FOR HIGH-CHOLESTEROL PATIENTS
If your cholesterol goes up, for any reason, most doctors will demand that you stop whatever it is that you are doing. Despite the fact that the Keto Zone diet is healthy (which it is) and you are losing weight (which you should be), they will urge you to stop immediately.
Recall in chapter 6 that there are two forms of LDL cholesterol: pattern A (neutral) and pattern B (plaque forming). The ketogenic diet may raise pattern A, but it usually lowers pattern B.
For me, my total cholesterol is usually around 150, my LDL cholesterol is around 90, and my good HDL is around 55. After six months on the Keto Zone diet, I checked my cholesterol numbers and found that my HDL had increased from 55 to 85, which is an amazing jump!
My total cholesterol went from 150 to 260, and my LDL increased from around 90 to 160. I took the Lipoprofile test to see how the LDL measured with both the neutral pattern A LDL and the bad pattern B LDL. It turns out that the increase was in the pattern A, the neutral LDL, and the bad pattern B LDL was low. Still, I wanted to lower my LDL because it could have affected my insurance rates.
If you have high cholesterol and you notice your cholesterol increasing (as I did), or you just want to make sure your cholesterol numbers do not go up while on the Keto Zone diet, then I suggest the following revision to the previously outlined Keto Zone diet:
• Maintain the usual consumption of veggies
• Maintain the usual consumption of proteins, but minimize or avoid processed meats (bacon, sausage, etc.)
• Adjust fat intake
■ Instead of a 50/50 ratio of saturated fats with monounsaturated fats, change that ratio to 20/80
■ Reduce saturated fats (coconut oil, palm oil, grass-fed butter) to 20% of daily intake or about 2 Tbsp. a day
■ Remove the skins from chicken and limit red meat to 3–6 oz. every other day
■ Limit cheese to 1 or 2 oz. per day
■ Increase monounsaturated fats such as olive oil, avocado oil, almond oil, almond butter, nuts (pecans, almonds, macadamia nuts, etc.), and nut oils to 80% of daily intake
■ Continue to use MCT oil powder or oil and dark cocoa, as they do not raise LDL cholesterol but do raise HDL cholesterol (Japanese researchers found that men who drank cocoa were more resistant to oxidation of LDL cholesterol.86)
■ Take 1 Tbsp. chia seeds or psyllium seeds one to two times per day
■ Take citrus bergamot supplements (500 mg. two times per day) and/or plant sterols with each meal if needed to lower cholesterol
For most people on the Keto Zone diet, their LDL will usually decrease (the bad pattern B specifically) and their good HDL will usually increase. Both are very good indicators. But should you need to do more to lower your LDL and boost your HDL, following this slightly revised Keto Zone diet, with 20/80 saturated to monounsaturated fat, will certainly help. (Please refer to chapter 6 for more information.)
Now, for me, my increased LDL may have affected my insurance rates, but after switching to the 20/80 ratio of saturated to monounsaturated fats, my HDL stayed high at 85 and my LDL decreased from 160 to 110. Not too bad, and my insurance rates did not increase.
If you need to lower your cholesterol numbers, for whatever the reason, my suggestion is that you first lose the weight you want to lose on the Keto Zone diet, then shift to the 20/80 ratio of fats. This will help adjust your cholesterol numbers, should they need adjusting. Remember, the fatty acid composition of our cells is 55 percent monounsaturated fats and only 27 percent saturated fats.