Was recently suprised when my total cholesterol (from donating blood) came back as 128, a point HIGHER than 6+ months ago. Before the test 6+ onths ago, I was stil occassionaly eating hard-boiled eggs and some cheese (some of it low-fat mozzerella)....at least once a week. The recent test results said that if I ate a high fat meal before the test that the results would read a bit higher. I don't think I ate more fat than usual that day.
I must wonder if those new larger and lighter LDL particles influenced it. The blood testing agency, LifeBlood, didn't break it down by LDL and HDL, though.
Just a curious result that I thought I'd share for anyone monitoring their cholesterol. I get the fact that 127 and/or 128 is still very low, but I still thought that getting rid of more saturated fat would knock the total cholesterol count down about 5 points. Now that I think about it, I was even eating less tofu and subbing no-fat soy drinks instead. Hmmm....

Hi Wynn

I heard that walking was a good way to keep cholesterol levels down. I read on one of your other posts that you said you hadn’t been exercising lately ….. could have something to do with your reading being a little higher.

Wynn,
As you probably know, it is more important to know the breakdown of the LDL and HDL (and triglycerides too) to get the ratios. The total cholesterol by itself is a meaningless number, IMO.

It is entirely possible that your HDL came up high enough to increase the total cholesterol, while your LDL may have come down just a bit. And, YES I have seen people whom have had increases in their total cholesterol, but their ratios were changed in a favorable manner, so that their overall ratio (which predicts risk) is improved.

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Posted By Margaret on 05 Mar 2013 09:14 PM
Hi Wynn

I heard that walking was a good way to keep cholesterol levels down. I read on one of your other posts that you said you hadn’t been exercising lately ….. could have something to do with your reading being a little higher.

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I agree with you, walking is one best exercise we can do without any restriction.