Which is healthier?
Let's take a look
A doc I know from the twitter world showed some comparative lab values and asked what was healthier. I thought I would share here.
TC = Total Cholesterol
LDL-C = LDL Cholesterol
HDL-C = HDL Cholesterol
Trig = Triglycerides
A1C = Hemoglobin A1C - measurement used to determine Diabetes management
Insulin = (you guessed it - Insulin )
Scenario 1:
Lab results B look to have higher TC, LDL and HDL.
From just these three lab values, would you rather be Lab A or Lab B?
Scenario 2:
Same labs as scenario 1 but now with the added Triglycerides.
It looks like Lab A has high triglycerides while Lab B has lower triglycerides.
Lab A still has lower lab values for Total, LDL and HDL cholesterol
From these four lab values, would you rather be Lab A or Lab B?
Scenario 3:
We have now added A1C and Insulin levels to the results.
From these six lab values, would you rather be Lab A or Lab B?
Scenario 4:
We have now added another choice, Lab C
It looks like to me that Lab C was given a strong cholesterol reducing medication to bring down all the cholesterol levels.
From these six lab values, would you rather be Lab A, Lab B or Lab C?
Let’s get some comments going and I will give my opinion later this week.
I have seen lab values like the above all the time over the past 20 years.
Lab A and B can be the result of differences in diet.
Lab C would not occur in the same person by diet means alone, i.e. they have to be medicated.
After we see in the comments what everyone thinks I will further discuss in a future post.
I do want to pose a few questions though about the above.
Is your goal to lower cholesterol or is it to decrease your risk of heart disease?
Are these goals one and the same or different?
Would you purposely raise your cholesterol if it lowered your risk of heart disease?
Would you purposely lower your cholesterol if it did NOT lower your risk of heart disease?
I know- so many questions I am asking you today.
But there are reasons I am asking so please respond in the comments section below.
#IMWChallenge begins Week #4
I closed out Week 3 with one of my favorite meals, Air Fryer Chicken Wings with some yellow peppers. #LowCarb #Keto #Carnivorish #Delicious
I love using the air fryer as I do not have to add any extra oil for the wings to cook to perfection. Chicken wings usually air-fry for about 25 minutes, or a few minutes longer if you want them extra crispy. Most restaurants not only fry their wings in inflammatory vegetable and seed oils but they usually bread their wings adding a whole nother layer of inflammation.
Someone please check if “nother” is in the Scrabble dictionary please.
The air fryer I use is actually an 8 quart InstantPot combination machine that can pressure cook, saute, slow cook, steam, air fry, bake, roast, broil and in the winter it can shovel the snow off my driveway.
Best part was I made 24 wings which I got from ButcherBox. That was too many to eat in one sitting so my dinner is waiting to be reheated when I get home tonight. #EasyPeasyChickenDinner
Meme of the Day
Til the next post…………………….
I believe you’ve taught us that B has the best lab results. Heart health is the goal!
When fat adapted and eating low carb you make more VLDL which traffics fat throughout the body. Fat is your main fuel when eating low carb/ketogenic. VLDL's become LDL once fat is removed. The way to tell if there is a problem is if triglycerides are low. If triglycerides are low, that means your body is properly using the fat that are in the VLDL. Then with A1c low and insulin low you know your system is metabolically healthy and properly using available fuels. I've had Lab B numbers for close to 10 years. I've had two CAC scans 5 years apart and my CAC in 2020 was better than my scan in 2015.