Anyone else out there with extremely high lipoprotein (a)?

Posted by csage1010 (Sue) @csage1010, Feb 21, 2022

Hi! I just found out that I have an extremely high lipoprotein (a) of 515 nmol/L. I'm terrified; it's that high. I'm 58 years old and my total cholesterol is 212. My LDL is 141, and my HDL is just 40. My cholesterol/HDL ratio is 5.3. Of course it's a long weekend and I may not be able to reach my doctor tomorrow. I have watched a couple of informational sessions online from various doctors discussing elevated LP(a), but no one mentions anything close to how high mine is. Is there anyone else out there with severely elevated Lp(a)? Thanking you in advance. Sue M.

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@stuffy

Yes!! to bio-identical hormones! That's what I learned when I researched the Pill question (I turn 86 in a couple of weeks, so this was a much bigger mystery then for me). I've been on either Armour thyroid or compounded thyroid and Biest (80-20) ever since.
There is a lot more individual biochemistry than one might imagine. My father too had his first heart attack in his 50s, and several more before he died at 89. He had low blood pressure, while everyone else in the family had high blood pressure.
I also learned that I am incredibly sensitive to carbs - first from a medical psychic in California, soon confirmed by an actual doctor who told me I was pre-diabetic. In the course of eating low-carb I had to deal with a number of other doctors who swore this would kill me. I thought they could be right, so I needed to research fats. That's how I discovered that the most important factor was fat: and surprisingly to many, it turns out that the healthiest fat is natural fat in its natural state, not
processed or manipulated. This fat is crucial for basic health - the function of hormones, absorption of some vitamins and other nutrients, and the cell walls themselves. Butter. Olive oil. Macadamia oil. Coconut oil. Not seed oils or "vegetable oil", which is banned in my kitchen but ubiquitous everywhere else. Fortunately I had a good friend who was a major figure at the Howard Hughes Institute in Berkeley who could explain to me that the good natural fats protect our cell walls and keep them flexible. Oxidized fat is very bad for this process - and the research on eggs, for instance, was done on powdered eggs for convenience in the lab, which is probably how eggs became the devil, despite the fact that the healthiest people in the world, the Japanese and the French, also eat the most eggs. I published a book on my research and was lucky to get an introduction from Dr. Barry Sears at Harvard, a leading figure in the field of fats research. I still think the quality of the fats in your diet is the single most important element.
Later I went to a noted diagnostician at UNC who famously threatened to sue anyone who tested his cholesterol levels. He gave me some unusual tests but didn't find anything unusual. I banned cholesterol tests too, though I allow them now that I know more is better for most women - but yes, not for those who have genetic cholesterol disease.
I will check out LEVQ10 - thank you!!

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just a quick follow up: its LEVQIO (I not 1) . I took nutritional chemistry at SDSU in the 1970s.
The type of fats is important. People don't realize that cholesterol in eggs does not deposit as the same in one's body. It must be broken into components and remade for your body's signature cholesterol. So when people eat the elements of cholesterol, mistakenly thinking they are better instead of the cholesterol they are providing their body with easy to assemble pieces!
We use corn oil for cooking and olive oil (cold first press) for uncooked uses and sesame oil for particular flavoring. Thats it.
There is not really something called "cholesterol disease" per say, there are types of diseases where plaque is the culprit. We simplify in science by looking at cholesterol as a total. but Drs use the LDL and HDL as a ratio to find out if one's cholesterol is "bad." Further, there are multiple other indicators now like various lipid panels which complete the picture. DNA testing was super helpful for me to determine I inherited the vascular artery disease.
The way I learned it: polyunsaturated oils were best because they effected GOOD change on cholesterol the body would otherwise make, monosaturated were neutral (like coconut/olive) and saturated fats are the worst because they contribute the most damaging elements in the same punch. Transfats - it goes without saying was superbad contributing to heart disease and has since been outlawed.
I trim all the fats from my meats. I eat meat because of my anemia so I can get HEME iron most easily. Wanna share the book you wrote with us? 😉

