Dr. Laureen Lawlor-Smith - 'Cholesterol and the Low Carbohydrate/Ketogenic Lifestyle'

Dr. Laureen Lawlor-Smith has been a doctor since 1982. She has owned and managed her own General Practices in Adelaide’s southern suburbs for much of her career. She is passionate about helping people change their lives and improve their health through lifestyle medicine.
Despite following and dispensing conventional medical advice around diet and exercise for 35 years as a general practitioner, Laureen found herself obese, with pre-diabetes, sleep apnoea, and filled with shame. After discovering the transformational benefits of a low carb lifestyle, she was able to reverse her health issues, lose weight and improve her overall health.
Discovering the low carb lifestyle has completely changed her life. Her experience led to Laureen leaving general practice and co-founding the Low Carb Keto Health Clinic where she helps patients lose weight and gain health. She has reconnected with why she became a doctor to start with and now absolutely loves her job again.
Please consider supporting Low Carb Down Under via Patreon. A small monthly contribution will assist in the costs of filming and editing these presentations and will allow us to keep producing high quality content free from advertising. For further information visit; / lowcarbdownunder

[@kurtbecker3827]

I do understand the disclaimer right at the start of the presentation, but under NO circumstances will I consult with a "healthcare professional"... because there is no such thing. I know of no profession where there are so many incompetent, corrupt and arrogant individuals as there are in the health care industry. When it comes to your health, especially diet and to avoid chronic illness... educate yourself... you are on your own... it is not very difficult.

[@gregorywootton3870]

Sickcare professionals is what they should be known as.

[@balasandarkalieannan300]

Statin drugs are a bigger scam

[@WhoMichaelWho]

yes the disclaimer is like I will give you the facts but don't take them as facts.

[@johngalt97]

A good portion of the initial effort of becoming responsible for your own health care is discovering and then discarding the bad information you've believed for your whole life. "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." ― Mark Twain

[@jobrown8146]

It's because of videos like this that I've been able to make informed decisions about my health. Definitely no statin for me.

[@mickthefisherman1562]

I developed an irregular heartbeat in 2019 and on consulting a cardiologist she found I had a bicuspid valve and an anurism in my aorta. I was already on blood pressure meds and now I was put on blood thinners, a Betta blocker and a statin. Last consult my Cholesterol was 3.9 and I said that was good and was told it’s still too high for what I’ve got and had my Statin dose increased. I had been complaining about a feeling in my chest, like a lump or a congested feeling, but everyone ignored it or shrugged it off. I just sat around feeling like my life had no purpose, until I tried going off different meds to see what happened, nothing changed until I stopped taking the statin, within a day I was back in the garden with a new lease on life. I then stopped eating processed carbs and started intermittent fasting, so far since March I’ve lost over 25 kgs and feel better than I have in years. I still suffer from Arthritis in a lot of joints from a life of hard work and my Cholesterol is 7.1 but my GP isn’t too concerned and just said we will see what it’s like in six months. I’m worried now what the Cardiologist will say but I will not take the Statin and feel that sick again.

[@happyapple4269]

Ditch the statins and go on a beef, fish and egg diet only and hit the health jackpot. Good luck.

[@catcan221]

I had terrible "arthritis" as well, until I really did a lot of reading and watching podcasts about oxalates and other plant anti-nutrients in plants, fruits, nuts, seeds, etc. and I learned the "healthy" foods I was eating were the cause of my inflammation. I recommend you try going down that rabbit hole if you want to eliminate your joint pain and arthritis. I am 57 and no longer suffer from constant joint pain. I assume because the plant toxins are no longer constantly circulating in my body and collecting in my joints, organs, etc. I pretty much eat only animal proteins now. There is so much research out there showing that the fat is not the enemy but in fact the seed oils, anti nutrients and sugar...but mainstream medical is either ignorant or just too tied to the food and drug companies to care.

[@chavbudgie4299]

Take magnesium and do carnivore diet with water for three months. Don't eat pork, chicken or dairy. Just ruminants animals like sheep and cows as they have four stomachs which ferment and detox their foods, eggs are ok.

[@igniz-rp6ic]

Cholesterol is life, the more cholesterol rich foods I eat the more healthy I become, stopped all my psych meds and overcame my addictions thanks to this way of eating.

[@fkn16v]

Same although my GP wasnt happy with my lastest chol tests.

