Cholesterol - Is too low bad?

[Strawburger]

Hi Everyone,

I've just got back from a health test and I was very happy with the results - BMI 23.1, blood pressure 123/84 Resting HR 50, blood sugar 4.2 & blood cholesterol level low (below 3.5 - the machine does not register values below 3.5). I can credit a good diet & loads of riding for the great results.

However i was a bit worried about the cholesterol reading being below 3.5. Are there any dangers with it being so low? I know there are issues with it being high, and the body needs some form of cholesterol to operate. Should i be worried or happy that it's low? I googled but i can't get any sound information on low readings.

Cheers

[wombatK]

Hi Everyone,

I've just got back from a health test and I was very happy with the results - BMI 23.1, blood pressure 123/84 Resting HR 50, blood sugar 4.2 & blood cholesterol level low (below 3.5 - the machine does not register values below 3.5). I can credit a good diet & loads of riding for the great results.

However i was a bit worried about the cholesterol reading being below 3.5. Are there any dangers with it being so low? I know there are issues with it being high, and the body needs some form of cholesterol to operate. Should i be worried or happy that it's low? I googled but i can't get any sound information on low readings.

Cheers

Good question. According to cardiologists, the lower it is, the lower your risk of heart attack etc., (straight line, with no limits). So they think it can never be too low, and some even advocate putting everyone on cholesterol reducing meds as a precautionary step (irrespective of any extra risks factors, family history etc.,. of heart disease).

But that doesn't stand up to common sense - cholesterol does have a useful physiological function - evolution didn't get it that wrong.

Strictly there are two finer measurements usually tracked in blood tests - HDL (so called good cholesterol) and LDL (bad cholesterol) levels. Think there might be a minimum for HDL of around 1.8 that doctors watch for - but I'd be happy to be corrected on this by the medical forumites.

Mostly, people who end up in doctors surgeries with high cholesterol have lots of trouble getting it down below 4. So doctors may tend to err on the side of driving it too low, rather than have it go high side.

When my simple cholesterol level got below 2.5, I found my endurance and recovery from long rides was affected (muscle fatigue). That's a sample size of one - so don't jump to too strong a conclusion from it.

But I don't think you've got much to be worried about at 3.5 - other than living a long time.

PS Try this google. The second match http://www.ctds.info/low_cholesterol.html might interest you. Convert 3.5 mmol ==> 135 mg/dL seehere.

[vitualis]

There is no problem with your cholesterol level. It sounds like it is excellent.

Given you are posting on this forum, I assume you have access to a computer which almost certainly means that you eat food, probably regularly. So your low level of cholesterol represents good health rather than chronic starvation so no, there is no problem.

A lot of people have wondered about the safety of dropping cholesterol levels way down (which are possible with medications) and there are now plenty of studies that it does no harm at all (indeed, there seems to be continuing benefit). There is probably a level beyond which you start having problems but we haven't reached there yet with modern medications. Furthermore, there is also a degree of ethnocentricity to concerns. Very low levels of cholesterol are quite common, for example, in poor rural communities (e.g., in China) where people eat very little meat and consume mostly vegetables.

As for HDL-cholesterol ("good" cholesterol), you want it 0.8 mmol/L or higher.

Regards.

[Strawburger]

Thats good news. I won't go and buy up big at the nearest burger joint to bring the cholesterol up!

Hopefully the muscle fatigue won't hit, i'll keep a watch out for it though. Thanks for all the info!

[the dang]

I have to throw in the disclaimer...I am pretty uneducated in this subject....BUT

I remember when I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, I was so freaked out in my first year that I hardly ever ate takeaway, did about 45 mins to 1 hr cardio every night plus played lunch time sport at school. My cholesterol was also below the expected value but my doctors said it was not a problem.

I also know there is a "good" and "bad" type of cholesterol...maybe do a blood test with the GP to see if the "good" cholesterol may be too low?? - (edit)Mike mentioned this above

[Strawburger]

yeah i aim to get a proper one done soon just to make sure everything is good.

[wombatK]

Very low levels of cholesterol are quite common, for example, in poor rural communities (e.g., in China) where people eat very little meat and consume mostly vegetables.

David Campbell's China Study involved extensively testing 6500 people in 65 rural and semi-rural chinese counties, and found the average level of blood cholesterol was 3.3 compared to the average american's 5.5. Some counties had levels as low as 2.4, and two groups of about 25 women in the inner part of China had amazingly low levels of 2.1.

Campbell reports the astoundingly low rates of western diseases (heart disease and cancers) in these counties, and attributes it to a diet which gives these low cholesterol levels.

But these poorest areas of China are poor because the people aren't very productive - and their life expectancy is about 10 years shorter than ours. Campbell doesn't report why they aren't very productive, nor what makes their life expectancy lower. It may be due to the lower fertility of the land - but he didn't explore other possibilities like whether the low cholesterol and/or protein might be a cause of vulnerability to disease or poor physical performance and hence lower productivity. Or it could be that access to more advanced medical technology is what is keeping us alive longer than the rural Chinese peasants.

It would seem that there is more to a long life than driving blood cholesterol levels to the absolute minimum. If the reasons for our longer life expectancy are to do with medical technology, then obviously we should heed what our doctors are telling us.

Thanks for your advice Michael.

[bigfriendlyvegan]

My cholesterol was 2.5 the last time I checked it. I'm not chinese, but am a vegan. As such, no dietary cholesterol, only what my body makes itself.

David

[brettjames]

ah BUT does exercise help lower/control cholesterol ?

Is it something you burn, like fat ?

[the dang]

ah BUT does exercise help lower/control cholesterol ?

Is it something you burn, like fat ?

Yes I believe it does. You can read up on google on how exercise can help control cholesterol...but I read that exercise actually can elevate HDL cholesterol which is the good cholesterol and lower the bad!