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@loriesco

just a quick follow up: its LEVQIO (I not 1) . I took nutritional chemistry at SDSU in the 1970s.
The type of fats is important. People don't realize that cholesterol in eggs does not deposit as the same in one's body. It must be broken into components and remade for your body's signature cholesterol. So when people eat the elements of cholesterol, mistakenly thinking they are better instead of the cholesterol they are providing their body with easy to assemble pieces!
We use corn oil for cooking and olive oil (cold first press) for uncooked uses and sesame oil for particular flavoring. Thats it.
There is not really something called "cholesterol disease" per say, there are types of diseases where plaque is the culprit. We simplify in science by looking at cholesterol as a total. but Drs use the LDL and HDL as a ratio to find out if one's cholesterol is "bad." Further, there are multiple other indicators now like various lipid panels which complete the picture. DNA testing was super helpful for me to determine I inherited the vascular artery disease.
The way I learned it: polyunsaturated oils were best because they effected GOOD change on cholesterol the body would otherwise make, monosaturated were neutral (like coconut/olive) and saturated fats are the worst because they contribute the most damaging elements in the same punch. Transfats - it goes without saying was superbad contributing to heart disease and has since been outlawed.
I trim all the fats from my meats. I eat meat because of my anemia so I can get HEME iron most easily. Wanna share the book you wrote with us? 😉

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For my particular metabolic issues, it's the sugar-fat combo that's really deadly, ie triglycerides. A lot of doctors don't bother so much with cholesterol numbers as long as the triglycerides are good - most easily accomplished on a low-carb diet.
Not sure where the corn oil recommendation is coming from - I have not seen that before. I like avocado oil a lot, but if it's mass-produced it will have bits of the seed in it, which is very bitter and so requires treatment with hexane, a dry cleaning chemical. The same thing used in vegetable oil.
The old fats book is called GOOD FAT, from Scribner. It focuses on the good fats and is designed for a broad audience, meaning cats and dogs can read it, as it focuses on actual food for fat sources.

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Actually - I would tell you from my own experience: the triglycerides are ignored if the Cholesterol is in reason. Triglyceride increase can be a sign of other things. A low carb diet is simply not the answer. Tryglicerides are kinda like a fat, but not exactly. They metabolize better when we are young and not so well when we are older. They can signal a metabolic disorder. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/high-blood-triglycerides#:~:text=Triglycerides%20are%20a%20type%20of,does%20not%20need%20right%20away.
Re: Corn oil is an EXCELLENT way to lower serum cholesterol, has healthy linoleic acid, and has a high smoke point! So many, many great things about it - Grandma was right even though she didn't know it!:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2258533/#:~:text=Refined%20corn%20oil%20is%20composed,n%2D3%20ratio%20of%2083.
As far as the hexanes - there are different types - and you are right they should be replaced. I don't consume much oil except during the holidays when cooking, but I use very high-quality oils to be sure! I'll check out the book! Always interested in learning more!

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@loriesco

Actually - I would tell you from my own experience: the triglycerides are ignored if the Cholesterol is in reason. Triglyceride increase can be a sign of other things. A low carb diet is simply not the answer. Tryglicerides are kinda like a fat, but not exactly. They metabolize better when we are young and not so well when we are older. They can signal a metabolic disorder. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/high-blood-triglycerides#:~:text=Triglycerides%20are%20a%20type%20of,does%20not%20need%20right%20away.
Re: Corn oil is an EXCELLENT way to lower serum cholesterol, has healthy linoleic acid, and has a high smoke point! So many, many great things about it - Grandma was right even though she didn't know it!:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2258533/#:~:text=Refined%20corn%20oil%20is%20composed,n%2D3%20ratio%20of%2083.
As far as the hexanes - there are different types - and you are right they should be replaced. I don't consume much oil except during the holidays when cooking, but I use very high-quality oils to be sure! I'll check out the book! Always interested in learning more!

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The health benefits of corn oil and corn oil margearine were debunked in the suppressed 1968-73 Minnesota Coronary Experiment, which only came to light around 2016.
https://www.bmj.com/content/353/bmj.i1246
Me, I stick with olive and avocado oil, butter, ghee, a little bacon fat. No seed oils, all are processed and unstable.
I’ve been very low carb for 5+ years.
TC 150, HDL 79, LDL 59, TGs 58. CAC 1124 (2021).
Rosuvastatin 5 mg, ezetimibe 5 mg (split).

