Low Cholesterol: Hypo or Adrenal Fatigue or ???

jeffreywp

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Ok, first-time poster (and total newbie to Peat) here so be gentle …

Incredibly overwhelmed with all that I'm reading trying to piece together some diet changes based off of the info I've read. Will see how that goes.

Regarding hypothyroidism and adrenal fatigue … here are some questions I'd like some feedback on.

1. My cholesterol is low. As of June 6, 2014, my levels were 146 (total), 53 (HDL), 49 (Triglycerides), 83 (LDL), 2.8 (CHOL/HDLC Ratio), and 93 (Non HDL Cholesterol). Now, these ranges have fluctuated to where it's been as low as 135 (total) but are always listed as IN RANGE or NORMAL on my blood work panel and according to my doctor (primarily because of the ratio isn't out of balance). How can I increase my cholesterol levels? Can't find info online that says it's possible. From what I've read these low levels increase my risk of a host of conditions. Kinda freaks me out and I want to do something about it.

2. My thyroid levels as of June 6, 2014 were 1.76 (TSH), 10.5 (T4/Thyroxine total), 2.9 (Free T4 Index/T7), and 28 (T3 Uptake). As with my cholesterol, my thyroid levels are considered IN RANGE or NORMAL. I believe Peat doesn't recommend thyroid supplementation with cholesterol levels sub-150. YIKES, I don't need my levels going lower! Would supplementation stabilize my levels?

Symptoms
Insomnia (avg. 4 hrs/night), periodic fatigue during day, poor memory, distractibility, low concentration, depression, anxiety, periodic irritability though generally more disengagement, low sex drive (TESTOSTERONE was 274, again low but listed as In Range), and some weight gain (but now stable at 160 lbs and 5'10"). Have to test out a couple of thermometers and get some body temp readings to see what my range is.

Had started some supplementation using 5-HTP and later L-Tryptophan after reading MoodCure but stopped after being lead to a podcast featuring Danny Roddy and his recommendation of Ray Peat. Since doing some reading, I'm trying to piece it all together but am left feeling overwhelmed with the direction I should take since my cholesterol seems to make thyroid supplementation unwise (though I have some hypo symptoms). What adrenal supports are out there? Am I missing something?
 

Mittir

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jeffreywp said:
How can I increase my cholesterol levels? Can't find info online that says it's possible.

RP recommends fructose/orange juice to increase cholesterol level. Any kind of food with
fructose and potassium is useful in increasing cholesterol. He thinks high starch intake
is one of the cause of low cholesterol.You can also increase dietary intake of cholesterol: eggs, beef liver etc. Hypothyroidism or liver problem can inhibit cholesterol production.
Few decades ago cholesterol level below 160 was considered as Hypocholesterolomia .
He thinks one should have at least 160 total cholesterol, preferably 200 before starting supplement.

Your TSH is not ideal but not too bad, you want it to be below 1 and close to 0.
You did not measure the active thyroid hormone total T3 level. But measuring pulse and temperature 1-2 hours after breakfast gives a good idea about thyroid status. RP thinks damaged adrenal regenerates very quickly with proper nutrition.
 

LucyL

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I asked Peat the cholesterol question a couple years ago, when mine was at 148 and he replied this:

Sugar is usually the most effective thing for helping the liver to make cholesterol, for example from orange juice and milk (a quart of juice and two of milk per day should do it).

So I focused on increasing my sugar intake, and a year later it was over 160. I'm looking forward to seeing what it is up to this year :mrgreen: I found adding sugar to the milk was very effective at solving most of the digestive problems I used to experience when I drank milk. Plus it's a cholesterol raising twofer!
 

aguilaroja

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jeffreywp said:
Symptoms
Insomnia (avg. 4 hrs/night), periodic fatigue during day, poor memory, distractibility, low concentration, depression, anxiety, periodic irritability though generally more disengagement, low sex drive (TESTOSTERONE was 274, again low but listed as In Range), and some weight gain (but now stable at 160 lbs and 5'10"). Have to test out a couple of thermometers and get some body temp readings to see what my range is.

Had started some supplementation using 5-HTP and later L-Tryptophan after reading MoodCure ...

Welcome to the forum.

In terms of symptoms, if possible, it might help to give reducing the insomnia a priority, since insomnia can predispose to the other items mentioned. And, all due respect, it is hard to get well without sleep. I am guessing you have experimented with the usual sleep hygiene measures already.

As you are probably aware, there are different "flavors" of insomnia. Is there difficulty getting to sleep, difficulty sleeping through the night, difficulty feeling refreshed after adequate sleep, or all three?

