What is oxidized LDL cholesterol?
Okay, we hear about HDL cholesterol,
the good cholesterol, we hear about LDL,
the bad cholesterol, but now
we hear talk of oxidized LDL.
Well, it's actually something very,
very important, and when you're on a ketogenic
diet, it probably becomes the most
important thing when it comes down
to your overall cholesterol levels.
You see, you might be someone that
goes to the doctor and sees that your
cholesterol levels are high.
We've done videos talking about that before,
and we kind of understand the mix and match
and how the body utilizes cholesterol
and how the body moves fats and stuff like that,
but what about if we start diving
a little bit deeper into the different
kinds of cholesterol?
I'm Thomas DeLauer with Keto-Mojo,
and I'm going to explain how insulin
and sugar actually effects bad cholesterol,
which is actually not that bad, and truly makes it bad.
You see, you have to think of it sort of
like Star Wars. Cholesterol is
really not that bad, and HDL and LDL
are both equally good.
I know there's talk out there that says
LDL is bad, but it's kind of old stuff.
The reality is HDL is just as necessary
as LDL, and LDL is just as necessary as HDL.
LDL only becomes bad if it turns to the dark side.
And the only way that LDL turns to the dark side
is if it's acted upon by sugar.
You see, LDL cholesterol is not really a cholesterol.
LDL is a lipoprotein that carries
cholesterol to the cell.
So it's like a boat. Okay, think of a boat.
This boat is carrying cholesterol, the
cholesterol doesn't really like water,
so it needs a boat.
Okay, so don't get mad at the boat, the boat's
not doing anything wrong, the cholesterol's
just doing its job and the boat's just
doing its job, it's like getting mad
at the mailman because the mailman
delivers a package that you don't want.
Okay, don't get mad at the LDL.
Now LDL can turn bad if it gets acted upon by sugar.
Well if Darth Vader convinced the
mailman to become bad, well, and the mailman
started delivering packages that he shouldn't
deliver, and mean things, and nasty things,
well then the mailman might be bad, right?
So LDL, when its doing its natural innocent thing,
isn't bad, but what happens through a process
called glycation, when LDL combines with
sugar in the blood, it creates what's called
a small, dense, LDL.
So normally LDL is a boat that can
go and gently dock wherever it needs to dock.
The dock would just accept the boat.
But when it's a small, dense LDL, it's become
adulterated and is changed.
Now it cannot dock anymore because
it doesn't fit, it's now a square peg
in a round hole, and it just doesn't fit.
So you end up having a bunch of this
and that ends up pooling around in
the blood and that attaches to the arterial
wall, and that is what triggers the plaque to form, okay?
It's that that triggers the plaque, not just LDL.
So when you're on a ketogenic diet
and you're testing your ketones, and you're
using your Keto-Mojo Meter and you see
that your ketones are elevated,
you really don't have to be too concerned
if your LDL's elevated because
that means that you don't have sugar in the equation.
Okay, remember LDL turns bad if it's combined with sugar.
So if you're testing your ketones
and you see that your ketones are high,
that's a good indicator of course
that your sugar is low.
Which means that if you get your
lab work back and your LDL is somewhat
high, but you know your ketones are high,
then you can safely assume that your
LDL is probably not the small, dense LDL.
It's probably the normal, fluffy LDL
that's just doing its innocent job.
It's the normal, healthy, happy mailman
delivering much needed mail.
It is not the mailman that's gone to the dark side.
So this is the simple process of oxidized LDL.
Now just a quick hot tip if you wanted
to go to the doctor and test out some
of these things, you could ask
for a lipid panel with what is called fractionation.
Basically all this is is a cholesterol
panel that's been broken down more so
in the oxidized cholesterol, oxidized LDL,
all these different things that
might help you out a bit more.
And in my humble opinion, anyone that is
doing a ketogenic diet should get
a lipid panel with fractionation,
because it's the only way that you
can truly tell, because the LDL
number could be super high, but it could
be normally that high when your body
is utilizing these fats.
And remember, when you are using fats for fuel,
your body is going to have more
cholesterol, it's a simple process
that is just going to occur.
So as always, make sure you're keeping
it locked in here with Keto-Mojo.
Make sure that you're leaving the
guesswork out of the equation,
and leaving the measuring to the meter.
So you can truly know when you're in
ketosis, and living that good life.
I'll see you soon.