Replying to Avatar Mandrik

Long health update from a guy who doesn't eat vegetables! 🥩

Next month I celebrate 13 years of eating a low carb, high fat & protein diet. Started with a paleo diet, and switched to carnivore over 5 years ago.

Went from 260->180lbs. Currently 205lbs thanks to strength training. Working on gaining more muscle mass! 💪

For peace of mind, I requested a fractionated lipid panel and a coronary calcium CT scan. The panel not only gives a breakdown of cholesterol, but also measures particle size. The CT scan looks for calcium deposits in the heart's arteries.

First, my lipid panel results (fasted 12 hours):

HDL: 64

Triglycerides: 47

LDL: 223

LDL Pattern: A (large & buoyant - good news!)

Total cholesterol: 302

302 total! 223 LDL! I'm a walking heart attack! 😂

Dr immediately prescribed statins. No talk about diet & lifestyle, only a call from the pharmacy saying my prescription is ready. Uh, ok?

I've never smoked, I don't consume alcohol or caffeine, and I exercise daily, including weight training 4-5x per week. I don't do "diet cheat days" either. I'm very strict about how I eat.

I've had many lipid panels done since changing my diet, and they always look like this. So I wasn't panicked, but I still felt anxious waiting for my CT scan appointment. I'm always questioning my beliefs. What if I've been wrong all these years and my heart is a mess?

Good news - I scored a ZERO! 🎉

So I celebrated like any carnivore would - with 2 ribeyes Apologies for the lack of pics - I ate the steaks too quickly. 😅

Sounds similar to my recent experience I wrote about. Meet with cardiologist recently and he said he's not concerned because I have no family history of heart disease.

I am getting one new blood test that he says can predict the risk of my arteries getting inflamed.

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That's great to hear!

What blood test are you having done?

I forget the name. Something about testing endothelial inflammation. Should get results next week.

Maybe myeloperoxidase.