I had my annual cholesterol check recently and am very excited by my results. I’ve lowered my “bad” cholesterol by 40 points! And I have the perfect ratio of Triglycerides to HDL – 1:1. I was not able to get a particle study done to determine whether my LDL particles are dense (bad) or fluffy (good). I did, however, find an excellent article that not only provides one of the best explanations of cholesterol that I’ve seen, but also provides guidance on how to determine whether you have the fluffy or dense particles in your LDL cholesterol.

The author notes a prior study that found that the Triglyceride to HDL ratio can predict particle size. In the study, 79% of individuals with a ratio above 3.8 had a preponderance of small dense LDL particles (bad). 81% of those with a ration below 3.8 had a preponderance of large, buoyant particles (good). Since I have a ratio of 1, I’m going to believe I have a high number of fluffy particles, but will still search for a study to confirm this.

So how did I do it? First of all, I wasn’t trying to lower my cholesterol. Last year I had a similar 1:1 ratio of Triglycerides to HDL. My “bad” cholesterol, however, was pretty high, but nothing my doctor was concerned with. I was focused on eating cleaner food. I am now far more militant about only eating grass-fed beef, organic vegetables and wild seafood. I am also diligent about intermittent fasting. I do it nearly every day and some days I’ll only allow myself to eat one meal, that is the same size as if I had eaten 2 other meals.

I’ve been more diligent about fasting because of some compelling research out there on how good it is for your mitochondria. I’ll write a later blog post about that, as it is really fascinating and crucial for others to hear about.

To summarize, I continued to follow a ketogenic diet the past year – high good fats, minimal protein and very low carbohydrates. I focused heavily on only consuming good meat, wild seafood, and organic vegetables. I fast regularly. As a result, my bad cholesterol came down by 40 points. This is right in line with the recommendations made in the article, and in other research I’ve read about cholesterol (you can view my prior blog post on this topic as well).