Q: I have followed the Zone Diet six months. I stopped taking cholesterol medication, because I didn't like it. (I had been using it for three months.) Mainly I have been eating only fish as protein and olive oil as fat. If I have eaten bread, it has been 100 percent rye. I have lost 7 kg, but now my 'bad' cholesterol (LDL) has jumped to 5.4 mmol/l. What is the problem with my diet? Triglycerides (0.98 mmol/l) and HDL (1.54 mmol/l) were rather good.
Thanks, Marjatta
Dear Marjatta,
A: There is nothing wrong with your diet. The low TG/HDL ratio indicates that the LDL cholesterol particles are becoming larger and less atherogenic. In some patients, the LDL levels initially rise as the number of LDL receptors on the smooth muscles is decreasing, hence the increase in LDL. But within a few months, the liver’s production of cholesterol will decrease giving an overall reduction in LDL cholesterol.