Almost any factor of decline (high adrenalin, serotonin, cortisol, histamine, estrogen, prolactin etc.) can promote insomnia. Most factors of decline are themselves worsened by prolonged darkness.

Many supportive factors will reduce insomnia. The most specific ones for relief will relate to the individual context. There are many threads in the forum about insomnia relief.

High adrenaline is frequent with insomnia. Fruit juice, sugar and salt in the evening, or at overnight waking, will tend to lower adrenaline. There are many other relieving factors, depending on the difficulty.

I am guessing that it is the Julia Ross "Mood Cure" book you are referring to. It has merits here and there, but is definitely different from the Peat point of view. If 5-HTP or L-Tryptophan clearly worsened symptoms, that it a good clue that high (rather than low) serotonin is a difficulty. Niacinamide, gelatin, glycine, BCAA, cyproheptadine and other things are especially relieving for that situation.
---
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/th ... ties.shtml

"I suspect that nocturnal sleep has the special function of minimizing the stress of darkness itself, and that it has subsidiary functions, including its now well confirmed role in the consolidation and organization of memory. This view of sleep is consistent with observations that disturbed sleep is associated with obesity, and that the torpor-hibernation chemical, serotonin, powerfully interferes with learning."

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/aging-eyes.shtml
"Melatonin and prolactin are induced by stress, and darkness is a stress because it impairs mitochondrial energy production."

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/salt.shtml
"The increase of adrenalin caused by salt restriction has many harmful effects, including insomnia. Many old people have noticed that a low sodium diet disturbs their sleep, and that eating their usual amount of salt restores their ability to sleep."
 
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jeffreywp

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LucyL said:
I asked Peat the cholesterol question a couple years ago, when mine was at 148 and he replied this:

Sugar is usually the most effective thing for helping the liver to make cholesterol, for example from orange juice and milk (a quart of juice and two of milk per day should do it).

So I focused on increasing my sugar intake, and a year later it was over 160. I'm looking forward to seeing what it is up to this year :mrgreen: I found adding sugar to the milk was very effective at solving most of the digestive problems I used to experience when I drank milk. Plus it's a cholesterol raising twofer!

That's exciting to hear. Please let me know what your new levels are! I will be certainly re-introducing orange juice to my diet. I'm hopeful my GERD doesn't act up because of it. The sugar and warm milk solution have been an experiment for my sleep as well. Still waking up, but I'm hopeful that with re-instituting some sleep hygiene strategies and this will help.
 
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jeffreywp

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Mittir said:
jeffreywp said:
How can I increase my cholesterol levels? Can't find info online that says it's possible.

RP recommends fructose/orange juice to increase cholesterol level. Any kind of food with
fructose and potassium is useful in increasing cholesterol. He thinks high starch intake
is one of the cause of low cholesterol.You can also increase dietary intake of cholesterol: eggs, beef liver etc. Hypothyroidism or liver problem can inhibit cholesterol production.
Few decades ago cholesterol level below 160 was considered as Hypocholesterolomia .
He thinks one should have at least 160 total cholesterol, preferably 200 before starting supplement.

Your TSH is not ideal but not too bad, you want it to be below 1 and close to 0.
You did not measure the active thyroid hormone total T3 level. But measuring pulse and temperature 1-2 hours after breakfast gives a good idea about thyroid status. RP thinks damaged adrenal regenerates very quickly with proper nutrition.

Thank you for your reply and encouragement! Have you heard about adrenals being stressed by sugar? I was reading about metabolic therapy and the information provided mentioned this. As my sporadic attempts to record my body temp have yielded around 97.6 so it is something I'm going to investigate. Thoughts?
 

Mittir

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jeffreywp said:
Have you heard about adrenals being stressed by sugar? I was reading about metabolic therapy and the information provided mentioned this. As my sporadic attempts to record my body temp have yielded around 97.6 so it is something I'm going to investigate. Thoughts?

I have read and heard a lot of about sugar causing a long list of diseases before
finding Ray Peat. Use of sugar ( lactose, sucrose, fructose) is the most important
part of RP's recommendation in combating stress. RP has several articles and
audio interviews on sugar.
http://www.functionalps.com/blog/2011/0 ... nterviews/
http://raypeat.com/articles/

It was very difficult for me to accept RP's view on sugar as i have read so many studies
showing adverse effect of sugar. I had to wait for about 2 years before adopting an all sugar
diet with very good result. If you look at glycemic index and insulin index of fructose, sucrose,lactose and glucose/starch it will be very clear that glucose is the one with highest blood glucose and insulin response. High insulin stimulates release of cortisol.
There are many other factors that makes glucose+fructose or lactose a better sugar than starch/glucose. One of the major reason RP recommends fructose, sucrose and lactose is that these sugars are very efficient at repleting liver glycogen storage. Good liver glycogen storage helps us to keep blood sugar steady, which prevents rise in stress hormones.
 

