Cholesterol Numbers Still Dropping

[coffeetime]

I have been gluten free for 6 months now and it is going really well. I just had repeat blood work done and had been warned that my low cholesterol numbers would probably rise after being on the diet for awhile. All the blood work came back great, including those related to my anemia, except cholesterol which dropped even more my triglycerides are now less than 45 (my doctor said the lab will not give specific scores lower than 45 because they are not reliable) and my overall cholesterol dropped to 130. Has anyone else had this problem? I'm on several types of vitamins and have managed to have only a couple of incidents when I was unknowingly exposed to gluten. Could I still be suffering from malnutrition? My doctor was surprised but not concerned about the drop so should I not worry at all?

[Jestgar]

low cholesterol is a good thing....

[WheatChef]

You do need cholesterol for hormonal balance and proper cellular growth but you don't need all that much. If your doctor isn't concerned about your low cholesterol you probably don't need to be either.

[ravenwoodglass]

Very low cholesterol can be a problem. You are however are still okay according to the Mayo Clinic. The bold was added by me.

"Ideally, keep your total cholesterol below 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), or 5.2 millimoles per liter (mmol/L), and your LDL cholesterol below 100 mg/dL (2.6 mmol/L)

[Jestgar]

Very low cholesterol can be a problem. You are however are still okay according to the Mayo Clinic.

I'm curious if you know anything more about this. I vaguely remember trying to research very low cholesterol one time and couldn't find any studies on it. I wonder if the cholesterol itself is the problem, or the fact that it marks a much more severe issue - like malabsorption.

[coffeetime]

Very low cholesterol can be a problem. You are however are still okay according to the Mayo Clinic. The bold was added by me.

"Ideally, keep your total cholesterol below 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), or 5.2 millimoles per liter (mmol/L), and your LDL cholesterol below 100 mg/dL (2.6 mmol/L)

[ravenwoodglass]

I wonder if the cholesterol itself is the problem, or the fact that it marks a much more severe issue - like malabsorption.

I believe it is the malabsorption that causes those low levels in us. In my case at least. Once I started absorbing nutrients again my levels became normal. I would personally like to slap the doctors who congratulated me on my low levels prediagnosis without listening to what my diet really was. They should have looked for the cause as the way I used to eat, prediagnosis, was so loaded with fat that my numbers should have been sky high not in the cellar.

[coffeetime]

I believe it is the malabsorption that causes those low levels in us. In my case at least. Once I started absorbing nutrients again my levels became normal. I would personally like to slap the doctors who congratulated me on my low levels prediagnosis without listening to what my diet really was. They should have looked for the cause as the way I used to eat, prediagnosis, was so loaded with fat that my numbers should have been sky high not in the cellar.

I understand the slapping part, the doctor who refused to test me for celiac used those numbers (along with my weight) to point out to me that I was too healthy to worry about being tested. How long did it take you to start absorbing nutrients again? I stick with fruits, veg, and meats about 98% of the time. The only specialty foods (or packaged foods) I use are gluten-free oats, Chex, Van's Waffles, and Kinnikinnick Pizza crust (and these products I use less than one time a week each) I have lost about 12 lbs, but I think this is due to the fact I'm not hitting the doughnut and cake section anymore :)If my numbers continue to decrease (my dr. wants to check again in 6 mo)do you think further allergy testing would be needed? Also have you tried any type of food combining diet to help with absorption? Thank you.

[Jestgar]

I would personally like to slap the doctors who congratulated me on my low levels prediagnosis without listening to what my diet really was.

<snort>

My boss is an MD who's dad is a diagnosed Celiac. Boss was denied life insurance because his cholesterol was too low. Did he stop eating gluten? Nope. No symptoms = no problem.

[ravenwoodglass]

I understand the slapping part, the doctor who refused to test me for celiac used those numbers (along with my weight) to point out to me that I was too healthy to worry about being tested. How long did it take you to start absorbing nutrients again? I stick with fruits, veg, and meats about 98% of the time. The only specialty foods (or packaged foods) I use are gluten-free oats, Chex, Van's Waffles, and Kinnikinnick Pizza crust (and these products I use less than one time a week each) I have lost about 12 lbs, but I think this is due to the fact I'm not hitting the doughnut and cake section anymore :)If my numbers continue to decrease (my dr. wants to check again in 6 mo)do you think further allergy testing would be needed? Also have you tried any type of food combining diet to help with absorption? Thank you.

I didn't use any special diet to increase absorption but that doesn't mean that it wouldn't help. I just don't know anything about it.

One thing I would suggest, since your numbers are still dropping is to delete the gluten-free oats for a bit. Some of us do tolerate them but some of us don't. Could you drop them for a while and see if it helps?

It sounds like you are doing the right things, food wise, as in eating mostly unprocessed whole foods. That will help you heal. If you are still symptomatic then do consider dropping soy and dairy, if you haven't already.

Allergy testing is of little value unless you are having histamine reactions like hives. The reason I say that is because celiac is not an allergy and intolerances like to gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, yeast etc will not show up in allergy testing. You may, if you are still symptomatic, want to try dropping the most common cointolerances like the ones I mentioned and see if it helps. You could also consider doing Enterolab testing for antibodies to those items.

[frieze]

I believe it is the malabsorption that causes those low levels in us. In my case at least. Once I started absorbing nutrients again my levels became normal. I would personally like to slap the doctors who congratulated me on my low levels prediagnosis without listening to what my diet really was. They should have looked for the cause as the way I used to eat, prediagnosis, was so loaded with fat that my numbers should have been sky high not in the cellar.

chol. testing should be done fasting, so the major effect of diet is eliminated...the liver manufactures chol. too little can cause many issues, i am not aware of what the underlying cause would be, though i would suspect malnutrition/liver disease.

[Roda]

Around 6 years or so ago I had a lipid panel done. Never had one done before. Total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and triglycerides were all low. My triglyceride level was the lowest and it was 4. I had a doctor tell me they had never seen a level so low before and that I was "lucky". The only thing they recommended was to try and raise my HDL. After I was diagnosed I found some information (very limited) on low triglycerides as a sign of malabsorption. I just had another lipid panel done in April to see where everything was. WOW! Everything is normal now! I still need to raise my HDL but everthing else is normal now. I had it done because I feared that now that I am absorbing, that I would go the other way. My mom has high cholesterol and so did her mother. Mom was on meds for it until this year. She has lowered it enough with lifestyle/diet changes that her doctor took her off of it and she is doing great. My father and brother have very low numbers as well. HMM, both in denial.