[@888jucu]

Water is essential for life but u can drown in a river. Glucose is essential for life therefore I only need to eat gummy bears and I will get healthier and healthier, agree?? 🤦‍♂️

[@maisie6904]

For info - my husband was told his doctor would not treat him unless he agreed to taking statins. Given that I’ve been studying correlation and causation for years - I asked for a meeting and my request was refused. It beggars belief that so called ‘smart’ people simply, after qualifying, stop further exploration 😢

[@GlennMarshallnz]

'Healthcare' =$$$

[@krisvq]

Take the doctor to court.

[@lorysipel6823]

Find another doctor.

[@maisie6904]

@@lorysipel6823 I’m in Scotland- the NHS is in tatters - it’s virtually impossible to change doctors 😢

[@maisie6904]

@@krisvq A financial ruin - no way - not America- doc continues to be godlike here - albeit I don’t believe that xx

[@karenohanlon4183]

I I always have high blood pressure attendance at Doctors. The nurse talks non stop asks multiple questions. So you get worked up. They did a 24 hour monitoring it was fine. Beforehand the Doctors were saying bp meds and statins you overweight and over 60. They have stopped that. I am still a stone over weight but working on the low carb and fasting. Its preferable to meds.

[@vernaxxx8940]

It's a bit bizarre that a patient needs to get independent health advice and test results to take back to their GP, to discourage them from pushing the WRONG health management strategies. Yet that is where we're at! I listen politely and carefully to my GP's recommendations (mostly to take this or that pill for the rest of my life), thank them politely and tell them I'll think about it. Then I go away and research it myself. I am not complacent or fixed in my ideas, it's a frightening responsibility, but so far so good.

[@jennyweyman3039]

I understood everything you just said. I just wish my medical friends and nursing colleagues ALL did too. It's been lonely at times knowing there is a better way to help people other than outdated guidelines. I myself had a calcium scan and ran my stats through the MESA score many years ago and told my cardiologist I was not concerned and politely refused the statin I was told I needed.

[@jimw6659]

This is an excellent summary of the cholesterol issue. If only more doctors were aware of this information and stopped peddling statins unnecessarily.

[@user-rl5dd1ex2k]

Believe me, most of doctors knew this information. They just don't want to do this, they just want to make more money.

[@hotbeefman69]

The "trillion dollars a year off lowering cholesterol" point really knocked it out of the park. Big pharma is the worst.

[@fcsoldeu5338]

they know, but they also make money from labs selling statins so they don't care.

[@karneymac]

Fantastic presentation. Data, logic, no BS. [They] have been misinforming us for decades. Keep up the great work, truth-tellers!!

[@lindymerry38]

I just want to point out a slip of the tongue at 7:47 where Dr Lawlor-Smith says "the risk of having a heart attack is highest with a very HIGH HDL" (she meant to say "LOW HDL") Could a correction be flashed up at this point in the video?

[@turgayderya1938]

Sugar is the glue. It sticks everywhere. It sticks to the LDL door and narrows it. LDL can't get in. It keeps circulating in the blood and shrinks.

[@stevelanghorn1407]

Excellent presentation. I live in NW England and if I went to my NHS gp and asked for a Coronary Artery CT Calcium Scan, they would laugh at me. It is still considered an unnecessary added cost burden on our beleaguered NHS. Here in the UK, (unless you can afford private health testing), you’ll get tested once you’ve already got symptoms of heart disease. These tests will be : (in this order) : ecg, blood test, portable monitor, stress-test and (finally) an angiogram. Coronary CT scans still don’t happen on our NHS.

[@myfanwythevan]

This is by far the best and most concise explanation of the importance of cholesterol in the body and the "associated" risk of heart attack I've ever seen 😊

[@JennyMitich]

This is one of the best explanations I’ve seen on the function and structure of cholesterol.

[@brucebeverly2629]

This is one of the best presentations among many I've seen on the topic. I think that the triglyceride-to-HDL ratio, as a CV risk indicator, would be a nice addition to such a presentation. That ratio is said to have five times (or more) the CV predictive value compared to LDL alone. Yet, that ratio does not even appear on my GP's lipid panel printout. My ratio is 0.49 (fantastic), reflecting a healthy glucose metabolism via a low-carb diet (even with diabetes).

