Please....a question about cholesterol test - High Cholesterol Message Board

gardeninggal · 02-28-2006, 01:38 PM

Can someone tell me how the total cholesterol amount is determined. Nothing really adds up when I look at it, do you add the Triglycerides and LDL together or how do they come up with the total. Also if I can get my Triglycerides down will the total cholesterol come down?

RebootMe · 02-28-2006, 01:40 PM

LDL+HDL+20% of Tri's=TC

Lenin · 02-28-2006, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gardeninggal

Also if I can get my Triglycerides down will the total cholesterol come down?

For the second part of your question, the answer is YES to the extent of 1/5 of the amount your triglycerides are lowered.

gardeninggal · 02-28-2006, 06:05 PM

thanks a lot, Lenin and Reboot. I am going to try the low glycemic diet and see if it helps.

CobaltBlue · 03-12-2006, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gardeninggal

Also if I can get my Triglycerides down will the total cholesterol come down?

Yes, but, quite often this will be answered as if the lipid levels can be held constant when you effect this change in TG. You will see the approximation of 1/5 your total TG (composition of VLDL) added to your total cholesterol. However, this is only an approximation based on the average content in the VLDL particles.

Suffice to say that if you take measures to reduce your TG (i.e. weight loss and exercise), the level of TG carried by the HDL increases for multiple reasons...

However, the net effect is that your lipid profile should improve because the LDL should decrease slightly, HDL increase slightly and TG drop, because the HDL are more efficient at transporting and exchanging these (with VLDL).