Friday, June 01, 2012
Saturday, August 09, 2008 Jay asks

Q: low cholesterol - sign of disease?

If someone has extremely low cholesterol scores and yet is eating a modern, fatty U.S. diet with a fair amount of red meats, is that an indication of other disease possibly present? I'm a male in my early 30s, don't exercise all too regularly, and eat a diet containing fairly frequent burgers, pizza, etc. I'm not on any medications. My first-ever cholesterol test revealed LDL of 30 and HDL of 67. I've read on other websites that extremely low LDL can be a sign of other disease, like undetected cancer or hypolipoproteinemia -- especially in cases where it's not a result of rigorous exercise or a stringent diet to lower cholesterol. I've not seen any websites address the meaning of LDL around 30 except in the context of statin-use. I wonder if I should schedule a medical follow-up to explore the possibility that this is a sign of other problems, although I don't have any negative symptoms at the present time. Thanks!

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nhamel, Editor
10/27/08 11:15am

Hello Jay,

 

If it truly worries you then you should probably see a doc just to put your mind at rest. However at your age it is fairly unlikely you have anything seriously wrong if you dont exibit any symptoms. Sorry about the delay in getting back to you.

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By Jay— Last Modified: 12/25/10, First Published: 08/09/08