Blood Work - High Cholesterol - High Triglycerides - Low Testosterone

[haidut]

I sent my results to a Pathologist and this was their comments;

Most of all your blood tests are within normal range. The lipid profile is really elevated.

One thing I would like to clarify. Did you fast at least 12 hours prior to getting the test done. Ideally you should have your normal routine diet for a week or so and the night before the test, after dinner do not eat anything till the blood is drawn for the test. Your diet has a significant effect on lipid profile. Cholesterol and triglycerides will be high if you have been having fatty food, fried food, lots of nuts etc.

If your diet is normal, do you have a family history of high cholesterol. Familial hypercholesterolemia is a known condition.

Other reason could be that with all the exercise and body building you are having a high calorie diet, maybe more than needed and that is seen as raised cholesterol and triglycerides.

A high calorie diet or family history could explain these elevated results. If both are not there, I would say get the test repeated and if they are still raised, your doctor has to look into other diseases which may be causing this. It is highly unlikely that an error was made in testing or there was a mixup of the blood sample, but is rarely possible. A repeat test again would help.

I would add to this comment the following:

1. Your chloride levels are low. This can mean many things but usually suggests you do not produce enough stomach acid, so digestion is probably not optimal and can cause all kinds of issues with your blood work. Ask your doctor about this.

2. Your albumin is a little high. This could mean dehydration, high protein diet with not enough carbs for balance, or both. Ask your doctor about that as well.

3. Some of your liver enzymes deserve attention. Your ALT is elevated and it is a liver-specific enzyme, sometimes elevated by overtraining. GGT is borderline. I'd definitely ask the doctor about those b/c suboptimal liver function can wreak havoc with cholesterol and testosterone.

 

[marsaday]

This video is worth a watch.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_Re4ja7l14

 

[Iron Man]

HI Haidut,

Thanks for posting your comments.

I am right into bodybuilding and am about to turn 40. With the low
testosterone, it seems that I have been working out at a big
disadvantage

Anyway, in your opinion what are the best natural supplements for the
following;

High cholesterol - to lower it
High triglycerides - to lower it
Low testosterone - to raise it, but not too high
Fatty liver - to fix up liver function

Thanks!

 

[Iron Man]

Thanks again marsaday...

I think my thyroid is a bit whacked too.

 

[kineticz]

Triglycerides are your liver's attempt to muster energy under exertion. It is fueled by ephiprene and high CNS activity.

It happens when your basal metabolic rate cannot sustain your energy demands. Tryglycerides are a compensatory form of energy when the liver cannot maintain glycogen and the thyroid cannot maintain downstream steroid synthesis.

High cholesterol is in my opinion down to poor adrenal - preg - thyroid conversions downstream.

High ephiprene will also cause sluggish digestion as it is the fight or flight hormone and digestion is not an immediate life saving activity.

If cholesterol and triglycerides cannot gain entry into adrenal mitochondria they will make the liver toxic.

This theory is consistent with haidut's points above.

 

[Iron Man]

Wow, man am I getting an education... Thanks everyone for this!

It all makes sense to me. I think overtraining has whooped me. That with lack of sleep. I am addressing these now.

Can anyone make any suggestions on best course of action and supplementation to implement?

I have a pretty good diet already, although some minor modifications are being made now too.

Thanks again!

 

[kineticz]

It's simple if you think about it.

What source of energy is the liver showing signs of increasing. If it's increasing triglycerides and cholesterol, there is a supply and demand issue. It will be toxin back-loading the liver. It is an adrenaline/glycogen, adrenal mitochondria, and/or thyroid steroid synthesis issue.

High trigylceride is simply higher energy demand than your glands can break down into protective hormones.

All classic Peat.

 

[Iron Man]

Sorry for my ignorance, but I probably need a bit more of an education on this. I guess I am more of a " try this and see how you go " kind of guy.

Basically I am desperate to get these numbers down in 6-8 weeks before my next lot of blood tests, or my Doctor and family are really going to amp up the pressure on me to start taking statins (which I REALLY do not want to do).

I exercise a lot, I eat well (just need to make some minor dietary changes), I take natural supplements and I am working on improving my sleep.

 

[haidut]

Sorry for my ignorance, but I probably need a bit more of an education on this. I guess I am more of a " try this and see how you go " kind of guy.

Basically I am desperate to get these numbers down in 6-8 weeks before my next lot of blood tests, or my Doctor and family are really going to amp up the pressure on me to start taking statins (which I REALLY do not want to do).

I exercise a lot, I eat well (just need to make some minor dietary changes), I take natural supplements and I am working on improving my sleep.

