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Q: Very Low Hdl
asked by:
bryan2
New User
What can be done for very low HDL? I'm a 30 yr old male, and had the following cholesterol readings a year ago:
ldl: 153
hdl: 22
triglycerides: 74
I already ate fairly healthy, though at 220lb, needed to lose some weight. I've lost 20 lbs, cut out any remaining unhealthy eating habits, increased aerobic excercise to 1hr at least 5days/wk. I usually only eat meat once per week and then typically poultry or fish. I eat the recommended 5 servings of a variety of fruits and vegetables and nearly 100% of my grains are whole grains. (helps a lot to be a decent cook to eat like that
) A year later, I had the following readings:
ldl: 131
hdl: 23
triglycerides: 122
There's perhaps another 15lb wieght to lose, but I'm pretty close to being fairly lean, I eat well, excersize, etc. I'm going to acheive my remaining weight loss, but my concern is that despite my efforts, there's been almost no improvement in the hdl numbers--that and the triglyceride numbers got worse.
I'm also not excited about using drugs to treat the cholesterol problem since that seems to be my only choice after trying diet, excersize, etc. I also don't smoke and do not drink.
I know heredity can cause these things, but I have no way of knowing or confirming that since I'm adopted and do not know my genetic parents/family. Is there anything else to try that I'm not already doing?
On another note, my doctor ordered a followup lipid panel. My cholesterol results the first two times were from a free health screening our HMO offers by visiting our employer. They used an on site meter to give a readout of the 3 lipid numbers from a small pipet blood draw, but wanted to draw blood to confirm the numbers after the most recent results. Is there anything else a more traditional lipid panel will tell you that the meters will not? I'm still waiting the results from the blood draw for the doctor's followup test.
ldl: 153
hdl: 22
triglycerides: 74
I already ate fairly healthy, though at 220lb, needed to lose some weight. I've lost 20 lbs, cut out any remaining unhealthy eating habits, increased aerobic excercise to 1hr at least 5days/wk. I usually only eat meat once per week and then typically poultry or fish. I eat the recommended 5 servings of a variety of fruits and vegetables and nearly 100% of my grains are whole grains. (helps a lot to be a decent cook to eat like that
) A year later, I had the following readings:
ldl: 131
hdl: 23
triglycerides: 122
There's perhaps another 15lb wieght to lose, but I'm pretty close to being fairly lean, I eat well, excersize, etc. I'm going to acheive my remaining weight loss, but my concern is that despite my efforts, there's been almost no improvement in the hdl numbers--that and the triglyceride numbers got worse.
I'm also not excited about using drugs to treat the cholesterol problem since that seems to be my only choice after trying diet, excersize, etc. I also don't smoke and do not drink.
I know heredity can cause these things, but I have no way of knowing or confirming that since I'm adopted and do not know my genetic parents/family. Is there anything else to try that I'm not already doing?
On another note, my doctor ordered a followup lipid panel. My cholesterol results the first two times were from a free health screening our HMO offers by visiting our employer. They used an on site meter to give a readout of the 3 lipid numbers from a small pipet blood draw, but wanted to draw blood to confirm the numbers after the most recent results. Is there anything else a more traditional lipid panel will tell you that the meters will not? I'm still waiting the results from the blood draw for the doctor's followup test.
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