Swale,CHOL levels

[dj75]

my Chol level is 112.........Could this have lowered my testosterone? And if so, what do i do?

 

[ENDRO]

A total cholesterol level of 112 is very good if your HDL IS NOT TO LOW AND YOUR LDL IS NOT REAL HIGH. There are many things that can cause test levels to decline like a poor diet, depression, booze, drugs and ect: but good cholesterol levels by themself I doubt it.

 

[zaarel2]

re chol levels

I think that with cholesterol being an important building block of test that it indeed can effect T levels. Heres a quote from Swale in another post on the board

"When CHOL levels drop below 140, it induces hypogonadism because the body is not getting the building blocks it needs to make the sex hormones.

 

[buck]

I think that with cholesterol being an important building block of test that it indeed can effect T levels. Heres a quote from Swale in another post on the board

"When CHOL levels drop below 140, it induces hypogonadism because the body is not getting the building blocks it needs to make the sex hormones.

I believe that I have heard Swale say the same thing.

 

[dj75]

I think that with cholesterol being an important building block of test that it indeed can effect T levels. Heres a quote from Swale in another post on the board

"When CHOL levels drop below 140, it induces hypogonadism because the body is not getting the building blocks it needs to make the sex hormones.

So what is there to do?

 

[zaarel2]

what to do

I am going to purely guess that you can increase your EFAs and other healthy oils to help raise healthy chol levels. I am just guessing though. If I have a break later Ill look up some info.

 

[dj75]

I am going to purely guess that you can increase your EFAs and other healthy oils to help raise healthy chol levels. I am just guessing though. If I have a break later Ill look up some info.

thank you

 

[buck]

What does your diet consist of.

 

[dj75]

What does your diet consist of.

i really eat everything.....except fish
i eat a lot of steak......chicken, turkey

 

[dj75]

A total cholesterol level of 112 is very good if your HDL IS NOT TO LOW AND YOUR LDL IS NOT REAL HIGH. There are many things that can cause test levels to decline like a poor diet, depression, booze, drugs and ect: but good cholesterol levels by themself I doubt it.

Chol 112 (120-199)

HDL 37 (30-70)

LDL 53 (less than 130mg/dl)

VLDL Chol 22 (8-32)

 

[dj75]

Swale, how true is this........my level is 112

"When CHOL levels drop below 140, it induces hypogonadism because the body is not getting the building blocks it needs to make the sex hormones.

 

[dj75]

Swale, how true is this........my level is 112

"When CHOL levels drop below 140, it induces hypogonadism because the body is not getting the building blocks it needs to make the sex hormones.

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Swale, how true is this........my level is 112

"When CHOL levels drop below 140, it induces hypogonadism because the body is not getting the building blocks it needs to make the sex hormones.

 

[SWALE]

I'm sorry, I do not understand the question (even when it was repeated).

 

[dj75]

I'm sorry, I do not understand the question (even when it was repeated).

Sorry Swale,

My colesterole level is 112 (range 140-199).......could this have caused my low testosterone level?

"When CHOL levels drop below 140, it induces hypogonadism because the body is not getting the building blocks it needs to make the sex hormones.

 

[usufruct99]

Aren't low cholestorel levels correlated with increased depression and suicide rates and violent behaviour? Also low serotonin levels and strokes?

 

[dj75]

Aren't low cholestorel levels correlated with increased depression and suicide rates and violent behaviour? Also low serotonin levels and strokes?

I'm not sure

 

[dj75]

Aren't low cholestorel levels correlated with increased depression and suicide rates and violent behaviour? Also low serotonin levels and strokes?

Low Cholesterol Linked to Depression

Results of a study conducted by Dutch researchers provide additional evidence for a link between low cholesterol levels and an increased risk of depression in men. Investigators measured serum cholesterol levels in some 30,000 men, as part of a large screening program.

They compared the presence of depressive symptoms, anger, hostility, and impulsivity in these men, to men with cholesterol levels in the normal range. They found that men with chronically low cholesterol levels showed a consistently higher risk of having depressive symptoms.

Cholesterol may affect the metabolism of serotonin, a substance known to be involved in the regulation of mood as the researchers have previously shown that serotonin levels are also reduced in men with low levels of cholesterol.

Psychosomatic Medicine 2000;62.