[@ekkehardbeier5676]

yeah did miss the TG/HDL ratio too. To me also the primary bio marker for CV issues

[@T-aka-T]

Yes - I believe Dr Paul Mason says less than 0.8 ratio is the goal? (Off the top of my head, may not be right - look him up if interested).

[@jobrown8146]

Excellent presentation. Thank you. And I liked that you provided a case study and explained it so well. I'm 65yo F, remitted my diabetes through low carb WOE, have a CAC of zero. After 20 month on low carb my LDL has increased to 8.1, trigs gone down to 1.1 and HDL gone up to 1.8. And the GP told me that I am at a high risk of heart disease and need to be on a statin. I did the Mesa calculation and my risk is 4.4%. Interestingly answering Yes to hypertension medication gives a result of 4.4% but no hypertension medication gives a 3.5% risk. This obviously does not take into account the dose that a person is taking. I am taking the lowest dose of perindopril; I think my slightly raised BP is due to low grade discomfort/sometime poor sleep from back and knee issues which is why I have decided to stay on a low dose. I think it's important to take everything into consideration and videos like this help us to make informed decisions. I have decided not to take a statin.

[@ekkehardbeier5676]

the two truck pix (Delivery, Returns) are the most intuitive ones on HDL/LDL I've ever seen! Beside that, the presentation confirms what I already learned over the years, e.g. from Dr. Paul Mason. Thx a lot. Doing a healthy life style, OMAD, Low carb/Keto and HIIT... TG 0.6, HDL 2.5, with 56 I'm feeling better than ever, both mentally and physically... closer to six-pack than ever before...

[@lindaellin559]

Fantastic presentation - I will be sharing this video far and wide!!

[@rjmclean1979]

Brilliant presentation. Nice and compact but full of lots of very important inormation

[@maisie6904]

Such a comprehensive easy to digest presentation- makes so much sense .

[@salvatorelivreri]

Just for clarification, she entered the cholesterol numbers incorrectly. She put the mmol/L value in the mg/dL box. Entering the correct numbers raises the risk slightly from 2.5 to 3.5%. Still she is much better off on the low carb diet. I will say that I played around with the parameters and it shows that Total cholesterol and the implied LDL are heavily weighed. So it appears that this is more of a mainstream view calculator.

[@laureenlawlor-smith6518]

Thanks for pointing this out -

[@GrannyCarnivore]

Wonderful talk, charts, and comparison information. This way of living has made my life so much more manageable. No more HPB, Pre-Diabetes, Fatty Liver Disease, and other SAD induced dis-eases! The more doctors we can convert to the proper human diet, the better off our world will be. Thank you Dr. Laureen for putting together this very valuable data! God bless You!

[@Genlearnman]

What e great lecture! I have conversations with people about health almost everyday, and part of those conversations deals with perception of things like cholesterol.

[@53531640]

I would love some of those slides to show my GP... but in all reality, I don't think it would have the desired impact. Unfortunately these sorts of statistics will never be taught in medical school, as it goes against the use of statins.

[@nikkiguerlain]

Great presentation! No hype and wasting time with a lot of blah blah. Straight to the point. I really appreciate that.

[@robertcorlet512]

Wonderful presentation. Many thanks.

[@polderfischer8565]

Excellent Presentation. Thanks!

[@rosemarywong3199]

Thank you for that presentation, Dr Lawlor-Smith. I am 63 years of age and was put on statins a couple of years ago to treat my chronically high LDL. My HDL is in the healhy range as is my triglycrides. I'm a non smoker and of slim build. My high cholesterol has been diagnosed as familial as I have tried every method to bring it down (LCHF diet not included). I experienced cognitive dissonance myself as I had read and listened to opposing opinons from reputable medically trained practioners and found what they had to say, interesting to say the least. However, I succumbed to my GPs advice and now have been on these statins for a while now, fortunately with no side effects. I had a calcium score done not long ago which showed elevate risk for my age group, which is disappointing. I will continue to learn more about this subject and might try a low carb diet one day.

[@MichaelAxtens]

Absolutely fantastic presentation. I think soon all calculators will add Serum Uric Acid as a highly predictive CVD risk factor (better than hypertension, which it also predicts). Dr Richard Johnson and Dr David Perlmutter seem to be on the money about this.. Thanks so much Laureen for this very clear and concise presentation. It's so hard to get GPs to use nomograms, or even to look up the NNT or NNH for the meds so commonly prescribed.

