Worsened Lipids from Adding Eggs?
Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 4:25 pm
I had been vegan for 20 years before adding eggs in the last year. I read Dr. Bredesen's End of Alzheimer's and Dr. Perlmutter's Grain Brain, and am now reading Dr. Gundry's Plant Paradox. I have since drastically cut back on the gluten and grains in general, and increased eggs (organic and cage-free, but not always "pastured"). I think I may have increased my intake of coconut oil as well, while decreasing fruit.
My lipids in 2016 (age 36, vegan, eating gluten and fruit to my heart's content) were:
Total cholesterol - 150
HDL - 61
TGs - 46
LDL - 80
Chol/HDLC ratio - 2.5
Non HDL chol - 89
Now, they are (just turned 39, eating eggs but no meat, less gluten, less fruit):
Total cholesterol - 175
HDL - 54
TGs - 75
LDL - 105 (HIGH!)
Chol/HDLC ratio - 3.2
Non HDL chol - 121
and this time I also checked:
sdLDL - 23 (normal is under 40, although I saw in a different thread that Dr. Gundry recommends under 20)
hsCRP - 0.5 (<1.0 lower relative cardiovascular risk)
Homocysteine - 11.2 (HIGH)
B12 - 423 (normal is 200-1100)
Folate - 14.7 (normal is >5.4)
B6 - 24.5 (HIGH; normal is 2.1-21.7 ng/mL)
While I have had total cholesterol ranging 150-181 in my past, my LDL has NEVER been high and my HDL was always in the 60s. I'm wondering if it's from eggs, or something else (getting 2.5 years older, slightly less exercise, increased stress and pollution from moving to LA three years ago?)? My mother's total cholesterol is over 300, so I could have some genetic disposition for high lipids. Thankfully, cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks and stroke do NOT run in the family. Glucose, insulin, and HbA1c are fine (83, 3.1, and 5.2, respectively).
I am not surprised at the high homocysteine, as I've always been high MCV or MCH, so I've suspected B12 deficiency from my diet, coupled with a MTHFR variant I saw from my raw 23andme data. Although my B12 and folate currently look normal, my B6 is high! Given that "Homocysteine levels in the blood higher than 6 are associated with more rapid loss of brain tissue with aging," I need to figure this out! Looking at the methylation wiki, I am going to pour over the relevant SNPs today. If anyone has further tips, I'd really appreciate them!
My main questions are:
My lipids in 2016 (age 36, vegan, eating gluten and fruit to my heart's content) were:
Total cholesterol - 150
HDL - 61
TGs - 46
LDL - 80
Chol/HDLC ratio - 2.5
Non HDL chol - 89
Now, they are (just turned 39, eating eggs but no meat, less gluten, less fruit):
Total cholesterol - 175
HDL - 54
TGs - 75
LDL - 105 (HIGH!)
Chol/HDLC ratio - 3.2
Non HDL chol - 121
and this time I also checked:
sdLDL - 23 (normal is under 40, although I saw in a different thread that Dr. Gundry recommends under 20)
hsCRP - 0.5 (<1.0 lower relative cardiovascular risk)
Homocysteine - 11.2 (HIGH)
B12 - 423 (normal is 200-1100)
Folate - 14.7 (normal is >5.4)
B6 - 24.5 (HIGH; normal is 2.1-21.7 ng/mL)
While I have had total cholesterol ranging 150-181 in my past, my LDL has NEVER been high and my HDL was always in the 60s. I'm wondering if it's from eggs, or something else (getting 2.5 years older, slightly less exercise, increased stress and pollution from moving to LA three years ago?)? My mother's total cholesterol is over 300, so I could have some genetic disposition for high lipids. Thankfully, cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks and stroke do NOT run in the family. Glucose, insulin, and HbA1c are fine (83, 3.1, and 5.2, respectively).
I am not surprised at the high homocysteine, as I've always been high MCV or MCH, so I've suspected B12 deficiency from my diet, coupled with a MTHFR variant I saw from my raw 23andme data. Although my B12 and folate currently look normal, my B6 is high! Given that "Homocysteine levels in the blood higher than 6 are associated with more rapid loss of brain tissue with aging," I need to figure this out! Looking at the methylation wiki, I am going to pour over the relevant SNPs today. If anyone has further tips, I'd really appreciate them!
My main questions are:
- Should I be concerned about the high LDL and lower HDL?
- Has anyone else had the experience of adding in animal foods and/or coconut oil, with negative effects on their lipids?
- Should I cut out the eggs and/or coconut, or are they not likely the problem?
- Should I increase B12 and folate, but not B6? Or is my high B6 ok? What about trimethylglycine (TMG)? I read TMG lowers homocysteine but raises LDL
- I'm adding in more exercise and more consistent omega-3 supplementation (algal DHA/EPA supplement) while decreasing omega-6; should I care about the ratio of DHA to EPA? It seems that both have benefits, and I didn't see much of a distinction made on the fat wiki (https://www.apoe4.info/wiki/Fats,_Omega ... A_and_More).
- What about the effects of alcohol and caffeine? I drink a little bit of red wine (which should raise my HDL and may lower LDL, but can also raise MCV I believe). I've read caffeine can raise homocysteine, but as you all know, it's beneficial for staving off Alzheimer's (I usually drink a small cup of coffee in the morning, and/or black tea).
- I've felt weird about decreasing fruit, but that's probably a whole other topic of discussion! I do wonder if there is a connection, however, between decreasing fruit and worsened lipids?