Rant
And now a quick personal rant:
Whenever I have a blood draw, I frequently get flagged as at risk for heart disease since my total cholesterol reading is often high. What bugs me is that other factors are not taken into consideration such as my very high HDL (which makes my cholesterol ratio completely "normal"), my "normal" glucose, waist circumference, BMI (although I think that BMI calculations are a joke because that would make my husband "obese" and he is about the furthest thing from it), and my very low triglycerides (wouldn't even give an LDL reading recently because of that). Sigh.
I am not saying I am in perfect health, because I am not. I am not arguing about being at increased risk for heart disease - I am no expert. Aren't we all at risk for something? Nor do I mind getting my blood work done, because as a naturally curious person, I kind of enjoy it. And it serves as a reminder to keep paying attention to my health... I have seen great improvements in my blood lipid "factors" in recent years since going paleo: my total has always been high (can you say family history?), but my HDL has doubled, bringing my ratio into the normal range. I am also thankful that my practitioner does not push meds (too much), and thus far I have avoided having a prescription handed to me (not that I would fill it). I just find it slightly annoying how much emphasis we put on numbers taken out of context. It is my unprofessional opinion that influential indicators of health should also include how you look, feel, and perform (and not necessarily in that order).
OK, rant over for now. In an effort to educate myself further, I am continuing to do some easy research regarding cholesterol. As in, I'm going to read what other people like Chris Kresser are summarizing. Hopefully, it helps me continue to arm myself with information that part of the medical community tends to overlook!
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