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@whineboy

The health benefits of corn oil and corn oil margearine were debunked in the suppressed 1968-73 Minnesota Coronary Experiment, which only came to light around 2016.
https://www.bmj.com/content/353/bmj.i1246
Me, I stick with olive and avocado oil, butter, ghee, a little bacon fat. No seed oils, all are processed and unstable.
I’ve been very low carb for 5+ years.
TC 150, HDL 79, LDL 59, TGs 58. CAC 1124 (2021).
Rosuvastatin 5 mg, ezetimibe 5 mg (split).

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that study included margarine. (1968 - 73) and made it invaluable and irrelevant. I studied at the end of the 1970s when it was known that transfats metabolized worse than saturated fats. They were eventually taken off the market!
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6168703/
These are far more current and accepted:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27677368/
I love ghee. (but its just for the butter flavor! I am nondairy (inheriting a lactose and now casein problem!)
The one thing about taking nutritional chemistry was that it taught me how things digest. A dietician/nutritionalist learns more "trending" info. I learned the chemistry of the digestive process. That is still, after 50 years is still constant. The mechanisms of digestion. Fads/trends are removed. The body still operates best on a mixed diet of carb, protein, and fat. People do have metabolic issues requiring adjustment, and the American diet finds people consuming too much carb and simple sugar. But a balanced "Mediterranean" style diet is optimal for the "normal" person. Geriatric age nee higher protein levels than they used when younger and need to address the deterioration in digestive ability. Older people need to supplement as well and eat slower to masticate their food to grab all the nutrients possible. A low-carb diet "may be" detrimental if supplementation is not done for the loss of fiber, vitamins, and minerals found only in carbs/supplementation. I know quite a few people who thought the Keto diet was a magic bullet only to find out it backfired as they put on unhealthy weight and raised lipid/glucose levels! As an older person who no longer has muscularity and works outdoors, I rely on those carbs to "hold water" as opposed to the proteins and fats which release water during digestion and cause dehydration!

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I am Jewish. And it, unfortunately is all too important to dismiss. I am sorry you are offended. My family died both from the Holocaust and Pogroms. When these poor immigrant families came here, they ate margarine. Only margarine. It was cheap, and it was poison for them. After I was educated about the evils of trans fats -- it was still impossible to get them to change. It saddened me to see the heart disease occurring. I also went on to look at DNA of Jews for purposes of cancer (BRCA 1/2), vascular heart disease (which I unfortunately inherited); lactose intolerance (which I, unfortunately, could not avoid inheriting because both mother and father had the gene) and gluten intolerance - for which I now understand the eating habits in my family. I help others to TRY to see the DNA and hereditary problems caused by interbreeding within DNA pools. So, although I am so sorry you are offended, there is some aspect of truth in the statement. I had meant to include that I was Jewish but I got distracted. For some reason, I can't edit this post? Let me just say that growing up an artist -- everyone is offended by everything. But the value of the post as a whole should NOT be removed, the fact that I did NOT mean to insult to you -- and that we should "never forget" these things -- I hope will offer some catharsis and peace.

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I am here for the topic at hand.

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I can't take responsibility for what offends everyone. I also am not obligated to be responsible for the REASON you or anyone else comes to this platform. Others may appreciate the comment as sardonic wit. It does add a volume of numbers to the comment. It does not diminish the Holocaust nor my work AGAINST antisemitism in the backdrop of the American political environment and rising antisemitism. All I can do is apologize to you. As I indicated, I can't find the edit button for my comment (which I have used many times!) I hope you will accept my apology.

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Jews and Lipo proteins go together and are familial. To the matter at hand if you have high LPA and/or CardioVascular Disease AND Jewish, you might be interested in the research: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1836489/

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First Amendment protections only apply to actions by government entities that impact one’s speech. No FA rights outside of that.
Lots of folks get fired from private sector jobs for imprudent social media posts, the FA is not involved.
I do thank you for the apology.
I am finished with this diversion. Back to lipidology.
Sorry for the hijack, but this was very disturbing.

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