cholesterol

[tan1225]

I am a 37 year old female.. I have posted here several times about my recent cholesterol readings...  I feel my doctor just took things lightly and feel that perhaps he did not give met he correct information..  My total was 148.. my ldl were 100 and my triglcerides were 52.. my hdl was only 37!!!!   6 years ago my total was i think 176,  ldl 98 tri's were around 111 and hdl was 59... what would cause it to  go down so much in 6 years... I lost weight since then but everything i have read says losing wieight raises hdl.. my doctor basically said , eh take some fish oil and eat some nuts and we will check in 6 months.. nothing is going to happen to you in 6 months....  i asked him about exercising and he said it wouldn't help it all that much ... everything  i read says more.. I do not want to go from doctor to doctor because i do like him.. he told me if it stayed in the 30's for 15 years then i may be at higher risk but told me it is nothing i should be dwelling on and we would just check it periodically...  
what does anyone think.. i feel like i am a walking timebomb..

[houma]

Hi,
you dnt have to worry about it,even if it's 37,just equal to your age ;)
back to hdl u can just continue eating sardine and tuna,if u replace butter and vegetable oil by olive oil it would be good too,look at the food u buy,wherever u find things that contains omega 3 it would help u to raise the hdl..and again,it's not that dangerous.
best regards.

[tan1225]

thank you.. i try to be happy about it but i keep reading low hdl alone is a huge risk factor..  the doctor also told me i don't eat enough of the good fat and that could be why.. i was eating alot of carbs as opposed to fat and protein..  I have changed my diet as follows.. I switched to all brown instead of white,,,  tuna 3 times a week,  seeds, flaxseed and a glass of red wine nightly... and walking..

[Flycaster305]

Fish oil and exercise do raise hdl, or it did in my case.  It's hard to say why it went down, but your ldl/hdl ratio is pretty good, and 37 isn't all that low.  Your readings are basically normal, 40-90 is the normal range for many testing institutions, so you are just under.  I'd quit worrying about it, try and get an hour of exercise a day, take fish oil, rejoice that the ratio is good.