Liver panel test?

[Atticus]

Awesome. My girlfriend has been on me to get the test just to make sure. I"m not sure if I would even have it done if it were to my own devices. Oh well, at least I was spared the pain of the man test.

 

[Atticus]

I got my results back and the liver stuff looks great. But, my cholesterol is dramatically higher. I'm glad about the liver results. Never had a problem with high cholesterol. Exercise alot and eat healthy and have always had low numbers. BUT, I've been reading tons of how the whole cholesterol thing is way overdone. But, it is interesting that Kava seems to have raised my cholesterol. Someone needs to do a study to see why.

NON HDL CHOLESTEROL. 184 mg/dL_(calc)
LDL-CHOLESTEROL 160 mg/dL_(calc)
HDL CHOLESTEROL 40 mg/dL
CHOLESTEROL, TOTAL 224 mg/dL
CHOL/HDLC RATIO 5.6 (calc)

Liver stuff looks good.
AST 19 U/L(10-40 )completedNormal
ALT 17 U/L(9-46 )completedNormal0
ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE 88 U/L(40-115 )completedNorma
ALBUMIN/GLOBULIN RATIO 1.8 (calc)(1.0-2.5 )completedNormal0
ALBUMIN 4.6 g/dL(3.6-5.1 )completedNormal
BILIRUBIN, TOTAL 0.5 mg/dL

 

[tonyd]

My cholesterol went from 185 to 236 since using kava daily (past 6-7 months or so). LDL went from 118 to 141 and HDL went from 58 to 71. All liver function numbers were great. When I was only using kava a few times a week my cholesterol went from 163 to @ 185. LDL went from 99 to 118. Also surprisingly triglycerides went down from 130 to 94.

 

[Deleted User01]

@tonyd, Kava in some cases will elevate your cholesterol. I think it did it to me about 20 points worth. Put I still needed to be on Lipitor because of family history so it's no big deal. If you want to combat that, eat like the Islanders. Lots of fish and lots of fiber. I'm on a soluble fiber kick right now and I have roasted soy nuts, raw sunflower seeds, almonds and walnuts as snacks. Not bad huh? But I also put ground flax seed and/or chia seeds in my cereal and the Chia seeds in soups, smoothies etc. But I can't blame it all on Kava because I do have family history going against me so I just have to take care of business. Bottom line, Kava does so much good for my mental attitude that I will put up with any minor side effects. And so ... I just have to eat healthier if I'm going to hook my wagon to the Kava Star. (sorry for the analogy).

 

[tonyd]

I do have a family history of high cholesterol and I am on 20 mg. simvastatin long before using kava. I just was noting that the more frequent and daily use coincided with my cholesterol going up even while on a statin. Prior to any kava my numbers, with a statin, were total 163 , hdl 55, ldl 99, triglycerides 130 . Over the past 2 years the numbers have increased consistently with my increasing use of kava. In the big picture I am happy with the kava and can live with the numbers being up. The doctor is not to happy but oh well. I am going to tighten my diet up but I am pretty fit workout regularly and eat a mostly clean diet as it is.

 

[Deleted User01]

@tonyd, your reaction to Kava was much worse than mine. I wished we are on the same drugs for comparison. I ended up with 175 cholesterol doing 10mg of Lipitor. We upped it to 20MG after my last visit to the heart doctor because of my age and family history. Get head of the train wreck so to speak. I'm totally sold on soluble fiber as being the solution to the Cholesterol thing. But you have to set it up so you can do it forever, not just 1 month. Doing the high fiber snacks was a no brainer for me and those Fiber One Snack bars also come in lots of yummy flavors. Don't feel bad, my wife's numbers were in the 300s when she went on Lipitor and she is in good physical condition, eats lots of fruits and veggies eats very small amounts of meat, and DOES NOT do Kava. But her younger brothers already had heart attacks so it's really bad in her family too. If Kava is part of a healthy life style, then changing ones diet should be part of it also.

 

[Deleted User01]

@tonyd and others who struggle with Cholesterol. Two years ago my little brother got a stent. Nobody could believe it because he did all the right things. He blamed it on his blood type (B). Anyway, after visiting my doctor, I went on a high fiber diet for about 3 months. I got my cholesterol down to 99 from about 180. I was already on Liptitor at the time but only 10mgs. But that diet was too strict and didn't last. My new strategy is high fiber snacks and plenty of them. I have researched soluble fiber and talked to my doctors about it. It seems that soluble fiber can bind the cholesterol and help get rid of it. In addition, it can chip away at the soft cholesterol that has not solidified and it can actually reduce the cloggage. So here is a quick list of heart healthy foods and there are way more. Apples and Pears (skin on), whole grain bread and pasta, sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds, endamame and soy nuts (roasted and salted if you will), even roasted chick peas, any kind of beans/peas, flax seed, chia, straw, salmon, guinoa, Fiber One Snack Bars (chocolate and oats has the highest amount of fiber). There are way more foods that can help but these are the easiest ones for me to consume. I urge you to make an attempt to get more fiber in your diet and any way you can. And don't make it hard on yourself! I started with the snacks but I'm slowly adding more things to my diet everyday. I have to admit, substituting high fiber snacks for potato chips, cheets, and Doritos reaps HUGE benefits. It has to be sustainable for the long run or it doesn't work.
P.S. Yes, yes, you will experience more intestinal gas. But it will smell like roses compared to the way it smells after a 4th of July BBQ Meat-a-thon. Don't be surprised if you lose 5 pounds just from the increased movement in your colon.