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Dr. Mercola's Comment:

The results could be seen as a challenge to the view that 'the lower the cholesterol, the better.' Clearly this is not true. Cholesterol is not the evil molecule it is made out to be. There clearly appears to be a risk for cholesterols that are too low.

What is too low? Probably any level much under 150, an optimum would likely be 200. Cholesterol is important as it serves as the precursor molecule for most all of our steroid hormones, such as pregnenolone, DHEA, testosterone, progesterone and estrogen.

If one has low cholesterol levels then one should be suspicious that your hormones may not be optimal. My cholesterol has been as low as 85 and with great effort I was able to get it up to 175. However, it is usually below 150. I have tried many therapies to increase it, but none have been consistently effective

 

[dj75]

CAN YOUR CHOLESTEROL BE TOO LOW?

Report #7202
A report in the medical journal, Preventive Medicine, shows that it's healthful to have a low cholesterol (1).

Young men with low blood cholesterol levels were the ones most likely to enjoy good health and live long lives. The only ones with low cholesterols who were likely to die early were those who smoked.

Previous studies have associated low blood cholesterol levels with liver cancer, lung disease, depression, alcoholism and suicide. The latest data shows that a low cholesterol may be associated with cancer, but does not cause it. Before a person develops the symptoms of cancer, he often loses interest in eating and loses weight, which causes his cholesterol to drop. The most famous study on the effects of cholesterol on health/ was done in Framingham, Massachusetts. Blood cholesterol levels were tested every two years. Researchers showed that cholesterols started to fall up to 8 years prior to a person dying of cancer, and that those with the greatest fall in cholesterol in a 4 years period were those who were most likely to develop cancer (2,3).

A study from Russia showed that men who have low blood cholesterol levels are more likely to drink, are much thinner and have far less education than men with normal or high cholesterol levels. Lacking formal education, drinking heavily and getting into accidents caused both the low cholesterol and the early deaths (4). Lung disease, alcoholism, certain types of cancers and many other illnesses suppress appetite, so people eat less, causing their blood cholesterol levels to drop significantly (5,6).

There is no evidence that a low blood cholesterol causes you to die early. If you have a low blood cholesterol level, your doctor could check you for a hidden cancer, addiction to alcohol, cigarettes or drugs, emotional disorder or other disease. If none is found, you should be delighted and usually can expect to live a long time. On the other hand, if your cholesterol is high, you should start to worry because you are at increased risk for a heart attack and certain types of cancers and should start immediately on a diet that is low in saturated fat, partially hydrogenated oils and refined carbohydrates; and high in vegetables, such as the DASH diet.

By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS Radio News
Checked 12/09/03


1) C Iribarren, DR Jacobs, ML Slattery, K Liu, S Sidney, BJ Hebert, JM Roseman. Epidemiology of low total plasma cholesterol concentration among young adults: The CARDIA study. Preventive Medicine 26: 4(JUL-AUG 1997):495-507.

2) SJ Sharp, SJ Pocock. Time trends in serum cholesterol before cancer death. Epidemiology 8: 2 (MAR 1997):132-136.

3) M Zureik, D Courbon, P Ducimetiere. Decline in serum total cholesterol and the risk of death from cancer. Epidemiology 8: 2 (MAR 1997):137-143.

4) DB Shestov, AD Deev, AN Klimov, CE Davis, HA Tyroler. Circulation. 1993(Sept);88:3:846-853.

5) Circulation September, 1992.

6) Archives of Internal Medicine July, 1992.

 

[ENDRO]

Have you ever had your testosterone levels checked or is this a guessing game just to see if this could be? High test levels will increase ldl and decrease hdl so could this mean low test levels decrease cholesterol?There may be a thin thread but not much.

 

[SWALE]

What Dr. Mirkin does not know is that when CHOL drops below 140 it causes hypogonadism. And hypogonadism is undeniably associated with cancer, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, depression, dementia, etc. It alos cause polyneuropathy--which is why it scares me to see diabetic patients with their CHOL driven to extremely low levels wiht statin drugs.

I wonder is Dr. Mirkin is being sponsored by a pharmaceutical company. Just an honest question.

Endro--Your point is well made with regards to high T levels. However, same is not part and parcel of this Forum. Our T levels are in the healthy range. Just wanted to make the distinction.