My PARP1 genes have a horrible defect and resulting terrible fatty acid transport, including Lp(a). The solution was not a "statin". The fix was eliminating all saturated fats and replacing them with olive oil. My HDL skyrocketed to 80! So if you want an increase in HDL, simply fix the fats in your diet.
Impressive. Have you considered splitting your experiments so that inferences can be calculated without multiple concurring changes clashing? I do appreciate the willingness to improve on various fronts at once, but the data is clearer when things are done one by one.
Hi Hedi, HDL data for Test #1 in 2023 was in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vKSNxpxUBF8.html Test #2 in 2023 is coming this weekend!
You didn’t show age related all cause death regardless of HDL to see if this is statistically different from levels of HDL. Also consider mapping LDL to all cause death to compact with a similar plot disregarding it. Then the same with insulin levels. You will likely find that consistency on a LCHF diet will deliver these results but it would interesting to see if this hypothesis is true. It appears to be true for LCHF athletes. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the fantastic videos! I am becoming extremely enthusiastic about the possibility of gaming my biomarkers. I would have liked to have done this in the past, but it seemed nearly impossible. But, your videos have shown me that the tools have reached the point that it is pretty straight forward now. In fact, along with all the individual measurements, we can use an overall score, the biological age, as a guide for the whole picture. So, thanks for that! I got Cronometer and have started measuring everything I eat. It isn’t very hard because I eat practically the same unprocessed foods every day. I have a lot of variety each day, but eat essentially the same thing day to day. I have my first blood measurement scheduled for this week. I am excited to start determining the correlations and driving them in the right direction. So, thanks again!!!
That's good to hear, Neil, and if I can do it, anyone can! Some may look at it as gaming the biomarkers, but aging and disease are biochemical processes that occur for many decades. Optimizing as many of these biomarkers as possible, and simultaneously would be expected to slow aging and pathological processes, thereby improving health and life expectancy.
@@conqueragingordietrying123 I agree. Perhaps gaming the biomarkers is the wrong phrase. We can't control everything, but this is a handle that allows us to take greater control of our health. In the past, I changed my diet and my exercise in a way that made huge improvements to my health. But, this was based on very general findings -- mainly turning to unprocessed foods with an emphasis on vegetables and introducing greater and better exercise. But, after an initial huge improvement, I plateaued with the knowledge and tools that were easily and inexpensively available. I would try different regimes for diet and exercise but the changes in health were increasingly small over time, so that I couldn't say for sure whether I was better before of after many of the changes. The first principle to go beyond a subjective sense of our health (or anything) is to measure something and then to experiment with changes (exactly as you have done) and look at the results on that measurement and how it compares with health. But, without a medical degree, I felt overwhelmed with how to take this further. I knew that the changes I had already made brought all my blood markers into the "standard range" whereas several used to be pretty bad. But, I didn't know where to go from there. So, now you have given me a new set of tools to make measurements and a way to determine when they are moving in the right direction. You also led me to this great dietary app that is way beyond what I used several years ago. According to the app I am already doing really great :), but, I want to go beyond the general recommendations now and push my health to higher levels, hopefully increasing healthspan and lifespan and hopefully putting myself in a good position to take advantage of the longevity research that is currently underway and should start becoming available over the next few decades.
@@conqueragingordietrying123 Sodium's effect on Renin may convince you. Do note: Therapeutic blockade of mast cell degranulation and/or histamine and ANG II receptors should attenuate pulmonary fibrosis.
Interesting. I'm a hot mess. HDL 148. 60 yo F, no familial hyper cholesterol. Low carb, no seed oils. Could cod liver oil and butter raise numbers this high? 🤷🏼♀️ Never had high cholesterol in my life until an operation five years ago, and boom! Now I'm consistently in the 330's TC. That was when I changed my diet. So confusing.
Hey C Dixon, have you had a coronary artery calcium scan? That would provide the most direct evidence of atherosclerosis (or not). Alternatively, what do your other biomarkers look like, including Lp(a) and hs-CRP?
you probably have an oversupply of vit A and vit D... 330 TG is definitely not a good thing. I would immediately do a 36 h fast every 2 weeks, and sufficient exercise, 0% sat fats. The role of TG is transport to\from storage. If storage is full, and no consumption, it would raise. Note that an extreme intake of protein also could raise TG , as the would get converted to glucose
Also note that the data from large epi studies (i.e. in the video) would be expected to apply to most of the population, but at the individual level, it's possible to not be within that range, but still have optimal levels. In that situation, as I mentioned in the video, data for other biomarkers can provide more context. With that in mind, do you have data for hs-CRP?
