Blood Test Results...what dietary changes should I make?

H

Hades

New member
How should I interpret these results? That is, I've done some reading online and am still not certain where I need to make dietary changes. I'm a 39 year old man, here are the results, and if you have any suggestions, that would be greatly appreciated. Best, David

CBC Without Differential

Componenet My Value Standard Range

WBC'S AUTO 5.6 4.0-11.0 thou/cumm
RBC, AUTO 4.62 4.7-6.1 mil/cumm
HGB 15.0 14.0-18.0 g/dL
HCT, AUTO 44.5 42-52 %
MCV 96.2 80-94 fl
MCH 32.5 27-35 pg/cell
MCHC 33.7 32-37 g/dL
RDW, BLOOD 12.3 11.5-14.5 %
PLATELETS,
AUTOMATED COUNT 223 130-400 thou/mcL
MPV 8.2 7.4-10.4 fl


GLUCOSE, FASTING

GLUCOSE, FASTING 86 70-99 mg/dL

IRON AND TIBC (TOTAL IRON BINDING CAPACITY)

IRON 92 59-158 mcg/dL
TOTAL
IRON
BINDING
CAPACITY 282 250-420 mcg/dL
IRON SAT 33 20-50 %


LIPID PANEL

CHOLESTEROL 152 - mg/dL
TRIGLYCERIDE 149 - mg/dL
HDL 38 - mg/dL
LDL CALCULATED 84 - mg/dL
CHOLESTEROL/HIGH
DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN 4.0 -


VITAMIN B12

VIT B12 964 200-910 pg/mL

Creatinine, Serum

CREATININE 0.9 0.7-1.3 mg/dL
GLOMERULAR
FILTRATION RATE >89-NB - mL/min

TSH (THYROID STIMULATING HORMONE)

TSH 2.49 0.4-4.00 uIU/mL
 
Your HDL, the good cholesterol, is a bit low. A HDL of 60 mg/dl or higher would be ideal. Anything lower than 40 mg/dl is considered bad.

Exercise, removing trans-fats from your diet, getting enough fiber and eating more omega-3 rich foods can increase your HDL. (and at a level of 38, you really don't have that far to go)


I'm curious, what type of dietary change was suggested?
 
Cool, thanks for the response, Auntie. My doc sent me a doc on increasing your HDL. I'm thinking I need to eat more vegetables. I'm a vegetarian who exercises over an hour a day 5 times per week, so I don't know why it's so low. More veggies, I'm thinking. Best, D
 
Trans-fats mostly come from hydrogenated vegetable oil, commonly found in processed foods (including those which contain no meat). They cause your HDL to go down and your LDL to go up. Avoid them.

If your diet is high in polyunsaturated fats, you may want to consider replacing them with monounsaturated fats. Both kinds of unsaturated fats tend to lower LDL, but polyunsaturated fats may slightly lower HDL as well. Saturated fats may slightly raise HDL, but they tend to raise LDL by greater amounts.

If you can add even more exercise intensity and/or duration, that may help your HDL.

Your triglycerides of 149 are just barely under the 150 level that starts getting doctors concerned. You may want to try to reduce consumption of simple sugars and alcohol.

Note that even people who eat and exercise optimally with respect to blood cholesterol levels may have poor blood cholesterol levels due to genetics.
 
You sound healthy.

Unfortunately, one of the best sources of HDL is fish. Vegetarian or not, can you supplement your diet with fish oil capsules? They sell oils nowadays that don't taste fishy at all.

Another good source of HDL is flaxseed oil.
 
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