[@fallingleaveskungfu]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🩸 Cholesterol is a fat that is essential for our existence and has been around for a very long time. 01:41 🧠 Cholesterol is vital for the structure and function of cell membranes and for brain health. 02:09 ☀️ Cholesterol is a precursor for vitamin D production. 02:24 ⚙️ Cholesterol is a precursor for the production of important hormones. 03:04 💡 Triglycerides are the form in which fat is transported and stored in the body. 04:22 🚚 Low density lipoprotein (LDL) is like a delivery van that transports fats, while high density lipoprotein (HDL) is like a returns van that removes unwanted fats. 05:19 ❤️ LDL cholesterol is commonly referred to as "bad cholesterol," while HDL cholesterol is considered "good cholesterol." 08:31 💔 There is a clear U-shaped association between LDL and HDL levels and the risk of mortality. 13:09 🏢 Small dense LDL particles are believed to cause heart attacks when they get trapped in arteries. 15:12 📉 Glycation, oxidation, and inflammation damage LDL particles, causing them to be trapped in the circulation. 16:37 📊 The other known risk factors for coronary heart disease are related to disturbed glucose metabolism, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes. 17:08 🥦 Restricting carbohydrates through a low-carbohydrate or ketogenic diet can improve cardiovascular risk factors. 18:59 📈 Total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels may increase on a low-carbohydrate or ketogenic diet, but their relative risk is more important. 22:57 📉 Assessing individual risk using coronary calcium scoring and cardiovascular risk calculators is valuable in determining the need for statin therapy. 25:14 💊 Statins may reduce the risk of a non-fatal heart attack but increase the risk of type 2 diabetes in some individuals. Personalized decision-making is important. Made with HARPA AI 👍 Upvote to improve video surfing

[@saltrock9642]

Nice presentation. To some people statins are a “get out of jail free card” so they eat whatever they want because the drug will keep them safe and bulletproof. It’s a crying shame.

[@williambunting803]

Excellent information and presentation. Thanks.

[@sunmoon42]

Thanks for educating me ❤

[@seattlesix9953]

Promising results regarding a case study. The industry should reevaluate their relationship with pharmaceuticals which is basically creating dependence of their products. LCHF has done more for me in one year than 20 with ‘accepted’ treatments… especially statin therapies and glossing over dietary macros

[@waldenmathews8059]

Two things I'd like to know: 1. Even with an ideal diet and metabolism, there must be glucose in the circulation; so is glycation of cholesterol a given and just worse in cases of higher glucose? 2. Is there a natural process to reduce those calcium deposits? Will they clear up when the inflammatory causes are addressed?

[@fkn16v]

1. Gluconeogenisis is a process performed by the liver and it delivers just the right amount needed. So yes glucose is usually always present in the blood. 2. Good question and i would think yes over time the body will do whats needed as needed. I have seen discussions on lowering CAC scores so the process must be doable, im not sure on its mechanisms thou. Perhaps Vitamins take this calcium and put it to use where it should go like bone health or immune functions.

[@daniphotography7366]

I am not a doctor but read about vitamin k2

[@IonTrone]

Very educational and well presented! Thanks!

[@nota8386]

Great presentation, clear and direct

[@lovelight1]

Fantastic lecture, thank you so much!!!

[@louisa4295]

Very well presented and insightful! Thanks so much..

[@KarlKrassnitzer-mm8wb]

Exzellent presentation!

[@marthafilionchan9750]

Thank you ❤

[@yogeshdixit3973]

Thanks a lot Dr. Very easy to comprehend by a common person❤

[@JediMissyArts]

This is so helpful😢😢😢 I never did trust my American doctors about my risks.

[@robholland1937]

Superb presentation

[@anthonykennedy5324]

No professional should be trusted as no professional is accountable. There is no bad outcome for the professional. Only for the patient.

[@fkn16v]

Thats just the system we live in and the blame game. Doctors says don't sue me im just following the guidelines. guidelines written with hidden details to make people money. There is no money in healthy people. One of the biggest Cereal makers in the world is also the same mob that funds and owns the largest insulin making factories. Coincidence?

[@b.hammersley6247]

Yes excellent presentation. One thing I don't understand though. Oxidized LDL doesn't get taken back by the liver. So, if you have it in your bloodstream, how do you get rid of it so that it doesn't go into the wall of a coronary artery (if you can get rid of it)?

[@RollingBluesBoy]

Thank you !👍Great and well done!

