I have good cholesterol numbers, but I'd like to be preventive. I was thinking about taking some cinnamon and curcumin daily (just with my food, as a spice) and maybe some guggul. Furthermore, I'm slightly overweight, so I'll lose some weight, and exercise more. My goal is to keep my LDL in check, and to further raise my HDL, as an "insurance policy" for the future. (keeping my blood glucose in check is a secondary goal)

Can my LDL get too low? Or is it the overall cholesterol that matters, LDL can drop as long as HDL is higher? Is there a problem if my HDL gets higher than my LDL?

By the way, my most recent numbers are:
Total cholesterol: 195
HDL: 77
LDL: 100
Trigl.: 90

Wow, those numbers are great! In my opinion, you've got nothing to worry about!

I know :)

But I want to be preventive, to ensure that it stays that way...
By the way, I will start to eat a few eggs a day from now on (because eggs have a lot of good in them, and I don't believe all the anti-egg propaganda ;) ), and I already use olive oil for all my baking.

I know :)

But I want to be preventive, to ensure that it stays that way...
By the way, I will start to eat a few eggs a day from now on (because eggs have a lot of good in them, and I don't believe all the anti-egg propaganda ;) ), and I already use olive oil for all my baking.

Well, logic can dictate that what you have been doing so far has contributed to the numbers you have now, so keep on doing what you're doing and they *should* stay that way.

Being young is a contributing factor, but not really something I can keep "doing" :D

I would prefer to just raise my HDL, but apparently everything that raises HDL also lowers LDL...

And also, even if I'm against the anti-egg propaganda, eating several eggs a day might need something to "counteract" it possibly raising LDL.

I would prefer to just raise my HDL, but apparently everything that raises HDL also lowers LDL...


I don't know why you think you need to increase your HDL. I would LOVE to have your HDL numbers!

By the way, I will start to eat a few eggs a day from now on (because eggs have a lot of good in them, and I don't believe all the anti-egg propaganda ;) ), and I already use olive oil for all my baking.From the reading I've done of the research, it appears to me that eggs raise both HDL and LDL, in a proportion that the risk ratio for many people is approximately the same. However, seeing that LDL go up can make the doctors excited. I backed off and settled for an average of one egg a day instead of two. But eggs apparently also improve the small density-large density ratio of LDL, also, which isn't seen in the usual lipid panel results.

Egg yolk has a lot of biotin. The egg white isn't of much good without the yolk. Also LDL is used by the body for energy for the heart.

Some answers to my questions please? :wave:

Can cholesterol get too low? If so, is it the overall cholesterol that matters or the LDL? Is there a problem if HDL gets higher than LDL?

Can cholesterol get too low? If so, is it the overall cholesterol that matters or the LDL? Is there a problem if HDL gets higher than LDL?There is one person who usually comes on this board with an answer to questions like that and I've been waiting for her, but . . . :D

Cholesterol can apparently get too low, but I don't think there is any consensus yet about what "too low" is. Part of the problem is that some things, like cancer, are believed to CAUSE cholesterol to get lower. So when you see a low cholesterol among people, is the fact that it is low a result of some medical problems they already have? Or if they lower their cholesterol too much, is it more likely that they end up with some medical problem? :dizzy: Maybe in ten or twenty years someone can answer your question with confidence.

I can't imagine that there would be a problem if HDL got higher than LDL, but again, there is just so much unknown at this point.

Several prospective population studies haave suggested that the mortality benefit associated with lower Total Cholesterol plateaus at levels around 180. Total mortality actually appears to increase somewhat at levels below 180. It is the HDL that is the important cholesterol, and TC and LDL are incidental. In effect one should try to raise the HDL and leave the others alone.

In effect one should try to raise the HDL and leave the others alone.

I don't think that's a good idea - ignoring the bad cholesterol levels. While HDL's responsibility is to rid the body of excessive bad cholesterol, you can't guarantee that it'll do a "complete" job. You can't count on HDL to get rid of all the bad and excessive cholesterol in the body. And if you "ingore" the bad cholesterol levels, you're betting that HDL will protect you from it. That's a gamble I myself would not take. However, the higher your HDL, the higher your odds of winning the bet!

LDL's are not necessarily bad. They preform an important function in the body. For one thing they are used for heart energy. Doctor's have made them the bad cholesterol. In fact you cholesterol test is a "calculated" LDL it is not actual.

LDL's are not necessarily bad. They preform an important function in the body. For one thing they are used for heart energy. Doctor's have made them the bad cholesterol. In fact you cholesterol test is a "calculated" LDL it is not actual.

Well, that's partially correct - it's certainly true for large dense LDL particles, not so true for the smaller particles. My LDL is not calculated, but actually measured. And while my total LDL is very low, my small dense particles are high - which is very bad. So, it's important to measure the numbers - the right ones.

What kind of test did you get to measure the LDL?

What kind of test did you get to measure the LDL?

Lipoprint is the trademark name for it, but, in medical terms, it's called a LDL subfraction test. Many doctors are nowadays concerned about those people who have normal total cholesterol (TC) and normal LDL but that have abnormal LDL subfractions (LDL 3-7). It's people with those kinds of bad numbers that many doctors are missing and of whom treatment is "necessary".

Thank you for the reply...