Thx Prof. LUSTGARTEN for this another great video. What would have been the impact on the whole picture of your data if your HDL (not total cholesterol) is increased to 100-110 mg/dL) AND your LDL is low (50-55 mgLdL), your triglycerides are also very low, no atherosclerosis ( 0 plaque), no hypertension or diabetes and your hsCRP is 0.12. Would you consider this very high level of HDL as optimal or at least healthy? Maybe when assessing the "optimality" of HDL cholesterol we have at the same time take into account the whole context of the other parameters and your database offers a unique opportunity to implement preliminary simulations in that direction, even if any conclusion would remain specific to you.
Hey Abdelilah, in terms of CVD risk, that would be a good scenario, but I'm also interested in the big picture-would 0 CAC, HDL = 110 and low CRP be associated optimal values for the big picture biomarkers that I've presented in recent videos? If so, then the HDL scenario that you described would be good for overall health, not just CVD risk.
Peter attia talks about how a high hdl isn’t good as well as dr andy galpin, based on blood tests of many athletes he has coached. He said people with a high hdl have almost always been unhealthy. My hdl is on the higher side and I’m wondering what I can do to lower it a bit
Hi Peter, HDL on its own is important, but for more context, what does the rest of your blood test data look like? My email is mlhnrca@gmail.com, we can chat more there if you prefer.
In the last couple of days I've watched just about every one of your videos. Awesome and highly useful analysis! Kudos. I am 70. Here is my Keto experience (coupled with 5-6 days a week heavy exercise), which I have been following for 1 1/2 years. Within 2 months after starting keto, my HDL went from it's long term 55, to 78 then 86, 82, and 86 most recently. Correspondingly my Trig went from long term 110 avg, down to 45, 61, 70, and 54 most recently. My Trig/HDL ratio is currently 0.63. At the same time I have a bunch of other metabolic improvements including max HR, eGFR, AST, ...) and I feel best in years. My only concern after watching this HDL video is my HDL of 86 high risk? I haven't even seen that high of a number show up on any of your presented data. My results are not much different for what is shown in Table 2 of this paper: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6173254/
That's great Phil, and thanks. In terms of your HDL, more context is better-I know that you said your other markers improved (aside from the lipid panel, glucose), but can you please post those data? Keto is well known (from my reading of the literature) to optimize TGs and HDL, but also from my experience, not the other markers of organ and systemic function.
They all have value. I think it's important to not only look at the lipid panel, but also all the other measures of organ and systemic function. What's optimal for the lipid panel can vary from person to person within that context.
Hey bkinstler, I do eat tree nuts-walnuts, almonds, cashews, peanuts are all in my pantry. I'm eating less walnuts these days, though, because they're rich in omega-6 fats, which is correlated with a few of my biomarkers going in the wrong direction (RBCs, homocysteine).
I would like the paper that you talked about - I have been arguing with the VA for my LDL is 120 and they want it 50 and I said no - what is your take on this issue? I am 71.
Thanks. No one in the medical profession has ever given me options for raising my low HDL levels over the years. That's in addition to not telling me that low dose stains deplete coQ10. At least they are consistent.😮😮
In large epidemiological studies, there is no published evidence that a HDL of 100 is ok in men. I'd visit a cardiologist who is current with the published literature. Alternatively, can you be healthy with a HDL of 100? Yes, but all your other biomarkers should be within optimal.
@Abdel-Ilah BENAHMED Unfortunately, in that paper they didn't indicate actual HDL levels, only that better longevity was associated with each 1SD increase for HDL. So the actual level for which that may be true is unknown, but it's likely true for the higher end of the ranges that I posted in the video (50 - 59 for men, 50 - 79 for women), but not higher than these values, which is associated with an increased all-cause mortality risk. Also note that in the study that you posted, it included ~190,000 subjects. In contrast, the studies in the video included data for 15.8 million and 3.4 million, people respectively, in 2 separate studies. The bigger the study, the less likely to see an effect, so I place the most merit there. To bring it back to the individual (from the large epi studies), as I mentioned, full screening for blood biomarkers (and more direct CV-health related metrics) can help elucidate the story in terms of health or not. What's your hs-CRP, Lp(a), VLDL?
