My cholesterol and iron numbers

The discussion of the Linus Pauling vitamin C/lysine invention for chronic scurvy

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Jacquie
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My cholesterol and iron numbers

Post Number:#1  Post by Jacquie » Thu Jan 12, 2012 1:28 pm

Just got my Life Extension Foundation blood tests back (I gotta say, these people are fast - I just had blood drawn yesterday morning!).

Age: 29
Sex: F


Cholesterol, Total: 141

Triglycerides: 68

HDL Cholesterol: 71 :!:

VLDL Cholesterol Cal: 14

LDL Cholesterol Calc: 56 :!:

T. Chol/HDL Ratio: 2.0


Iron, Serum: 39 (Reference Interval 35 - 155)

Ferritin, Serum: 9 (RI 13 - 150) :!:

RBC: 4.8 (RI 3.8 - 5.1)

Hemoglobin: 14.4 (RI 11.5 - 15.0)

Hematocrit: 43.0 (RI 34.0 - 44.0)

(The RBC, hemoglobin, and hematocrit show I'm not anemic even with that low of a ferritin number.)


My diet: I eat almost no meat and as few grains as possible. Heavily reliant on fruit, vegetables, beans, nuts, and dairy products (meaning butter, cheese, yogurt, and heavy whipping cream). Almost every day I eat a fruit smoothie made with frozen fruit and about 3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream (people cringe when I drink these and it makes me laugh).


Some observations:

Blood donation is indeed an excellent way to achieve low ferritin. Last year I donated 4 times, and my ferritin is great.

Vitamin C helps with dietary iron absorption. There's no iron in my supplements anymore, and I eat almost no heme/meat iron, but my hemoglobin numbers are still great. I eat a lot of dried fruit, and a lot of kidney beans, and vitamin C is apparently helping me get all the iron I need from them.

You guys have mentioned that total cholesterol under 180 possibly raises one's cancer risk. Is that just for cholesterol that is artificially lowered with statins, or does that include any low cholesterol?

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Re: My cholesterol and iron numbers

Post Number:#2  Post by Johnwen » Thu Jan 12, 2012 4:40 pm

J-Great numbers!

Add Just a little more V-C to your regimine this could help getting your ferritin in range.
Not a biggy with your other numbers :)
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Re: My cholesterol and iron numbers

Post Number:#3  Post by majkinetor » Thu Jan 12, 2012 11:32 pm

Last year I donated 4 times,

I would reduce this to 2 times per year at most. People get addicted and unwell if they skip donating blood afterwards. It happened to my father.

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Re: My cholesterol and iron numbers

Post Number:#4  Post by ofonorow » Fri Jan 13, 2012 4:35 am

You guys have mentioned that total cholesterol under 180 possibly raises one's cancer risk. Is that just for cholesterol that is artificially lowered with statins, or does that include any low cholesterol?


That 141 was the number that struck me. My total cholesterol is 160 mg/dl and I think it is probably too low, as I know its functions and would like my blood levels higher! But it could mean that you are exceptionally toxin free and in great health!
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Re: My cholesterol and iron numbers

Post Number:#5  Post by BaronZemo » Sun Jan 15, 2012 3:40 am

You guys have mentioned that total cholesterol under 180 possibly raises one's cancer risk. Is that just for cholesterol that is artificially lowered with statins, or does that include any low cholesterol?


a cholesteral level under 150 in men raises the chances of developing parkinsons to one in six

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Re: My cholesterol and iron numbers

Post Number:#6  Post by majkinetor » Sun Jan 15, 2012 4:39 am

Interesting. Here is the study...

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 22013/full

Although the incidence of PD increased with decreasing LDL-C in a dose-dependent manner, the association was only significant for men aged 71 to 75 years.


There is also this:

http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/conten ... 152/7/1490
For intracranial hemorrhage, cholesterol levels less than 4.14 mmol/L (<160 mg/dL) were associated with a twofold increase in risk. A serum cholesterol level less than 4.14 mmol/L (<160 mg/dL) was also associated with a significantly increased risk of death from cancer of the liver and pancreas; digestive diseases, particularly hepatic cirrhosis; suicide; and alcohol dependence syndrome. In addition, significant inverse graded associations were found between serum cholesterol level and cancers of the lung, lymphatic, and hematopoietic systems, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. No significant associations were found of serum cholesterol level with death from colon cancer, with accidental deaths, or with homicides. Overall, the inverse association between serum cholesterol level and most cancers weakened with increasing follow-up but did not disappear. The association between cholesterol level and death due to cancer of the lung and liver, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cirrhosis, and suicide weakened little over follow-up.

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Re: My cholesterol and iron numbers

Post Number:#7  Post by Jacquie » Mon Jan 16, 2012 4:19 pm

Johnwen wrote:J-Great numbers!

Add Just a little more V-C to your regimine this could help getting your ferritin in range.
Not a biggy with your other numbers :)

Thanks! Dr. Levy said ferritin should be as low as possible without causing anemia. Is it better to have it low but within the normal range?

majkinetor wrote:I would reduce this to 2 times per year at most. People get addicted and unwell if they skip donating blood afterwards. It happened to my father.

I'm confused - what kinds of symptoms was he having, and what do you mean by "addiction", here?

ofonorow wrote:But it could mean that you are exceptionally toxin free and in great health!

I sure hope so. I know that cholesterol numbers tend lower for women, and in younger people, so I'm guessing this may be the equivalent of somewhat higher numbers for a man or somebody older than me. Also, I don't have any fillings or root canals, and never had any extractions, so maybe that's part of the explanation.

