refused statins because I think that it was my 7 years on a low fat high carb 'heart healthy' diet coupled with the statins that led to my type II diagnosis.

* For those of you who do not know HbA1c is a measure of the amount of glycation of hemoglobin.