This is for all you low-carb haters out there.

When discussing cholesterol, it's important to know what the terms mean. Cholesterol is a form of fatty alcohol that is necessary for life. LDL and HDL are lipoproteins, they are not forms of cholesterol. LDL and HDL are the delivery devices used by your body to get cholesterol where it is needed. It's very important that you understand the distinction!

LDL lipoproteins deliver cholesterol to where your body needs it. So if you cut your finger or you bruise yourself or the veins in and around your heart become inflamed, LDL lipoproteins carry cholesterol to the wound to begin the healing process.

HDL lipoproteins collect excess cholesterol left behind by the LDL lipoproteins and returns it to the liver.

Each LDL and HDL protein are composed of various proteins held together with a triglyceride molecule. Now this is vital to understanding what is happening. Triglycerides are animals fats. If your body doesn't have animal fats, the LDL and HDL lipoproteins are still created, but they are the pattern B (small) versions. Pattern B lipoproteins are far smaller and more dense than pattern A lipoproteins. For the past few years, researchers have been saying that it's the TYPE of lipoprotein, not the amount that raises risks of heart disease.

Remember earlier when I said that LDL lipoproteins could be sent to deal with inflammation in the veins in and around your heart? When a pattern B LDL is sent to deal with that inflammation, it can penetrate the vessel walls and become stuck inside the vein, leading to more inflammation. The body keeps sending LDL to deal with the inflammation and more and more pattern B LDL penetrates the wall, leading to a plaque. This is the start of heart disease.

So what causes heart disease isn't too much cholesterol or a too much animal fat, heart disease is caused by too little animal fats and inflammation of the heart.

What causes inflammation of the heart? Starchy foods and grains and unrecognizable fats, like the vegetable oils that have been pushed on us (sometimes called Frankfats, because they were made in laboratories by scientists). What can reduce this inflammation? Many veggies as well as eggs and meat with omega-3 fatty acids.

Long story short: You can't fool mother nature. Humans were hunter gatherers for most of our existence. We lived perfectly well on a very low carb diet for most of our existence and there is nothing wrong now with a diet rich in meats and veggies.

Two summers ago my cholesterol was 278 and through diet alone(very high carb BTW) it's now down to 146. BOTH my PCP and nutritionist advise against a low-carb diet. I suppose if you never excercise than you can pretend your healthy by eating low carbs.

Cholesterol tests are useless. Ask your doctor for a "NMR LipoProfile", which will tell you the particle sizes. Pattern B LDL (heart attack causing) are very common in people on a high carb diet.

There is nothing you are telling me that I don't allready know. Cholesterol scores are not useless and you are overhthinking. Keep the one score low.It's probably even lower now than 146. I work very close with my Doctor and I'll take what she says over anything you say.

Great, thanks for the input.

Okay, let me give you a real world example.

If you were going swimming in the ocean, would you want to know how many fish are swimming around the beach or just how many sharks?

The Cholesterol test you doctor had to take tells you how many fish are in the water, not if they are dangerous or not. A NMR LipoProfile would tell you if you had the healthy kind of LDL cholesterol or the dangerous kind. In other words, it separates the sharks from the halibut.

Then you should definitely stay on a high carb diet.