Just sharing my recent experience. I’m in my early 50s, male, not overweight and very active. Blood pressure fine, etc. No medications. For a few years, I’ve had slightly high cholesterol (total 5.6, LDL 3.4, other figures and ratios are good). I did have a heart CT scan abroad out of curiosity three years ago, and there was some light plaque in my LAD, but no doctors (and not even a private cardio consultant I saw) were concerned.
I’ve made a lot of lifestyle changes with exercise and diet, so was annoyed to still see an LDL of 3.4 recently. I decided to try a home PLAC test. I’m clearly no expert, but I believe this detects the bad enzymes in your blood which are responsible for depositing plaque in arteries.
The PLAC scores are confusing with units of U/L which is pretty meaningless. Nevertheless the guidance states <560 is OK, 560 to 619 is intermediate risk, 619+ is medium risk and so on.
My score was 596 which is intermediate risk. I’m going to repeat the test in two months with a few minor dietary tweaks, and if no change, I’ll see a private consultant.
Just sharing, no question as such 🙂
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Plaque is made up of more than cholesterol as you probably know ! Homocysteine can be one which is raised when B12 is low in range - do you know your B12 level ? Over 500 ?
Taking VitK2- MK7 can direct calcium away from soft tissue and arteries - directing it to bones and teeth. Calcium also in plaque.
VitD is good at 100+ and is an anti-inflammatory - steroidal pro-hormone - so more than a vitamin. Plaque is often like a sticking plaster over an area of inflammation in order to protect.
Vitamin K seems to have a good rep for reducing LDL. I’m no dietitian, but I reckon a few portions of spinach or kale a week will give enough Vit K.
Magnesium is a trickier one. It’s hard to get enough from food alone. Alongside Vit D (one tablet, taking too much isn’t good), magnesium is the only other supplement I currently take.
You should have a complete thyroid panel done ( TSH, FT3, FT4, T3 and Antibodies) Thyroid disease can raise Cholesterol levels especially LDL and Doctors are oblivious to this fact and since you seem fit and healthy it might be worth a look into thyroid.
There was one test Free T4 in my blood test which came back normal as 14.9 pmol/l. The reference range is 11.5 to 22.7. I’ve not knowingly had thyroid issues, but Google tells me that number suggest my thyroid is not underactive (which apparently could contribute to increased LDL),
I’ve just noticed the test didn’t include HbA1C, but previous tests have been fine, and this time, glucose was 4.7 mmol/l (range is 3.9 to 5.6).
Cholesterol results were (mmol/l);
Total: 5.6
HDL: 1.67
Non-HDL: 3.9
LDL: 3.6
Tryglicerides: 0.7
Total/HDL: 3.4
I’m happy with those figures except LDL. I’m not panicking, but I do have some plaque in my LAD (about 10% stenosis) which apparently 50% of males my age have. My dad had a bypass at 86 which didn’t go well so I’m planning to avoid being clogged up 20 years from now 🙂
Whilst there are at least two different units used in cholesterol tests (mmol/l and mg/dl), I’d hope the reference ranges wouldn’t vary too much from lab to lab.
My recent triglyceride result of 0.7 mmol/l has a reference range of < 1.7. An older report from 2020 has the same score with a range of 0 to 1.8 mmol/l.
That 2020 report did include HbA1C of 38 mmol/l (range 25 to 41). Touch wood my blood sugar has always been OK.
Meanwhile, looking at four cholesterol tests going back to 2019, LDL is always 3.2 to 3.6.
I could do, but 38 is on the normal range. The literature says readings over 48 might indicate the onset of diabetes. Also my recent glucose score was bang in the middle.
My plan is to keep a food diary to try and keep below 2500 calories, which is incredibly tough unless people skip breakfast or do some type of fasting. In any case, I burn at least 500 calories a day running. I’ve cut out bread and dairy, and I rarely eat meat anyway (once a month maybe). I do take Vit D (one tablet) and Magnesium.
I’ve been taking psyllium husks for a year, at least 20g a day, which is a lot - just ask my dishwasher 🤣 It’s made no impact on LDL. I’ve started adding flaxseed to my 30g of porridge. I’m eating and juicing organic veg like a rabbit, especially kale and spinach.
I don’t drink or smoke. I’ve given myself 2 months to see if the above makes any difference to LDL and, whatever one academic paper may say, my PLAC score. We’ll see 🙂
Oh I’ll look at Niacin, thanks, but the literature says that increases HDL but doesn’t reduce LDL. My HDL is already good. The video with Dr Drew (?) who did well to reverse his plaque says he used a statin alongside niacin. If anyone can find a study showing niacin lowers LDL, then please share.
I also take Benecol yogurts, but I’m not convinced about these.
That’s one of the best videos I’ve seen on this topic, thanks. I even read the research paper (link below the video). Pretty thorough with around 4000 participants who were all coincidentally in my age group.
The research points to an increase in atherosclerosis with increasing HbA1C even within normal ranges. None of the ~4000 participants had above normal HbA1C. Interestingly, there was no link to fasting glucose readings, so we should be asking for HbA1C tests.
The video goes on to say what steps to take. A heart consultant in the UK told me fat intake was problematic but equally so were carbs, which is mentioned in the video. I’ve cut carbs, but it’s hard. The video makes a good point about fruit such as bananas. Why eat all that sugar and carbs for the minuscule benefit? Good point. I eat dates, and they’re a carb/sugar nightmare. No more. Bread is already a no no.
I think I’m on the right track diet wise. By cutting out carbs, it’ll be interesting to do a HbA1C test at the end of this two-month target I’ve set.
I recommend reading the article. These academic articles are hard going, but the conclusion at the end is clear to read.
I take the approach that we have to eat something 🤣 so I have porridge for breakfast. I weigh it first and stick to under 30 grams. I do shove in a load of nuts, flaxseed, blueberries and psyllium. I’ll be thinking about these over the next few days as I’ve calculated my morning porridge can be as much as 900 calories! That’s fine if I have a small/no lunch, though. Porridge is probably my biggest carb sin, but it’s better than bread or fries (which I eat about once a year!)
I’ve got a massive box of fresh medjool dates to get through, but when that’s gone, no more 😕
It’s still important to maintain a healthy weight and keep body fat down. Unless a person is very active, there’s no reason to regularly go over 2500 calories a day, and doing so isn’t healthy regardless of how beneficial the food is.
Keeping a food diary (not every single day, but often enough) helps me keep the calories down. It’s shocking how many calories are in certain healthy foods such as walnuts. I’ve long given up on avocados - super healthy but expensive and often not ripe, and I don’t reckon the benefits warrant the 400+ calories.
How much should be taken then? Vit D is one of the vitamins than can be harmful if too much is taken. There was unsubstantiated claims that Vit D helped protect against Covid. I had to warn a friend not to overdo the Vit D. They wrongly thought the body would offload any excess.
The research paper (link under the video introduction) was a really interesting read. Basically about 4000 people with no diabetes had their HbA1c and levels of artery plaque measured. There was a definite link, i.e. the higher the HbA1C, the higher the amount of artery plaque. Note that the simpler blood glucose test didn’t give valid results - we have to look at HbA1C. The upshot is we should keep this lower by reducing sugar and carbs in our diet.
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