"...it's a revolution in thinking about the origin of heart disease. The cholesterol hypothesis has been that eating an excess of either cholesterol or high fat in the diet somehow causes the elevation of blood cholesterol and somehow damages the arteries. The homocysteine approach attributes the pro...
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Homocysteine
Hannah
Saturday, June 06, 2009 at 11:17 AM
Couldn't homocysteine levels merely be a red herring? Studies indicate that women with depression/anxiety have increased homocysteine levels and that homocysteine levels fluctuate during menstrual cycle. If a person is anxious during a blood draw or has been experiencing lots of stress -- couldn't that elevate the homocysteine levels? Could coffee drinking affect some people's homocysteine levels and not others?
I am 5'3" tall 45 year old female who weighs 106 pounds. I am active and have normal bp. My total cholesterol is consdidered "elevated" at bouncing from 200 - 280 but my HDL is always over 100 and my VLDL is always very low at 5 or 6. My triglycerides are always very low -- 40-60. Fasting glucose 70s to 80s. My HS cardio CReactive Protein is always considered ideal at .2 to .9. My serum folate is always over 25 (lab norm is anything over 5) and my b12 is always off the charts at around 1100 (lab norm is 200-1000) -- so no folate or b12 deficiency. These lipid patterns have been the same for nearly a decade. Recently, I had my homocysteine tested for the first time by a new doc who did not test for folate or b12 at the same time although they were tested 6 months ago and were same as the aforestated levels. My homocysteine came out at 13.6. The lab range for women is 3.7-13.9. So I am at the top. I was very anxious during the blood draw because I'd had some horribly stressful conditions during the prior several weeks due to an elbow injury (lack of sleep) family drama-- it was the friday of Memorial Day Weekend plus the lab tech had a hard time getting my vein and had to try many times -- she had awful technique and the doc started complaining about her in front of me. I was fasting for the test. It was 2 days after the end of my period. Anyway -- the doc did not seem concerned at all about the high homocysteine. My diet is organic meats plus poultry/oily fish; lots of organic veggies plus small amounts of fruit (both parents plus brother have type 2 diabetes so I am trying to avoid that fate.) I take armour and cytomel for hypothyroid condition that is well controlled. I drink espresso (2-5 per day depending on the day; plus I enjoy filtered coffee and all manner of green/oolong/black and white tea. I also like dark chocolate. I take supplements. Isn't it possible that given the fact that lowering homocysteine in cardiac patients didn't lower recurrance mean that homocysteine is a highly fluctuating red herring and that purportedly higher levels are an example that correlation is not causation with respect to stroke/heart attack risk???
Couldn't homocysteine levels merely be a red herring? Studies indicate that women with depression/anxiety have increased homocysteine levels and that homocysteine levels fluctuate during menstrual cycle. If a person is anxious during a blood draw or has been experiencing lots of stress -- couldn't that elevate the homocysteine levels? Could coffee drinking affect some people's homocysteine levels and not others?
I am 5'3" tall 45 year old female who weighs 106 pounds. I am active and have normal bp. My total cholesterol is consdidered "elevated" at bouncing from 200 - 280 but my HDL is always over 100 and my VLDL is always very low at 5 or 6. My triglycerides are always very low -- 40-60. Fasting glucose 70s to 80s. My HS cardio CReactive Protein is always considered ideal at .2 to .9. My serum folate is always over 25 (lab norm is anything over 5) and my b12 is always off the charts at around 1100 (lab norm is 200-1000) -- so no folate or b12 deficiency. These lipid patterns have been the same for nearly a decade. Recently, I had my homocysteine tested for the first time by a new doc who did not test for folate or b12 at the same time although they were tested 6 months ago and were same as the aforestated levels. My homocysteine came out at 13.6. The lab range for women is 3.7-13.9. So I am at the top. I was very anxious during the blood draw because I'd had some horribly stressful conditions during the prior several weeks due to an elbow injury (lack of sleep) family drama-- it was the friday of Memorial Day Weekend plus the lab tech had a hard time getting my vein and had to try many times -- she had awful technique and the doc started complaining about her in front of me. I was fasting for the test. It was 2 days after the end of my period. Anyway -- the doc did not seem concerned at all about the high homocysteine. My diet is organic meats plus poultry/oily fish; lots of organic veggies plus small amounts of fruit (both parents plus brother have type 2 diabetes so I am trying to avoid that fate.) I take armour and cytomel for hypothyroid condition that is well controlled. I drink espresso (2-5 per day depending on the day; plus I enjoy filtered coffee and all manner of green/oolong/black and white tea. I also like dark chocolate. I take supplements. Isn't it possible that given the fact that lowering homocysteine in cardiac patients didn't lower recurrance mean that homocysteine is a highly fluctuating red herring and that purportedly higher levels are an example that correlation is not causation with respect to stroke/heart attack risk???