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I just got my blood test results from last week and my total Cholesterol was 140! My HDL was 36, LDL was 83 and my Triglycerides were 103. I'm so excited. I wasn't sure who to tell because most people wouldn't care so I thought I'd share here. Hooray for the McDougall plan and Sweet Potatoes (which I eat daily).

Edit: I've adopted the McDougall program slowly over the past couple of years. Mostly because my theory is that if I can't eat this way forever it's not worth doing. I think my initial total cholesterol was 182 after 'McDougalling' for about three months. I shutter to think of what my total cholesterol would have been before those three months. Back then my McDougall plan included eating a piece of cheese every day for lunch and a lot of fake soy meats. Since then I've learned a lot about the program, cut those things out and come much more into full compliance. I think it shows in my numbers.

That's great! Keep up the good work!

Stirfry, that is great!!! I can never hear too many success stories on here. Did you have "before" numbers?? It is great to be on a plan that allows greater health.

I just went to a noon conference at my hospital on how to lower cholesterol given by some big wig out of Madison. The room was packed with doctors and young medical students listening attentively. I only made it through the first 5-10 minutes as it was obvious from his first case study which he started with, that it was going to be which combination of drugs and supplements were needed to get the numbers better. NO mention of diet and exercise or life style changes, except perhaps smoking , which is politically correct in medical circles to criticize now.

I questioned whether I should stay and at some point in the lecture ask a question about whether or not a year on these meds led to a healthier body? Or would the patients be just as fat(or fatter) and sick (or sicker) next year and just would need a bigger pill bag. I chose to walk out as I decided that the audience would not "get it" and I would just feel more frustrated.

I am so glad that you have chosen to hang out here. Keep up the good work and keep us informed of your progress.

That's great, but you need to get the HDL up higher than the LDL. Flax seed, nuts... Just an observation, not a judgement.

The problem is that it's an incorrect observation. You made it over on my thread and you were wrong there as well.

But I'll re-post here what I posted on the other thread, to be sure the OP doesn't get worried b/c she has no reason to do so.

I'm not saying it's impossible to have an HDL that is higher than the LDL, but it's pretty darn close. I've certainly never heard of anyone whose HDL is higher than their LDL--that's b/c when LDL goes down, so does HDL. The only reason conventional doctors want HDL as high as possible is b/c its job is to help clean out the LDL, esp. cholesterol taken in externally via food. But it doesn't help a BIT to have a "high" HDL of 60-80 when your LDL is 200.

There is no reason at all, if you are McDougalling, to spend even 10 seconds worrying about your HDL. Lots more on this from Dr. McDougall here:

http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougal ... pufav5.htm

http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougal ... sterol.htm

lydia, I've updated my post to include initial numbers.

Mayflowers, thanks. I'm not too worried about it. I do plan to exercise more over the next year now though.

ETeSelle, thanks. That's my understanding as well.

EXCELLENT NUMBERS, Stirfry!!!!!!!! You should be very excited, and we are all excited for you!!!!! Congratulations, you are officially "heart attack proof!" Keep doing what you're doing! It's working!

Mayflower, Dr. McDougall would disagree with your recommendation. Please read his writings on this website that disprove the popular thought regarding HDL: http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougal ... pufav5.htm

"In addition to lack of relevance to the nature of this killing disease, two common problems occur during everyday doctor-patient relationships when discussing HDL results:

First, a patient with high total cholesterol is often told not to be concerned because his or her HDL is also high. This is harmful advice because the total and LDL cholesterol best reflect the future health of the patient – not the HDL. Thus, the patient is often falsely reassured and does not make the changes in diet and lifestyle that would really make a difference.

Second, people following a healthy, no-cholesterol, low-fat diet usually experience a dramatic drop in total and LDL cholesterol, but the HDL cholesterol also decreases because when lowering cholesterol through a healthy diet, all fractions of cholesterol decrease. Their doctors may tell them this decrease is harmful and they should make the HDL level go up at any cost – even by eating more cholesterol (meat, poultry, fish, and cheese)."

For more information on this subject see my September 2003 Newsletter article, “Good Cholesterol ‘Worsens’ with McDougall?”

I'll just add my two cents - the HDL is responsible for carting away the bad cholesterol (LDL). If your LDL is lower, your body doesn't need as much HDL, since there isn't as much bad stuff to cart away.

Hmmm.. very interesting.. thanks for the links. My mother on the flip side had very high cholesterol around 265 if she really worked on it and never had heart disease. It's probably an individual thing...Well at least I don't have to worry about the HDL so much. LOL