Have you ever heard that having low levels of "good" cholesterol is "bad"?
This is not an uncommon perception, even within the peer-reviewed scientific literature. We recently looked at an example of this in one of the daily live segments we taught for our recent
Energy Reset Summit when we examined a study that looked at a low carbohydrate Mediterranean diet versus a low-fat diet. This study made several common mistakes, including the one discussed below, making a less healthy diet appear to be more healthy. This illustrates how important a well-rounded education and critical thinking are to make sense out of the plethora of conflicting information out there.
Getting back to cholesterol itself, to know if having a lower level of “good” cholesterol is “bad” or not, as with so many other considerations, we have to understand the greater context.
Here is one example.
HDL and LDL are two of the major sub-categories of total cholesterol. For common levels of total cholesterol, all else being equal, the higher the HDL, the better. As HDL is considered to be protective against vascular disease and is therefore referred to as “good” cholesterol, this makes sense.
As far as this relationship is concerned however, the measurement that matters the most is the
total cholesterol /
HDL cholesterol
ratio. The lower the ratio the better.
To clarify, if total cholesterol is 200, and HDL is 50, the total/HDL ratio is 4.0 (200/50=4). If total cholesterol is 200 but HDL is 67, the ratio is 3.0 (200/67=3). In this case an HDL of 67 is better than an HDL of 50.
Total Cholesterol | HDL “Good” Cholesterol | Ratio | Risk |
200 | 50 | 4 | Higher Risk |
200 | 67 | 3 | Lower Risk |
But what about an HDL level of 50 if one’s total cholesterol is 125? 125 divided by 50 = 2.5. In this case, an HDL level of 50 is fantastic, as the total cholesterol is healthfully low, and the total / HDL ratio is excellent.
Total Cholesterol | HDL “Good” Cholesterol | Ratio | Risk |
200 | 67 | 3 | Higher Risk |
125 | 50 | 2.5 | Lower Risk |
In these two cases, all things considered, the person with the total cholesterol of 125 and an HDL level of 50 is much better off than the person with a total cholesterol of 200 and an HDL level of 67, even though the person with an HDL level of 67 has higher levels of “good” cholesterol than the person with the HDL level of 50.
In our 12-month
Mastering Raw Food Nutrition online course, based on well-examined peer- reviewed research regarding whole food plant-based diets, as well as our decades of personal, clinical, course development, and education experience, we go into much more detail about cholesterol, triglycerides, inflammation, antioxidants, blood pressure, blood sugar, and many other considerations regarding one’s vascular health, along with so many other topics in raw food and plant-based nutrition that all fit together synergistically!
Most importantly, we make sure that everything is in the appropriate context, so confusion over things like HDL does not lead people down a dietary track that is not in the best interest of their health.
We are going into our
16th year of teaching this continuously updated curriculum based on our 30+ years each of personal experience on fruit and vegetable centered all plant diets, doctorate level educations, research experience from thousands of peer-reviewed articles, our own clinical experience with hundreds of patients, and 15 years as full-time course developers and educators delivering the curriculum in a way that puts all of the pieces together so everything makes complete sense.
We are happy to announce that we are now enrolling students for our next Mastering Raw Food Nutrition online class! Our next group program begins on September 1st, 2021.
Our Super Early Bird Special for the course will be ending soon. If you are interested in our program, we encourage you to contact us to set up a time to speak with us:
https://masteringrawfoodnutrition.as.me/
On the call, we will answer questions about the program, payment plan options, and together we'll decide if the program is a good fit for your needs!
We deliver this curriculum in a very
time-efficient manner. You will learn in one year what has taken us decades to put together. There is nothing else like it available anywhere!
If you are ready to commit a few hours per week for one year, you'll have the opportunity to
understand plant-based and raw food nutrition at an extremely thorough, comprehensive, and detailed level designed to be implemented in the real world.
We invite you to book a time to speak with us about our class to see if our course is a good fit for you:
https://masteringrawfoodnutrition.as.me/
