Tks for the informative post. Interested in your thoughts on 1) tests/ranges for inflammation markers, 2) test profiles for which you recommend following the “optimal” goals vs baseline goals, 3) actions/habits/behaviors that may move these numbers and lower risk (in addition to lose weight don’t smoke eat well and exercise lol). Niacin?
3) The most high yield behaviors are going to be fairly common sense: Low body fat, zone 2 exercise, having good muscle mass, adequate sleep
4) Niacin is complicated. While it does bring down LDL and is one of the only things that brings down Lp(a), no study has been able to show an actual cardiovascular benefit, which might relate to some additional downside that occurs. (my suspicion is that there is some induction of insulin resistance, as niacin can occasionally cause something called "acanthosis nigricans", which is more typically seen with significant insulin resistance. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22031637/
Got it thank you. I'm just a random on the internet (not even a cartoon lol) who has taken a personal interest in heart health, but pretty quick it was clear that there's way more going on than just "good cholesterol" and "bad cholesterol" and LDL/HDL that family docs talk about. My internist ordered a lipid profile, followed exactly the >40 year old Framingham 10 year risk guidelines. Um thanks cartoons on the internet are more informative. Glad to know you have a personal interest in this subject.
Tks for the informative post. Interested in your thoughts on 1) tests/ranges for inflammation markers, 2) test profiles for which you recommend following the “optimal” goals vs baseline goals, 3) actions/habits/behaviors that may move these numbers and lower risk (in addition to lose weight don’t smoke eat well and exercise lol). Niacin?
Majority of this coming in the next post, but:
1) hsCRP and ferritin the most accessible inflammatory markers for most people
2) My favorite (widely accessible) panel for lipids right now is the Cardio IQ panel from Quest https://www.questdiagnostics.com/healthcare-professionals/about-our-tests/cardiovascular/cardio-iq-report
3) The most high yield behaviors are going to be fairly common sense: Low body fat, zone 2 exercise, having good muscle mass, adequate sleep
4) Niacin is complicated. While it does bring down LDL and is one of the only things that brings down Lp(a), no study has been able to show an actual cardiovascular benefit, which might relate to some additional downside that occurs. (my suspicion is that there is some induction of insulin resistance, as niacin can occasionally cause something called "acanthosis nigricans", which is more typically seen with significant insulin resistance. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22031637/
Got it thank you. I'm just a random on the internet (not even a cartoon lol) who has taken a personal interest in heart health, but pretty quick it was clear that there's way more going on than just "good cholesterol" and "bad cholesterol" and LDL/HDL that family docs talk about. My internist ordered a lipid profile, followed exactly the >40 year old Framingham 10 year risk guidelines. Um thanks cartoons on the internet are more informative. Glad to know you have a personal interest in this subject.
I have "skin in the game" with my family history... so this is one topic I need to get right, or else I'll die early.