BaronZemo wrote:a cholesteral level under 150 in men raises the chances of developing parkinsons to one in six
majkinetor wrote:Although the incidence of PD increased with decreasing LDL-C in a dose-dependent manner, the association was only significant for men aged 71 to 75 years.

...For intracranial hemorrhage, cholesterol levels less than 4.14 mmol/L (<160 mg/dL) were associated with a twofold increase in risk. A serum cholesterol level less than 4.14 mmol/L (<160 mg/dL) was also associated with a significantly increased risk of death from cancer of the liver and pancreas; digestive diseases, particularly hepatic cirrhosis; suicide; and alcohol dependence syndrome. In addition, significant inverse graded associations were found between serum cholesterol level and cancers of the lung, lymphatic, and hematopoietic systems, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease...

Hmmm... alcoholism and depression do run in my family.

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA43423
...several studies have found a connection between low cholesterol and depression and anxiety. For example, results of a study in the Netherlands published in 2000 showed that middle-aged men with low cholesterol are more likely than other men to have symptoms of severe depression. An earlier study at Duke University Medical Center found that healthy young women with cholesterol levels below 160 mg/dl were more likely to score high on measures of depression and anxiety than women with normal or high cholesterol (the normal range is 180 to 200 mg/dl).

...Two more recent studies from the Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry in Germany linked low cholesterol with an increased risk of suicide, depression, impulsivity and aggression.

With cancer the question is, is low cholesterol the cause, or the effect?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/11/ ... 6I20091103
The men with lower total cholesterol levels -- below 230 milligrams/deciliter -- had an 18 percent higher risk of cancer overall -- just as in earlier studies.

But, when they excluded cancers that occurred in the first nine years of the study, this risk disappears.

"This finding supports the idea that the lower serum total cholesterol level we detected as a possible cancer risk factor may actually have been the result of undiagnosed cancers..."

http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/92/9/2365.full
...falling levels of cholesterol were linked to an excess risk of hepatic disease and cancer in particular, whereas low (<4.7 mmol/L, <180 mg/dL) but stable levels over time were not associated with excess risk. Their findings provide evidence that the association previously reported between low cholesterol and noncoronary mortality probably reflected the cholesterol-lowering metabolic consequences of long-term subclinical disease rather than a hazard associated with low cholesterol per se.

...The present report did not distinguish individuals with a reduction in cholesterol resulting from treatment for hypercholesterolemia from those with a spontaneous drop.

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Re: My cholesterol and iron numbers

Post Number:#8  Post by majkinetor » Mon Jan 16, 2012 9:36 pm

I'm confused - what kinds of symptoms was he having, and what do you mean by "addiction", here?

He was getting nausea and even vomiting if he skipped regular scheduling time for blood donation. Its case story I know, but I heard it on various sides (didn't check it, as I give blood 1x per year). Maybe you should check it out.

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Re: My cholesterol and iron numbers

Post Number:#9  Post by Jacquie » Thu Feb 02, 2012 7:50 am

My dad got his cholesterol numbers done too:

Age: 58
Sex: M

Cholesterol, Total: 160 :)

Triglycerides: 90

HDL Cholesterol: 47

VLDL Cholesterol Cal: 18

LDL Cholesterol Calc: 95


He takes vitamin C to bowel tolerance every day. Compared to theoretically 'optimal' numbers, his HDL seems a bit low, and LDL a little high. But I sorely lack the experience to judge this. Any thoughts here? Are his numbers about as good as he can expect to get (for his age and gender), or might they improve, as he gets rid of his mercury fillings for example?

VanCanada

Chris Masterjohn on cholesterol and heart disease

Post Number:#10  Post by VanCanada » Thu Feb 02, 2012 10:26 am

Chris Kresser inteviews Chris Masterjohn on cholesterol and heart disease:

http://chriskresser.com/episode-16-chris-masterjohn-on-cholesterol-heart-disease-part-2

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Re: My cholesterol and iron numbers

Post Number:#11  Post by ofonorow » Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:50 am

Jacquie wrote:My dad got his cholesterol numbers done too:

Age: 58
Sex: M

Cholesterol, Total: 160 :)

Triglycerides: 90

HDL Cholesterol: 47

VLDL Cholesterol Cal: 18

LDL Cholesterol Calc: 95


He takes vitamin C to bowel tolerance every day. Compared to theoretically 'optimal' numbers, his HDL seems a bit low, and LDL a little high. But I sorely lack the experience to judge this. Any thoughts here? Are his numbers about as good as he can expect to get (for his age and gender), or might they improve, as he gets rid of his mercury fillings for example?


I'd guess he is taking lysine too!

In my case, on 18g C - tot. chol. 180 mg/dl - on the button.
After I began adding lysine, my total is now 160 mg/dl.
Guessing that the difference is the reduction in Lp(a) that is grouped in with the LDL number on standard tests.

So much for lysine RAISING cholesterol...
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Re: My cholesterol and iron numbers

Post Number:#12  Post by Jacquie » Sat Feb 04, 2012 5:25 am

ofonorow wrote:I'd guess he is taking lysine too!

Actually, nope. Since he's never had any angina, and his blood pressure is so low, we figured it wasn't crucial. We both take a number of other supplements, but not lysine. From your experience, it might be good that we don't...

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Re: My cholesterol and iron numbers

Post Number:#13  Post by ofonorow » Mon Feb 06, 2012 3:01 am

Hmmm. Then I must ask, any drugs?
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Re: My cholesterol and iron numbers

Post Number:#14  Post by Jacquie » Mon Feb 06, 2012 4:40 am

Nope. Well, Adderall, but no cardiovascular drugs. He's not even taking very much niacin - just 200 mg from 2 B-100 tablets a day.


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