Magnesium and/or taurine will work wonders for bringing down cholesterol and trigs. I posted some studies months ago that magnesium is as effective as a statin for cholesterol and taurine helps increase bile output, which binds cholesterol and it gets excreted. Magnesium at least 500mg daily and taurine 3g-5g daily should be enough and you should be seeing results within 1-2 weeks. If you can get magnesium taurate you would be getting both substances in one supplement so double whammy. Glycine also lowers cholesterol so you could supplement that of eat gelatin. Caffeine will make the liver lean again if the issue is fatty liver. Doses of 200mg-300mg have been shown to work wonders in animal studies.
Keep in mind that these things are simply to bring down the high numbers you have on your tests. Those are also Peat approved substances but they may not fix the underlying problem, which is that you are running on adrenalin and thyroid is not working well. So, ideally you may want to try some thyroid supplementation as well. Given you high cholesterol, taking thyroid should fix your steroid issues especially your low testosterone. Since your testosterone is low you probably also have low progesterone and high estrogen, but this is not very easy to test for since those hormones are intra-tissue located. In any event, thyroid should improve the hormonal issues. You can try supplementing some pregnenolone but I'd start with a low dose, say 10mg-30mg daily. Pregnenolone stimulates its own synthesis so it will also help lower cholesterol as it would stimulate the mitochondria to make more pregnenolone from your high cholesterol.
Btw, have you been tested for prolactin? Since your testosterone levels are so low I would not be surprised if prolactin is elevated. Prolactin is raise by stress and overtraining and is the direct cause of hypogonadism in males, especially athletes. If prolactin is high and the doctor gives you something to lower it that would address a number of issues as lowering prolactin will raise testosterone, which will improved metabolism even without thyroid.
I think this is good as a start, keep us posted on progress.

 

[Iron Man]

Thank you, thank you, thank you...

I am all over this...

You are right though, I need to get to the underlying issue. In my heart, I feel the main causes are my liver and thyroid. I need to get these right, but that is more of a long haul thing.

I never got tested for Prolactin. I hate going to the Doctor and I feel that they only test you for so much! My Doc has only focused on Cholesterol and Triglycerides. My testosterone is really how and never even really commented much about that. I have learned a whole lot more from you and all the others on this forum than what I learned at the Doctor's Surgery. I consider myself healthy, so I have been really freaking out.

On another note, I was taking 5-10mg of DHEA and my sister inlaw (a Doctor) freaked out and said "GET OFF THAT STUFF!!". She said I am messing with my hormones by taking it. Getting pregnalone will be hard for me to obtain and I am a little worried about messing up my hormones. I have never taken any anabolics either.

For thyroid, I have been taking iodine for a few years, but wonder if I need to up the dose after all the reading I have been doing? What is another thyroid supplement that I can take?

What is the long term diet / supplement strategy to fix thyroid and liver? I am new to Peat stuff, but from what I can see, I am not too far off with my diet?

 

[Iron Man]

Another thing that I keep thinking about is that I seem to have a bit of stubborn belly fat that I cannot seem to get rid of.

I have done intermittent fasting (worked great for me) and I now work on finishing dinner and fasting 12 hours every night until breakfast.

 

[haidut]

Thank you, thank you, thank you...

I am all over this...

You are right though, I need to get to the underlying issue. In my heart, I feel the main causes are my liver and thyroid. I need to get these right, but that is more of a long haul thing.

I never got tested for Prolactin. I hate going to the Doctor and I feel that they only test you for so much! My Doc has only focused on Cholesterol and Triglycerides. My testosterone is really how and never even really commented much about that. I have learned a whole lot more from you and all the others on this forum than what I learned at the Doctor's Surgery. I consider myself healthy, so I have been really freaking out.

On another note, I was taking 5-10mg of DHEA and my sister inlaw (a Doctor) freaked out and said "GET OFF THAT STUFF!!". She said I am messing with my hormones by taking it. Getting pregnalone will be hard for me to obtain and I am a little worried about messing up my hormones. I have never taken any anabolics either.

For thyroid, I have been taking iodine for a few years, but wonder if I need to up the dose after all the reading I have been doing? What is another thyroid supplement that I can take?

What is the long term diet / supplement strategy to fix thyroid and liver? I am new to Peat stuff, but from what I can see, I am not too far off with my diet?

If the doctor is doing blood tests you might as well ask for prolactin check. Tell the doctor that you have heard of exercise-induced hypogonadism and that it is caused by high prolactin so you want yours checked. Most doctors know that prolactin is elevated by strenuous exercise and stress, but yours may not so you have to just say you want your prolactin checked due to the low testosterone.
I think your sister in law may have a point since it hypohyroid people DHEA metabolizes mostly into estrogen. On that note, you probably should delay my pregnenolone recommendation as well until metabolism is fixed.
Speaking of metabolism, I think taking iodine is counterproductive. Iodine can suppress your thyroid if the dosage is not right and Peat said the only people who need to supplement iodine are those suffering from radiation poisoning.
Have you heard of the products Cytomel or Cynoplus? You can Google them. By thyroid supplementation we usually mean taking bioidentical thyroid hormones. Cynoplus is a combo of T4/T3 and Cytomel is T3 only.
Which country to you live in?

 

[haidut]

Another thing that I keep thinking about is that I seem to have a bit of stubborn belly fat that I cannot seem to get rid of.

I have done intermittent fasting (worked great for me) and I now work on finishing dinner and fasting 12 hours every night until breakfast.