My N=1 ...egg cheese chicken fish and occasionally red meat ...paleo diet HDL 60-65 range at 33 years old Triglycerides in 40-50 range .... vLDL 8-10 range Lp(a) less than 2 , HBA1C 5 fasting insulin 5-8 uIU/ml
HDL is a bit higher than the "optimal range for men (50 - 60), but close. THe rest looks good, but your insulin can be lower-I'm 48, and on my last test it was 3.1...
@@conqueragingordietrying123 yes I want to lower my insulin and the improve Homa IR score . Have a family history of diabetes and CVD , should target insulin under 4. With fasting and calories restrictions should be able to achieve it. As I am into weight training 3 times per week and live a very active life ( 12-15k steps per day) I need to keep my protein intake high. Thank you for your response.
Steven Gundry talks about high cholesterol being a response to a problem rather than a problem in and of it's self....and with him most problems are caused by leaky gut and the wrong mix of gut bacteria in the micro biome due to diet, stress, antibiotics, medicine, etc. In his longevity paradox book. Your take would be appreciated.
@@artificialintelligence5087 Dr. Gundry pushes some of his theories by relating them to "that's what ancient man has adapted to" but then recommends a liter of olive oil a week for the gut bacteria which ancient man was unlikely to have. He say you have to pressure cook certain foods with lectins in them that humans are not adapted to like nightshades as they break down the lining. I did notice in another video that Dr. Lustgarten eats red bell peppers and I am curious if he pressure cooks them or his gut lining is so good that it is unnecessary. I wonder if he can improve his tests by removing high lectin foods.
@@artificialintelligence5087 I need to do that. Olive oil does have oleic acid in it which may be more powerful than resveratrol.... but too much oil seems bad as well. Do you have any recommendation as to what tests I ought to get and how to read them?
@@artificialintelligence5087 I had the horvath clock measured on me it said I was the age I am. So that is where i am starting from. I will look for that spreadsheet.
Hi@@joshuagenes, I'm a big fan of the evolutionary approach to nutrition, but the key is to blood test/study our own objective biomarkers to identify the food pattern that best optimizes health. That's where my approach differs from the rest, including Gundry. The idea to "eat real food and exercise" isn't specific enough for me. Yes, leaky gut is a problem, and more so during aging and when eating low-fiber diets (which most people unfortunately eat). Good job on getting your epigenetic age measures quantified, and relatedly, in this link from my website is the spreadsheet for Levine's biological age calculator: michaellustgarten.com/2019/09/09/quantifying-biological-age/ Similarly, aging.ai also provides a biological age calculator, and includes HDL as a measurement.
Good job, @@artificialintelligence5087 you definitely predicted how I would respond, especially in terms of using biomarkers to dictate the diet that is best for health at the individual level!
I'm very active, including weights, cardio, stretching, etc every week. Resting heart rate, as a proxy for cardiovascular fitness, is not significantly correlated with my HDL. HDL makes an appearance in my next video, with more insight about optimizing it.
Interesting. I wonder if stuff like matcha or green tea could help if combined with greater saturated fat intake. Given saturated increases HDL and LDL, but green tea and matcha lower LDL but not HDL.(btw, clarified my previous comment.)
I drink green tea every day, and average ~40g/d of coconut butter (which is almost exclusively saturated fat), so my data is involved in that story. From my experience, my fiber intake dictates my cholesterol levels. A 20g drop from 100g to ~80g/d -->TC increased by ~30 mg/dL, HDL by ~10 mg/dL.
@@conqueragingordietrying123 Interesting. I hypothesize fiber probably absorbs some of the fats and they remain undigested. Think half a teaspoon of Matcha is said to be 2-3 times what a cup of green tea is, so it tends to have stronger effects on cholesterol than a single cup of green tea. I know two cups of matcha(half a teaspoon each) one with breakfast and one with dinner for one month, appears to have cut my vldl results by more than half. Another interesting compound when it comes to cholesterol is amla(some research suggests it is about as potent as statins), but that is sketchier as I think it has far less research(Maybe in India there are more papers).
@@diamond_s That may be true for insoluble fiber, not soluble fiber, which is fermented by gut bacteria into SCFAs. Insoluble fiber is not fermented by gut bacteria. In terms of amla or other foods for reducing cholesterol, it's likely a fiber based effect, as amla contains fiber. Most people don't eat enough fiber, so adding in a food that has fiber is likely part of the cholesterol-reduction story.
