Inflammation, Infection and Hypomethylation

These process drive heart disease. This is why tests such as C-reactive protein and homocysteine are so valuable and should, one day, replace total cholesterol as indicators of risk. Of course our triglycerides and the ratio of triglycerides to HDL are still very valuable, but total cholesterol and even the LDL fraction tell us very little. Making pharmaceutical decisions around these latter two can quickly take you down the wrong street. Be strong at your next MD visit and ask for the tests listed initially above.

Here are some good goals:
CRP ideally less than 1.0
Homocysteine optimally less than 11.0
Triglycerides less than 60
HDL greater than 50
Because I think someone will ask, total cholesterol is best somewhere between 200 and 275. Of course there are so many long lived individuals with totals greater than 300. My grandmother Alta for instance, God bless her, was a tough old bird who lived to be 99. Always had a total of 360 or more and told her physician to take a hike every time he insisted that she go on Lipitor. n=1, I know, but trust me when I say that her story is not unique.

 

Image courtesy The People’s Prodigy: BOY.