charlie

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jeffreywp said:
Still waking up, but I'm hopeful that with re-instituting some sleep hygiene strategies and this will help.
Mittirs instant coffee drink right before bed has improved my sleep.
 

pboy

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the thing is...the body only produces maximum around 1 gram of cholesterol a day...so if you think about it, it should never be a lack of dietary cholesterol or
substrates (sugar or saturated fat) that is the reason for a low cholesterol level. Im sure the body could spare 1 gram of sugar or fat from your diet or fat store to
produce all the cholesterol it needs if it could. The issue is more likely hormonal, immune system, liver issue (though not only liver...every cell can actually synthesize cholesterol), or just a complete lack of energy...like so low energy basic signals are being thrown off. How much are you, have you been, eating recently...and are you on a diet that could potentially lead to a deficiency of some sort? Im really thinking personally its an endotoxin -> immune system issue, leading to lower levels, or just a really low calorie or somehow a deficient in energy or vitamins/minerals diet
 
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jeffreywp

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pboy said:
the thing is...the body only produces maximum around 1 gram of cholesterol a day...so if you think about it, it should never be a lack of dietary cholesterol or
substrates (sugar or saturated fat) that is the reason for a low cholesterol level. Im sure the body could spare 1 gram of sugar or fat from your diet or fat store to
produce all the cholesterol it needs if it could. The issue is more likely hormonal, immune system, liver issue (though not only liver...every cell can actually synthesize cholesterol), or just a complete lack of energy...like so low energy basic signals are being thrown off. How much are you, have you been, eating recently...and are you on a diet that could potentially lead to a deficiency of some sort? Im really thinking personally its an endotoxin -> immune system issue, leading to lower levels, or just a really low calorie or somehow a deficient in energy or vitamins/minerals diet

This isn't a recent issue. I was curious myself how long my cholesterol has been low and, the last time I was at my doctors, I believe I checked all the way back to my early 30s and it was still low so this isn't a recent issue (I'm 47 now). I am working now on increasing my protein intake and being consistent with that.

What do you mean "deficient in energy"? How would I address that?
"Deficient in vitamins/minerals diet"? I normally haven't dieted since weight has never been an issue for me. I have not been consistent with a daily multivitamin (and I didn't think Peat recommended supplementation).

Thanks for your thoughts. I look forward to hearing back from you.
 

pboy

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yea that's probably not the issue then...I just meant not eating enough in general, or eating a diet that might have been narrow and left you low in certain nutrients...but it seems youre fine with that. At this point, not much more I can offer...wishing the best. I think also too much fiber can consistenly bind and prevent bile acids from being reabsorbed, so your liver constantly has to be making more cholesterol as to synthesize new bile acids...which could then be lost in the GI if bound up in more fiber. Often HDL goes up and LDL goes down when this happens because the liver is trying to scavenge cholesterol rather than produce an abundance and send it out
 

aguilaroja

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pboy said:
...the body only produces maximum around 1 gram of cholesterol a day...so if you think about it, it should never be a lack of dietary cholesterol or substrates (sugar or saturated fat) that is the reason for a low cholesterol level...

While I understand the biochemical rational here in terms of cholesterol production, empirically I have seen dozens of people improve remarkably just by increasing intake of cholesterol rich foods (eggs, meat, e.g.) when they had been intentionally minimizing cholesterol.

I readily admit that it neither easy nor desirable to eat "cholesterol only". Cholesterol rich foods will invariably have protein and other nutrients. And many studies suggest that dietary intake does not affect serum measurements appreciably:

http://www.ravnskov.nu/myth3.htm

I offer the perspective again that lab values are not the end-all judgement, though it is helpful to have the data. There will be some variation in individual cholesterol measurement relating recency of eating, time of day, season, and other factors. Serum measurements imperfectly reflect what is going on inside cells. (Dr. Peat's observation about the serum cholesterol threshold seems useful. He deserves all credit here, and has helped thousands (at least) of people.) There have been several good suggestions about other nutrient factors.

As discussed in many forum posts, there are numerous thyroid/metabolism supporting measures apart from thyroid supplementation. Good protein & salt intake, while minimizing soy & PUFA's for instance, are starting points.

While AFAIK Dr. Peat does not usually encourage single-form amino acids, taurine is one factor that in some cases seems to reduce insomnia, boost brain T3, and perhaps boost testosterone. Tuarine may also have beneficial "dopaminergic" effects of the type Julia Ross discusses.

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3155&hilit=taurine+analog
 

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