@@conqueragingordietrying123 do bacteria ferment all the soluble fiber, one might think high enough intake and some might remain unfermented. As for amla doses that are suggested to have statin like effects are as little as half a teaspoon a day, not sure how much fiber can be in such a small volume.
@@diamond_s Bacteria ferment soluble fiber. Insoluble fiber is not fermented, it gives the stool bulk, binds to water, etc. Fiber is not all soluble, most is insoluble. In terms of amla, there is only 1 RCT that used it (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30670010/), and while the results are impressive, they didn't report weight loss during the study, which could explain a lot of the observed effects.
I am guessing that in general the higher the total cholesterol, the higher the HDL will be. While there could be a higher mortality risk of hdl of over 59 for men, perhaps that could be because many people with a high HDL also have total higher cholesterol? I am at 68 HDL., total cholesterol 142, albumin 4.5 g/dl There are not really any recommendations as to how to reduce HDL out there. at least none that I could find.
I understand that argument, but note that TC > 240 is associated with an increased all-cause mortality risk, so the magnitude of how high is important. In terms of your LDL, it's within the optimal range (see this video, ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8sq7gQMvicQ.html), and albumin can be higher (closer to 5 is found in youth, see this video, ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6Rc9xLvD2PU.html). As I mentioned in the video, hs-CRP and Lp(a) can provide more context around the HDL story-do you have data for that? Also, alcohol intake can contribute to higher-than-optimal HDL, what's your intake for that?
@@conqueragingordietrying123 I drink about 4 or 5 times a year. I lift, run and do sauna a lot, eat a whole foods vegetarian diet, lots of nuts, olive oil, 4 grams of high DHA algae oil I went back and looked at my 2018 labs and my HDL was 77 back then, total cholesterol, was 177, and my albumin was 4.9.
I think I know why my 2020 labs changed. I took my 2020 labs about a week after a 3 day fast, so if I had to guess my normal albumin is probably higher than 4.5 (which is good) and my normal HDL is probably higher than 67 (perhaps not good). Fasting knocks my wbc down below the reference range, so I have not done it since last June. I might wait a couple of weeks until after my second covid vaccine before doing another fast.
Hi Michael, recently i came across a lecture about Lp(a), which likely is highly relevant for you : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-R3C9bdDCRiU.html , and the algorithm then brought me to this one: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zZH_zU1h7GM.html, which is even more important in summary: Lp(a) >30 indicates arterial injury (despite there is a genetic component); Lp(a) as an intricate relation to vit C status; the role of HDL is to bind to oxidized LDL and Lp(a), Vit C is protecting against oxidizing and hence more HDL remains, hence the relation to Lp(a) is inverse; Vit C i strengthening the collagen matrix of arteries even short term. It is wrong to state that Lp(a) is not bad for health... instead it is indicating a bad state of arteries. High HDL indicates a good anti-oxidant status and low inflammation, hence also the inverse relation to CRP. Regarding the optimal values of HDL and mortality: without considering interactions an mechanisms one can not conclude that the mortality density curves reflect causation. I regard it as a mistake to conclude that you should lower HDL if it is >60, if at the same time the triglycerides are pretty high, as in your case. All the best! I just wanted to return a bit ;)
Thanks monnoo, I tried high-dose C (and lysine) in the past for Lp(a) reduction, with no luck. In contrast, I've had good success with a relatively higher-fat diet, cutting Lp(a) in half when compared to my highest value.
@@conqueragingordietrying123 As explained in one of the linked vids, Lp(a) is not a cause, but caused by injuries, secondarily leading to occlusions. Given the protective role of HDL and your not so favorite TG/HDL I would intensify (fasted) exercise, and prevent vascular injuries of any kind as much as possible. Vitamin deficiency is pretty much excluded in your case ! :) Since yo are eating lots of plants, there could also be a immunological cross-reaction. good luck!
@@conqueragingordietrying123 "Remarkably, one-quarter of the centenarians had high Lp(a) serum levels even though they never suffered from atherosclerosis-related diseases." 1998 G. Baggio. 2012 article title: Low Lipoprotein(a) Concentration Is Associated with Cancer and All-Cause Deaths: A Population-Based Cohort Study (The JMS Cohort Study) Why would you want to lower your Lp(a) level as it is in your genetics for a reason so you live a long life?
