This week I got my blood lipid test results, after having been using Irvingia 150 mg/twice a day since January, and once again stopping Lipitor use. The literature and study results for Irvingia extract are really spectacular at 10 weeks of use at that dosage:

• Blood leptin levels drop by 50%
• Total Cholesterol dropped by 27%
• LDL dropped the same
• C-Reactive Protein down by 54%
• Adiponectin (hormone that commands burning of stored fat) production increased by 160%
• Blood levels of leptin down 50% (indicating improved leptin signaling)
• Blood glucose down by 34%

I was hoping to see my total cholesterol stay under 200 without the use of statins, but the results are somewhat of a mixed outcome. My total cholesterol shot up to 318, with LDL at 226 – my cardiologist was not impressed. My HDL, however went from typically around 42 up to 50 – a result I like a lot. The really impressive outcome is my CRP, which decreased to 0 – not measurable – that means that the inflammation in my arterial system is virtually gone.

These days I always get the VAP Lipid test, which breaks down the lipid profile into particle size groupings. People with big, buoyant LDL never get heart disease, while those with small, dense LDL are prone to plaque buildup and arterial inflammation. I was hoping to see a change in the LDL profile, because in the past my profile is quite negative. I can’t find my old result, but the picture still isn’t pretty. The sad thing about statins like Lipitor is that they do zero to improve the LDL particle size – they knock down the number, but don’t make the profile any healthier. Diet, exercise and supplements can impact LDL size, but I obviously haven’t found the right combination.

One caveat – at about 9:00 pm the night before my test, my wife reminded me that fasting included alcohol, which never crossed my mind as I was enjoying an after dinner double brandy; that will kick up triglycerides, which figures in the calculation of total cholesterol. It won’t affect the LDL numbers, which remain a threat. My cardiologist commanded that I resume the Lipitor, which I have done until I find the real cure.

The other benefit that came from the Irvingia – my body fat went to nothing and has stayed nothing. This has been a real winner from the standpoint of fat loss, inflammation reduction, and my PSA dropped to 1.0, so it knocks down prostate inflammation at the same time. I will keep right on using it!

One more thing – My 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 level was 57 ng/ml. I have taken 5000 IU/day of vitamin D3 since the start of Fall, and this has proven to be about right. Recent thinking for 25-OH D3 levels is that 50 – 70 ng/ml gives the best operation of our immune system. So it seems I could even have taken more through winter, but – for the first time in my life – I went through Fall, Winter and into Spring without a day of sickness. I will never give up this supplement!

Good Living – Frank