cholesterol is low but thyroid levels improving on Peat diet

[joyfuljess]

Hi y'all. I've been hypothyroid for a while now and eating Peat-ish for about 6 months, with a REAL focus on not consuming any PUFA. I recently had to go to the doctor after experiencing a high heart rate with any kind of activity. The docs finally diagnosed me with "inappropriate sinus tachycardia". All my labwork is fine (even thyroid profile - current TSH is 2.15 and it was 5.5 when I started peat diet) except for HDL cholesterol which is low. HDL is 34. My LDL is normal. The cardiologist said that I should use diet to raise my HDL, but when I look up which foods raise HDL, I realize that they are PUFA foods. What to do?? Does anyone think that my HDL level being this low could cause damage?. I look forward to seeing if this has happened to anyone else.

 

[Ben]

Re: cholesterol is low but thyroid levels improving on Peat

Eat more sugar to raise the cholesterol level.

As far as the evidence goes, it suggests that coconut oil, added regularly to a balanced diet, lowers cholesterol to normal by promoting its conversion into pregnenolone. (The coconut family contains steroids that resemble pregnenolone, but these are probably mostly removed when the fresh oil is washed with water to remove the enzymes which would digest the oil.) Coconut-eating cultures in the tropics have consistently lower cholesterol than people in the U.S. Everyone that I know who uses coconut oil regularly happens to have cholesterol levels of about 160, while eating mainly cholesterol rich foods (eggs, milk, cheese, meat, shellfish). I encourage people to eat sweet fruits, rather than starches, if they want to increase their production of cholesterol, since fructose has that effect.

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/coconut-oil.shtml

Also, even though your TSH is "normal" by lab standards, RP said he never knew anyone satisfactorily healthy with a TSH of over 2. My labs showed my TSH was in fact under 2, but I'm now using 3x more T3 than what I was prescribed. Now my TSH is probably very low, but I feel better. Thyroid can be ordered from Mexico if you have problematic doctors.

 

[Blossom]

Re: cholesterol is low but thyroid levels improving on Peat

The HDL should improve over time especially once your thyroid has improved even more. HDL is simply a carrier protein and I really believe much of the dogma in conventional medicine concerning cholesterol is mistaken. It seems they would like to box us all in to a certain set of arbitrary numbers without looking at the individual. I have an old medical text from the 1970's and back then they really had radically different standards. Diet and thyroid have improved my numbers over a period of months to where I want them to be for my context but not really what conventional medicine would like! I think waiting about 6 months between cholesterol blood test is a good amount of time to see if there is a significant change.

 

[aguilaroja]

Re: cholesterol is low but thyroid levels improving on Peat

IMHO the issue in the forefront would be to feel and function well, rather than to maneuver on behalf of cholesterol numerology. Excuse me for postponing the HDL boosting issue.

Without knowing the specifics of your situation, including what low thyroid difficulties you feel, the report of high "sinus rhythm" heart rate may reflect other restorative issues.

Supplementing sodium or magnesium (food source or supplement) might be one area to explore. Good thyroid function supports retension (and absorption) of minerals, and vice versa. In particular, salt (sodium) and magnesium are sometimes low when thyroid function is low. Mineral depletion affects certain kinds of heart rhythms.

Another possibility is that when thyroid function is low, adrenalin is less counterbalanced and may also speed heart rate. Salt is one factor that also tends to lower adrenalin. Also, since some hypothyroid people have low blood pressure, the high heart may be compensating.

It is encouraging that the TSH is lower. My experience is a bit similar to other posts. I have known several people who remain very symptomatic with TSH in the 2's. Presence or absence of thyroid symptoms is important to use in interpreting thyroid lab tests.

 

[Mittir]

Re: cholesterol is low but thyroid levels improving on Peat

RP does not really pay much attention to breakdown of HDL and LDL.
He is more interested in Total cholesterol. HLD and LDL do lot of similar
tasks but HDL is mainly focused on managing toxic substances.
LDL carries cholesterol to all the tissues it's needed.
Most toxins, from snake venom to chlorinated hydrocarbon,
increase body's productions of HDL. RP also believes that cholesterol is
very protective and people with lower cholesterol has higher rate
of mortality. He mentioned a study that found people with total cholesterol
below 180 were more violent. But, a person can have low cholesterol
if they have excellent thyroid function, for them low cholesterol means
body is making a lot of protective hormones like progesterone,
pregnenolone, dhea from cholesterol.
He also recommends that people should have at least 160 total cholesterol,
preferably 200, before starting a thyroid supplement.
Improved thyroid function can increase body's sensitivity to
adrenaline. Salt lowers adrenaline and increases metabolism.

 

[joyfuljess]

Re: cholesterol is low but thyroid levels improving on Peat

Thanks everyone for responding! I'm glad to have some more info and a few new ideas to think about. I have been reading some Peat inspired stuff and looking at the forums for quite a while, but I guess I had totally missed Peat's recommendation of having a cholesterol level of 200 before starting a thyroid supplement. Thanks for pointing that out!!! Perhaps the thyroid I was taking before my racing heart issue began caused my cholesterol to lower to this level. My total cholesterol is only 154 right now. Prior to the "heart racing" issues I had been taking a natural dessicated thyroid from Nutrimed.

I will make sure to get my levels back up before starting the thyroid supplement again.

Thanks to everyone who responded for providing a fresh perspective!

 

[charlie]

Re: cholesterol is low but thyroid levels improving on Peat

joyfulljess,

See you around.

 

[jackchang]

Re: cholesterol is low but thyroid levels improving on Peat

Q:-how to lower cholesterol?

Thanks to sharing my age is 25 i am facing bad cholesterol and my levels is go on high I am tired when i doing few work please recommended any nutrition advice through natural way tips lower high cholesterol naturally.