Could a cholesterol test produce false results depending on previous days meals?

Hi L Keller,

No, your meals on Monday would not affect your lab results on Wednesday.  A fasting test (no foods/drinks 8-12 hours prior to labs) gives you the most accurate results.  If your labs had been non-fasting then there is the possibility for false highs.

A total cholesterol of 226 is not cause to panic, but a good wake up call to make some changes to lower your levels.  Click here to learn more about a diet to lower cholesterol and keep up the physical activity.  Also, discuss your results with your MD.

All the best,

Lisa Nelson, RD, LN

The Heart of Health - Heart Health and Weight Loss Tips

I think that the expert who first answered your question contradicted herself. First she said that the meal wouldn't affect your result, but then she implied that your diet (your meals) do affect your results when she recommended a diet for you to support good cholesterol levels.

Suppose you had eaten that meal not only on Monday, but also on Sunday. And Saturday. And Friday. And...etc. By the expert's second assertion, that will affect your cholesterol test results. But the expert's first assertion, it won't (because you fasted).

I found this question looking for an answer to one of my own: how long, following a change of diet, does it take for cholesterol levels to converge to a new norm? Suppose, for example, I eat a horrible diet and I decide to cheat on my cholesterol test by adopting a new very healthy diet 1 day before taking the test. Will 1 day suffice to give me a good score? How about 3 days? A week? A month? Six months? A year? When? (At some point, obviously, it stops being a cheat and starts being my normal diet, but that isn't the point.)

Does anyone know?