[@scottjones6624]

Spectacular - saved this one!

[@akirafujiwara9390]

very nice way of convincing people with MESA calculator,and paper about statin with risks of T2DM.thanks very much.

[@joannekerr8839]

Excellent talk - thank you.

[@azzacrabb]

Bravo!!!!

[@simonnattrass2171]

Brilliant succinct short impact thank you

[@KT-gx4ps]

Thank you for uploading this! Best I have seen in explaining Cholesterol HDL/LDL and what damage/dysfunction can do! Question: is there reversal or prevention for cardiac plaques in arteries?

[@pfote65]

Excellent presentation, thank you very much. Saved for further reference

[@lorysipel6823]

Thank you!!

[@YouTuber-ep5xx]

Excellent presentation and info Dr. Lawler-Smith, thx for sharing. As an MI survivor with a high CAC score (wish I'd known about CAC score decades ago, none of the cardiologists I saw about my chest pains and arrhythmias ever suggested it - I didn't get the scan until I insisted after the MI), I appreciate the Budoff chart at 22:00 in, showing estimates of post MI survival odds. No one at Mayo here in the states was able to provide such info to me. LCHF in the 5 years since the MI. My cardiologist hates that, wants to load me up on PUFAs and statins, but I don't listen much to the Mayo cardiologists any more. It is as if they were TRYING to kill me....

[@katharinemorrison4326]

Great earings Laureen!

[@jennyweyman3039]

Such a great summary thankyou. I've had two CAC scans now, and then used the MESA calculator . Low risk. I wish all GP'S knew this.

[@shanestritch9371]

Thankyou has just confirmed what I have been through!

[@jobrown8146]

It's a real relief to get information like this. I find these types of videos help me to make informed decisions and I am very thankful that they are available. After being low carb for 20 months my LDL has gone up to 8.1, but my trigs have gone down to 1.1 and my HDL gone up to 1.8. I'm 65 yo F with a CAC of zero and both the cardiologist and the GP want me on a statin. I've looked into this myself and have said no thank you.

[@T-aka-T]

​@@jobrown8146 I have a similar story. My GP is fantastic but hard to get hold of. Sometimes I see other doc's from the same practice and they ALWAYS ask why I'm not on statins (shouldn't I be?) I just say I refuse to take them. They never ask why, just move on very fast. Then secretly KNOW why, but it's in the stupid "standard of care" to push them.

[@RollingBluesBoy]

In Germany small LDL - Test "LipoMun" ( GANZIMMUN) cost about 61€ .

[@garyjackson4054]

I wonder if doctors know how to read and treat the results of a Lipid sub-fraction test. i.e. if LDL levels are high in sub-fractions 3 to 7 how would they react? Statin or dietary intervention? Maybe I am a sceptic but I think I know which would be most common.

[@adorinadorin]

Interesting studies

[@rainermaelger4726]

Danke

[@24bellers20]

Statins made me ill after a week. Discontinued. I’m not lining the drug companies pockets.

[@wandayonder9772]

I wish people would stop calling low carb eating a "Lifestyle", as in this vid's title. My lifestyle hasn't changed, what I eat has, that's all. When it's called a lifestyle it makes eating healthy sound like a big deal, a club you have to join, a major upheaval. It would have turned me off low carb eating if I thought I had to change my lifestyle.

[@MrSidReal]

no icecreams on holiday = therefore it is a lifestyle

[@KenJackson_US]

Oh, but it IS a _"major upheaval"._ To maintain my new lifestyle, I can no longer grab fast food at will and go to potluck dinners galore. I'm now conscious that _most_ food that I didn't prepare for myself is probably unhealthy.

[@lindymerry38]

The word "lifestyle" is used to distinguish it from the common perception in relation to the word, "diet" as being a temporary weight-loss measure. Another way to describe it would be "way of eating" (W.O.E.)

[@T-aka-T]

​@@lindymerry38 Exactly. Being " on a diet" and having a certain diet get confused. Sadly😢, " WOE" is a bad acronym. And "way of eating" list long- winded. 😮 So "lifestyle" is probably the best. We could try for WIE ( what I eat) or WYE ( what you eat) but the old WOE horse has bolted, I reckon. 😊

[@grantw7946]

I find it interesting that the mathematical inverse of my HDL is usually very close to my TRIGS A 1.4 HDL gibes me 0.7 on trigs - close to the blood test figure.