Belly fat is a classic sign of high cortisol and low testosterone, which confirms the suspicion that you are running on stress hormones and not thyroid. Insulin is the antagonist of cortisol, so eating should keep cortisol at bay. Supplements that are known to lower cortisol are theanine, magnesium, vitamin E, taurine, vitamin B6, etc.
If I were you I would not fast during the night. The night is the most stressful period for the organism and the body needs the food to maintain optimal function. If you have to fast, do it during the day and make sure that you drink something sweet during the fast combined with some of the alkaline minerals sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. This will protect your muscles from breakdown and you should still be able to shed some fat. But whatever you do, just don't fast during the night.

 

[Iron Man]

With the thyroid, I am hoping to take something natural...

Would this work - http://au.iherb.com/ultra-glandular-ent ... 12065?at=0

With IF dieting, maybe then this was another factor to mess things up for me? So if I had dinner and finished at 7pm, then had a whey (all natural no junk whey - does not contain tryptophan according to label) with milk at 10pm, would this be enough?

I think I am at about 14-15% body fat. I would like to get down to about 12%. I currently weigh about 205lbs at nearly 6ft in height. I am quite muscular. Could lean up a little more though.

 

[Iron Man]

I am going to start implementing this stuff as well as order some supplements today...

Based on what I have shared, what would be the most critical supplements you would take if you were in my situation?

Thanks,

 

[haidut]

I am going to start implementing this stuff as well as order some supplements today...

Based on what I have shared, what would be the most critical supplements you would take if you were in my situation?

Thanks,

Aside from the magnesium, taurine/glycine for quick reductions in cholesterol to avoid getting put on statins, taking some thyroid would probably have the most pronounced systemic benefits. I don't know what dosage would be best for you, so you'd have to experiment.

 

[Ella]

Your ferritin levels are too high also. I would suggest you start donating blood. Were you tested for helicobacter pylori infection for the gastric reflux? If not I suggest hydrogen breath test. Stool test can sometimes test negative. You will need to address low stomach acid. I suggest you do a urinary iodine test. This gives iodine levels in terms of days. Yes those liver enzymes are high and T3 and RT3 would be useful to know. Your Phase 1 & 2 liver enzymes, either one or both will be down-regulated and struggling to detoxify toxins and hormones like cortisol and estrogen. Grated carrot and bamboo salad will help with bacterial overgrowth and liver detoxification. Cytomel T3 will help to bring down your cholesterol levels. I would have full thyroid panel done including thyroid antibodies. Don't supplement with iodine as there is already plenty in the food supply and if you are eating a varied diet you should be getting adequate. Too much iodine causes hypothyroidism. This is not said LOUD ENOUGH. Are you eating bread with iodised salt? Are you salting your food with iodised salt? Don't take a stab in the dark when it comes to supplements. Make sure you test first because and it is best to use food first and supplements as a last resort when all else fails. Same goes for pharmaceuticals. More importantly, you need to take into consideration life-style factors, such as work stressorrs, horrible bosses, problem kids, financial problems, adequate sleep and recreation (I don't mean gym) etc., etc. Ray Peat paints. Are we making time to pursue creative pursuits or are we being driven by the clock to met the never ending list of obligations.

 

[Iron Man]

Thank you again for all your suggestions and most importantly my education. I basically came here with absolutely no idea. I now have some idea and some direction on the best way forward.

I will keep you up to date.

 

[SQu]

Aside from the magnesium, taurine/glycine for quick reductions in cholesterol to avoid getting put on statins, taking some thyroid would probably have the most pronounced systemic benefits. I don't know what dosage would be best for you, so you'd have to experiment.

How long before getting blood tests would you need to start the taurine, haidut, to lower cholesterol to avoid pressure to take statins? I'm taking gelatin and thyroid already, had high cholesterol last time, confident it's now being converted so will be lower, but wish to avoid the whole issue just in case. Have a doc appointment coming up this week but will postpone if it's a good idea to give taurine some time to lower cholesterol. Any other tips?
Excuse the interruption renky!
Edit: sorry , I didn't see your earlier post answering this point.

 

[haidut]

Aside from the magnesium, taurine/glycine for quick reductions in cholesterol to avoid getting put on statins, taking some thyroid would probably have the most pronounced systemic benefits. I don't know what dosage would be best for you, so you'd have to experiment.

How long before getting blood tests would you need to start the taurine, haidut, to lower cholesterol to avoid pressure to take statins? I'm taking gelatin and thyroid already, had high cholesterol last time, confident it's now being converted so will be lower, but wish to avoid the whole issue just in case. Have a doc appointment coming up this week but will postpone if it's a good idea to give taurine some time to lower cholesterol. Any other tips?
Excuse the interruption renky!
Edit: sorry , I didn't see your earlier post answering this point.

Usually 2 weeks of 5g taurine daily is enough to bring cholesterol down by 20%+. Also, it's not the total amount that will impress the doctor so much but the fact that your cholesterol is dropping. To the doctor this means that exercise/diet are working for you so they will probably say keep doing whatever you are doing and come back in 6 months. I think there is even an official guideline NOT to prescribe statins to people whose cholesterol starts dropping without medication.