Kevin’s Corner on Exercise and Nutrition

I mentioned earlier that you should get a test for LP(a) or “lipoprotein little a” if you have high cholesterol. I found out about 6 years ago that my LP(a) was really high. The range that they say it should be is between 0 and 30. Mine was 106. I have had it as high as 116 and as low as 82. 

So, why should you be concerned about this?  Current medical knowledge says that having high levels of this lipoprotein can increase your chance of coronary artery disease especially if you have high cholesterol.

From WebMD:
“LPa teams up with LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, making it more likely that LDL will become inserted in the walls of arteries, causing the plaque build-up that results in coronary artery disease (CAD). Because of this connection, women with higher blood levels of LDL are at the greatest risk of developing coronary artery disease. ”

I take issue with LDL called “bad” cholesterol. It isn’t really cholesterol at all. It is actually a protein. LDL’s essential role is to help deliver cholesterol to an injury in your body to help in the healing process. Same goes for HDL which is sometimes referred to as the “good” cholesterol. It is a protein as well and it’s essential role is to recycle your cholesterol by taking it back to your liver so that it can be re-used. Your body is an amazing machine and is very effecient.  I will go off on LDL and HDL later on.

So, I have always been worried about my LP(a) because it has been high and no matter what recommendations I have followed, I have been unable to lower this number. I have tried a diet low in fat, taken gumption (2-3000 mg) of Niaspan (Prescription, timed release Niacin), exercise my tail off, taken statins and controlled my weight and never even put a dent in this number.

So, then I do a bunch of things all at once and BAMMMM, my score is now 21. So, what specifically did I do to drop it to normal levels? I am not sure, but time will tell. Here is what I did:

1. I went on the Paleo Diet and followed it to the letter. Basically, I virtualy eliminated the following food groups; Grains (including simple sugars), Legumes, and Milk Products. (caveat is that I followed the Paleo Diet for Athletes where I am allowed simple sugars and other items for recovery from a workout)
2. I started a major supplement repetoire. Read the details in my previous blog post. What vitamins / supplements should you take?
3. I got off of my statin.  I had read somewhere out on the internet that the cause of high LP(a) is actually caused by the statin. I am not sure if it is an urban legend or what. I have been off of statins before, but had not tested my LP(a) while I was clean. So, I can neither confirm or deny this statement.

So, these are the three things that I did and obviously, for me, this worked.

When I saw my doctor, I felt like he should have paid me. All he did was grill me on what I did.

I will continue to monitor this along with my cholesterol for the rest of my life. I will also continue to get a stress test ekg to make sure my heart is still healthy. My goal is to always complete the test like I did the first time I did it.

Hope this is helpful for others who are suffering from high LP(a) and are worried about it. Contact me if you want me to talk further about this.

Thanks,

Kevin