[@barrycorney3665]

I did my bloods the other day with my "Mission 3 in 1" tester...it's been consistent over the last 3 years, currently have Trigs of 51, HDL of 55 and yet somehow my LDL is 378.... 55yo M, bike 6000 miles a year, ketovore, no alcohol/tobacco/drugs whatsoever in my system(bar caffeine??)... tried giving up eggs for a month, no difference.... I can't go to my docs and ask for a "well man" appointment, imagine their horror at the LDL...or maybe I should and tell them I want tested for FH (unlikely, I'm still alive at this age and regularly max out my heart at 192bpm), and CAC... still never taking a statin, that "science" is bogus all based on RRR not ARR (bit like Jizers "95% safe and effective" death shots). Other stuff- BP is 122/71, RHR is 42bpm on waking up, and Uric Acid level is 5.5...

[@jobrown8146]

QUESTION: Regarding the graphs at 9m30s mark: Were the cholesterol tests done post heart attack or is the data from before the heart attack? I have heard that the results from cholesterol tests taken just after a heart attack can be different from what those results would have been pre-heart attack. Thank you.

[@myaowl55]

0:46: 🧠 Cholesterol is an essential fat for our existence and has been around for millions of years. 3:55: 📦 Low density lipoprotein (LDL) is like a delivery van that transports fats around the body. 8:10: 📚 The belief that high LDL cholesterol is the cause of heart attacks is not as straightforward as commonly taught in medical education. 11:52: 🔑 Glycation, oxidation, and inflammation are the main processes that damage LDL cholesterol. 15:39: 📊 Various risk factors for coronary heart disease were discussed, with type 2 diabetes being the most significant. 19:43: 💔 The speaker discusses the risk factors for heart attacks and the importance of CT coronary calcium scoring. 23:39: 🩺 Statin medication reduces the 10-year risk of cardiac events by about a third, but it also increases the risk of diabetes. Recap by Tammy AI

[@isabellelee2658]

I see on the hdl graph that higher hdl is also increasing risk. Did I read it wrong?

[@ang1783]

then why doctors only focus on lowering LDL ?

[@gnc207]

All my numbers are great after many years on keto, but there is that hight CAC. Any way to fix it?

[@T-aka-T]

Contested, but there is a group of about 5 or 6 possible helpers, including nattokinase and MK7. If you look those up together you might track it down.

[@EarmuffHugger]

♥️

[@diannadrake8415]

where is the link

[@chbego]

Sorry but you input Kate’s lipid levels incorrectly in the Mesa calculator - you put the mmol/L measurements in the mg/dl boxes!

[@laureenlawlor-smith6518]

Thanks for pointing this out - Her 10 year risk is still only 3.5% - so the argument stands

[@MarketyourbusinessAustralia]

I am having difficulty reconciling the graphs at 7:54 - lipoproteins and heart attack correlation, with the same study at 9:53 showing lipoproteins correlated with the incidence of death. Both address quite similar misfortunes but seem to produce different statistics. I wonder if this could be clarified. I tried to access the source document but couldn't locate it.

[@cherylpaniccia4920]

There is a question that remains unanswered to me. The CAC score seems to be used as a weapon when a physician gets wind of a patient using the the low carb protocol. As a 72 year old female my score after being on low carb for 4 years is 251 with no other comorbidity factors . I have achieved losing enough weight to be in the overweight category with about 30 lbs to go to get into the ‘normal’ category. Has my score resulted in a lifetime of the SAD diet or will my score lower with time? My physicians are up arms with my score and prescribed statins, which I refuse to take. My Mesa score indicates I am in The 8.9% range for a cardiac event within the next 10 years. Can this subject be addressed in future videos please! I would love to see videos to see how someone in my boat can lower their score. My weight is now at 69 lbs less than my weight was the majority of my adult life.

[@lindymerry38]

Are you familiar with Ivor Cummins? He is an ambassador for getting your CAC score to check your heart attack risk. I've heard it said that you need to measure it periodically (every few years?) to see how it's trending; a single score has limited value. Presumably it has not increased since going low carb?

[@konradx498]

Most doctors falsely claim that here is no way to lower your CAC score. Therefore doctors want you on a statin, which WORSENS your CAC score. I lowered by CAC score in one year via changes in my diet and lifestyle. The body will heal itself if you treat it right. Be careful about repeated CAC scans. (I had two and no more). Each scan is about the same radiation exposure as a mammogram, and the effect is cumulative. The more scans you have, the higher is the risk of cancer. Regarding the MESA risk calculator, it is flawed (incomplete). I ignore it.

