Home cholesterol testing

Hello again,

Are the home cholesterol testing kits any good. I've seen some online for
about £15 UK Pounds... if they are any good, what's the most cost effective
and reliable one(s) to get? And where's best to get them?

Thanks,

Eric

The problem with the home cholesterol tests I've seen is that they only give
you a total cholesterol number. This is pretty useless if you don't get a
breakdown of HDL and LDL.

On a low carb diet, HDL (the good cholesterol) usually goes up while LDL
goes down. This improves the ratios that are considered more useful than
just the total number alone. Also triglyceride levels are more closely
connected to heart attack risk than are total cholesterol numbers.

Finally, there are several much better indicators of cardiac disease:
homocysteine, C-reactive Protein (CRP) and fibrinogin levels. Even more
useful is the hba1c which measures glycation (glucose bonding) to blood
proteins. Below 5.0% heart attack risk is very low. It doubles at 5% and
then goes much, much higher at 7%. An accurate home version of this test
(Hba1c Now) costs about $20 mail ordered ($10 if bought in bulk)

-- Jenny - Low Carbing for 4 years. At goal for weight. Type 2 diabetes,
hba1c 5.2.
Cut the carbs to respond to my email address!

Low carb facts and figures, my weight-loss photos, tips, recipes and more at
http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/

Looking for help controlling your blood sugar?
Visit http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/...0Diagnosed.htm



"Eric" wrote in message
...
Hello again,

Are the home cholesterol testing kits any good. I've seen some online for
about £15 UK Pounds... if they are any good, what's the most cost
effective
and reliable one(s) to get? And where's best to get them?

Thanks,

Eric

Jenny wrote:
:: The problem with the home cholesterol tests I've seen is that they
:: only give you a total cholesterol number. This is pretty useless if
:: you don't get a breakdown of HDL and LDL.
::
:: On a low carb diet, HDL (the good cholesterol) usually goes up while
:: LDL goes down. This improves the ratios that are considered more
:: useful than just the total number alone. Also triglyceride levels
:: are more closely connected to heart attack risk than are total
:: cholesterol numbers.
::
:: Finally, there are several much better indicators of cardiac disease:
:: homocysteine, C-reactive Protein (CRP) and fibrinogin levels. Even
:: more useful is the hba1c which measures glycation (glucose bonding)
:: to blood proteins. Below 5.0% heart attack risk is very low. It
:: doubles at 5% and then goes much, much higher at 7%. An accurate
:: home version of this test (Hba1c Now) costs about $20 mail ordered
:: ($10 if bought in bulk)

Can you tell me where you read this, please? My last Hba1c was 4.8, but my
CRP seemed high, as I recall.

Do you send the Hba1c Now off to be processed? Do you have to draw
significant blood to do this test?

::
:: -- Jenny - Low Carbing for 4 years. At goal for weight. Type 2
:: diabetes, hba1c 5.2.
:: Cut the carbs to respond to my email address!
::
:: Low carb facts and figures, my weight-loss photos, tips, recipes and
:: more at http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/
::
:: Looking for help controlling your blood sugar?
:: Visit http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/...0Diagnosed.htm
::
::
::
:: "Eric" wrote in message
:: ...
::: Hello again,
:::
::: Are the home cholesterol testing kits any good. I've seen some
::: online for about £15 UK Pounds... if they are any good, what's the
::: most cost effective and reliable one(s) to get? And where's best to
::: get them?
:::
::: Thanks,
:::
::: Eric

Roger,

4.8 suggests no additional heart attack risk from blood sugar issues.

Where I got this info was the Medscape "Mission Control: New Approaches to
Glycemic Management in Diabetes" CME. Anyone who is interested in how blood
sugar relates to heart disease and other problems owes it to themselves to
read this article very carefully:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/412864_2

In particular check out Slide 24 and the info about the EPIC-Norfolk study.

The CRP is a measure of inflammation. So if you previously had started
depositing plaque on your arteries before your low carbing began, and if
your arteries started to get inflamed, perhaps that might explain it being
elevated. Another common problem is low grade gum disease which causes
generalized inflammatory response in many people.. Fibrinogin is important
because it goes with the tendency to clot.

But with normalized blood sugar maintained for a long time, you aren't
adding to the problem.

The Hba1c Now test is a home test that doesn't have to be mailed in. I
haven't used it, but several people on alt.support.diabetes who mail ordered
it and then compared the results to their doctor's test found the results
matching to within .1 accuracy. You can google for it.
-- Jenny - Low Carbing for 4 years. At goal for weight. Type 2 diabetes,
hba1c 5.2.
Cut the carbs to respond to my email address!

Low carb facts and figures, my weight-loss photos, tips, recipes and more at
http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/

Looking for help controlling your blood sugar?
Visit http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/...0Diagnosed.htm



"Roger Zoul" wrote in message
...
Jenny wroteof cardiac disease


Can you tell me where you read this, please? My last Hba1c was 4.8, but
my
CRP seemed high, as I recall.

Do you send the Hba1c Now off to be processed? Do you have to draw
significant blood to do this test?

::

Jenny wrote:
:: Roger,
::
:: 4.8 suggests no additional heart attack risk from blood sugar issues.
::
:: Where I got this info was the Medscape "Mission Control: New
:: Approaches to Glycemic Management in Diabetes" CME. Anyone who is
:: interested in how blood sugar relates to heart disease and other
:: problems owes it to themselves to read this article very carefully:
:: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/412864_2
::
:: In particular check out Slide 24 and the info about the EPIC-Norfolk
:: study.
::
:: The CRP is a measure of inflammation. So if you previously had
:: started depositing plaque on your arteries before your low carbing
:: began, and if your arteries started to get inflamed, perhaps that
:: might explain it being elevated. Another common problem is low
:: grade gum disease which causes generalized inflammatory response in
:: many people.. Fibrinogin is important because it goes with the
:: tendency to clot.

thanks. I'll be reading it.

::
:: But with normalized blood sugar maintained for a long time, you
:: aren't adding to the problem.
::
:: The Hba1c Now test is a home test that doesn't have to be mailed in.
:: I haven't used it, but several people on alt.support.diabetes who
:: mail ordered it and then compared the results to their doctor's test
:: found the results matching to within .1 accuracy. You can google for
:: it.

thanks. I've already ordered one....Next time I'll be shopping to get the
best possible price assuming I can pay for it on with medical spending
money.

"Roger Zoul" wrote in message
:: ...
::: Jenny wroteof cardiac disease
::
:::
::: Can you tell me where you read this, please? My last Hba1c was
::: 4.8, but my CRP seemed high, as I recall.
:::
::: Do you send the Hba1c Now off to be processed? Do you have to draw
::: significant blood to do this test?