T Nation

Low Cholesterol Concern

Supplements and Nutrition
#1

I was wondering if anyone could help me- I’ve just had a blood test and, apologies for the UK scales, but it showed my total cholesterol to be just 2.6 mmol/L (5.0 mmol/L is recommended upper limit in UK).

The Doc was quite amazed- he said he sees very few patients with cholesterol in the <4 mark, let alone the <3 mark. Said 2.6 total is the lowest he’s seen in years. Is this something I should be concerned about? If it’s useful, the breakdown was HDL 1.09 mmol/L, Trig 0.40 mmol/L and LDL 1.3 mmol/L.

#2

Yes, low cholesterol (below 160is linked to increased rates of cancer and stroke, along with suicidal attempts.

so for us Americans that’s:

Total 100
HDL 42
LDL 50
Tirglycerides 15

To be honest, I’m wondering if that lab test is accurate. I’ve never heard of anyone with triglycerides that low, but I haven’t seen a lot of them.

If those values are accurate, your risk for heart issues appears to be non-existant with your Tri:HDL ratio.

#3

sorry, the reading for your Tri’s should be 35, not 15, still way low from what I’ve seen, but still a great Tri:HDL ratio

#4

I wouldn’t be concerned at all. Just like your doctor said, those values aren’t seen very often because of wide spread metabolic syndrome etc.

We have measured triglycerides that low previously. Active, lean people routinely measure in at below 0.8 mmol/L

#5

[quote]MODOK wrote:

[quote]ShutUpAndSquat wrote:
I was wondering if anyone could help me- I’ve just had a blood test and, apologies for the UK scales, but it showed my total cholesterol to be just 2.6 mmol/L (5.0 mmol/L is recommended upper limit in UK).

The Doc was quite amazed- he said he sees very few patients with cholesterol in the <4 mark, let alone the <3 mark. Said 2.6 total is the lowest he’s seen in years. Is this something I should be concerned about? If it’s useful, the breakdown was HDL 1.09 mmol/L, Trig 0.40 mmol/L and LDL 1.3 mmol/L.[/quote]

Are you sure about these numbers? Converting mmol/L to mg/dl still leaves the UK guidelines for TC at < 100 mg/dl. You sure it isn’t 10? All these numbers look very, very odd…even the “reference ranges”.[/quote]
I would check your calculations. We use the same reference range and units here in Australia.
I got the upper limit of TC just under 200 mg/dl when converted