Dear John,
I just receive my cholesterol panel and vitamin D results from my MD, he says my test is normal. Total cholesterol 132. HDL 45, LDL 71, triglycerides at 78. Vitamin D is 84. My understanding was that the blood calcium level was going to be checked. With a Vitamin D level of 84, is there a risk that I am taking too much calcium? My MD seemed to think that I would have to have major health issues before calcium deposits would form. Do I need to have this done?
– Over 40 Mom
Dear Over 40 Mom,
I think that your total cholesterol and HDL are too low. Cholesterol is the precursor for most of your hormones. Low levels (which you have) are associated with higher rates of many illnesses and many psychological issues. The best way to increase cholesterol levels is through increased moderate stress exercise and increasing fish or krill oil intake. For women I like to see HDL levels over 70.
High cholesterol in women is almost (the exception being in some diabetic women and familial high cholesterol in the 700-800 range) a non factor for heart disease and stroke. Low cholesterol is the problem for women. I have two meta analysis with a total of 44 cholesterol studies looked at that show this.
With you vitamin D level I would personally recommend against added calcium supplementation. There are conflicting studies in this area of calcium supplementation. There are good studies showing problems with calcium supplementation along with normal to high Vitamin D levels. Eat a good diet and you should be getting enough calcium.
– Dr. John Nieters, L.Ac. DAOM, FABORM