[@konradx498]

Incidentally I wouldn’t worry too much about a CAC score of 251. According to the video above, you have a 94.5% chance of still being alive in 12 years if you make no changes in your diet and lifestyle. If you *DO* make changes (as you have) then statistically your survival chances are much better than 94.5%.

[@Astronurd]

How did they find cholesterol in a rock? Just curious 🤔.

[@fkn16v]

Isotopes probably.

[@KAT-dg6el]

Red Yeast Rice has the same affect as statins, so does red yeast rice cause diabetes or cause diabetes to be worse?

[@trail.blazer]

Red Yeast Rice contains monacolin K, which is the same component as used in lovastatin (Mevacor). That means Red yeast rice *is* a statin. The only difference is that it is not in specific fixed amounts according to how much yeast you consume. Some yeast might have more than others and it may vary between batches. Whilst red yeast rice does not appear to be associated with significantly increasing the risk of diabetes, that might be because the amount of monacolin K could be lower than when using a drug statin, or the usage of red yeast rice (maybe occasionally) varies to a statin (normally daily). Possibly good questions to ask are; Will reducing triglycerides provide improved risk compared with lowering LDL? In the presence of low triglycerides, does lowering LDL provide any real benefit at all?

[@despinachristakis1050]

The numbers for cholesterol in the States is different. Can someone what those numbers she talking about are in U.S. calculations?

[@morgsta0676]

Hi, I recently turned to the low carb diet to try and get off Metformin for diabetes. My recent blood test for cholesterol has alarmed my doctors , especially as i was rushed into hospital with a heart attack in September, and had a stend fitted. Which I believe was due to the diabetes and the sugar being converted into fats. My problem is understanding the results, if anyone here can help, i would greatly appreciate it. Serum cholesterol level 1.85 mmol/l Serum triglyceride levels 1.29 mmol/l Serum ldl 4.46 mmol/l Serum non high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels 5.05 mmol/l Any help would be appreciated

[@defeqel6537]

Not much new information here, compared to other videos on the channel, as far as I can see, but a really good summary of it all

[@jmt__]

I wish the graphs were explained better.

[@anomarnamloh7444]

As a non-medical, non-Scientist I could understand this! Yippie

[@fkn16v]

So why aren't the right people being taught this or re educated. Surely not doing so is just as criminal as the ones pushing the crap in the first place.

[@michaelwhitaker5882]

you believe that cholesterol was found in a 150 million year old fossil???! PLEASE! think about what she said! that molecule did not sit there for 150 million years! rather, that should tell you that the fossil is only a few thousand years old at best!

[@robertoperaza2683]

I always thought Cholesterol was a hormone based element.

[@fkn16v]

Natural ability to make your own yes. even when i was young i remember my cholesterol numbers being on the higher end of normal or even low end of high. But we need it from external as well, it needs to be replenished.

[@frankcolangelo1500]

I have a Podcasts that explains cholesterol a lot better than that Dr. I’ve been with the local community 4years I had prediabetes lost 22 kg on low carb. I’m getting disillusioned by the low carb community going on about the same stuff all the time there’s no nuance, what they’re saying . If you want to understand cholesterol, listen to this podcast . Podcast explains LDL-C, HDL-C It’s the APO-B particle that need to be lowering in the cholesterol, this is what they’re trying to lower with the statin. If you can’t tolerate a statin other (pharmaceutical )alternative lifestyle doesn’t get that number lower enough, (I’ve been trying very hard without pharmaceutical )too hard to maintain the diet and you can’t get that particle low enough because it’s genetic it’s about the clearance of those particles through the receptors on your liver. Statins put more receptors on the liver to clear more circulating cholesterol (Free cholesterol) not been explained property by the low carb community. I’ve been there statin, if you can’t tolerate a statin, this is the problem with the low carb community they’re not talking about alternatives. Like Ezetimibe for LDL-C and Fenofirate for HDL-C These pharmaceuticals lowerAPO-B, no mention about LP(a) there’s probably one medication PCSK9 will . Good or bad cholesterol bad terminology. kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6DHZGmKg6yWi6s

[@followurheart1112]

Ok. bottomline? 😅

[@Norman_Gunstan1]

❤