#508

I would most definitely want to keep it below 2, and preferably below 1. My goal is consistently below 1. My last 4 labs, over the last 12 months, 0.71, 0.78, 0.75, 0.75.

Keep your TG low and remnant cholesterol (RC = TC-LDL-HDL) low.

Elevated TG indicates too much excess nutritional energy being trafficked…can only do bad things, both absolute level and residence time.

Why go on a “maybe” when it’s an intervention that one CAN control/lower?

Analysis Backs Use of Remnant Cholesterol Levels to Predict Future Risk of MI, IHD - CRTonline

image

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#509

Actually I was wondering if even <1.0 is too high and that optimal TG/HDL might be closer to <0.8.

My last measure was 0.76. I have to acknowledge, though, that if it were not for dietary improvements, metformin, empagliflozin, and acarbose, my underlying insulin resistance would be manifest and diagnosable.

So does my score mean I don’t have insulin resistance? From reviewing old lab results, it would be more accurate to say that my insulin resistance is under control. That’s the result I want in order to avoid damage to organs, nerves and blood vessels.So I can settle for that.

I still wonder if with prudent long term use of rapamycin and senolytics, one might effect actual histological change and eventually render the drugs unnecessary.

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#510

You may be right, but the study using coronary angiography seems to suggest that he ratio doesn’t need to be that low, as does the insulin resistance study.
Maybe the lower, the merrier, but I don’t know that for sure.

#511

Small dense atherogenic LDL (or sdLDL) is most associated with CVD, and TG/HDL is a very good proxy measure. The lower the better, all things being equal.

What are your glucose markers?

Your HOMA-IR? The Blood Code HOMA IR - Insulin Resistance Calculator - The Blood Code

Markers for metabolic syndrome?

An OGTT is the gold standard for measuring.

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#512

You are right, MAC. No need to guess if I am insulin resistant… if I have the necessary measurements.
I did have an OGTT once that showed I was almost but not quite pre diabetes. That was maybe 15 years ago. Over the ensuing years my A1C and fasting glucose never improved beyond “almost but not quite pre diabetes”. The good news is that my most recent test results are finally improved, as follows:

HBA1C ………………………………5.1
Insulin Fasting……………………………5.2
Fasting glucose ………………………… 99

HOMA-IR Blood Code Calculation
Plugging the data into the calculator I get HOMA-IR of 1.3

Healthy Range: 1.0 (0.5–1.4)
Less than 1.0 means you are insulin-sensitive which is optimal.
Above 1.9 indicates early insulin resistance.
Above 2.9 indicates significant insulin resistance.

So the way I see it, I have been somewhat insulin resistant for a very long time though not to the degree of diagnosably “insulin resistant”. And at this time, finally, it is under control and not much of a concern as long as I adhere to my current regimen. Of course I will try to reach less than 1.0

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#513

That’s great. How did you intervene to arrive?

#514

We’re really obsessing about numbers.

Exercise
Don’t smoke
Keep your waist under half of height in inches
Sleep well
Manage stress
Good diet

Live long! Oh, and take rapamycin!

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#515

After an enlightening 30 day experience with a CGM, watching the frequency of spikes above 200, I got scared. I increased my exercise and improved my diet, but I am confident it was the addition of empagliflozin and the occasional acarbose that had a dramatic effect.

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#516

Nothing like fear to motivate change. You had hard data, so you could manage what you could measure.

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#517

A second look at cacao and risk of cardiovascular events. They make a good point.

nqac185.pdf (295.4 KB)

#518

The link/file{nqac185.pdf] you post is not good.

#519

Fixed the link - see again.

#520

MAC
Do you donate whole blood or power red?

#521

Whole blood…hadn’t considered power red.

Aside from dumping iron, in the context of dumping and additional rejuvenating we’ve discussed in this forum, do you think dumping whole blood is best…doing a dump of red, platelets and plasma, forcing the body to replace everything anew?

#522

I’m actually not sure what’s best but you seem to be getting good results from whole blood donations. Apparently, power red allows for double the amount of rbc’s donated.
I’m just following your lead here.

#523

“Power Red is similar to a whole blood donation, except a special machine is used to allow you to safely donate two units of red blood cells during one donation while returning your plasma and platelets to you.”

So it returns plasma and platelets, but allows two units RBC. More efficient dumping iron for the donor so inclined.

Blood banks need mostly red for transfusions, I guess why they offer it.

I’m currently inclined to continue to dump whole blood for the dual benefits, beyond iron.

I am super intrigued with dumping the plasma too and making new albumin/proteome.

Red Blood Cell Donation - Power Reds | Red Cross Blood Services.

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#524

I’ll do that as well. Didn’t know until today that power red was even an option.
Maybe I’ll experiment with both and see what happens with the blood work.

#526

Great, would be interested your blood work trending. I have another donation next week!

#527

Yeah, I’ll let you know.
My hct has always been 50 and had a cbc today and it’s still 50. Thought it went down with age. Apparently not.

Did you say that transferrin is the main thing that you follow?

#528

I look at CBC, Ferritin, how I feel, and once in a while, transferrin saturation (not dip below 20%). Ferritin dosen’t seem to be a very good metric for cellular iron stores, as I’m clinically “iron depleted” with Ferritin < 20. I’ve been donating regularly for 5 years, never any out of range CBC, no impact daily feeling, or on my daily exercise output. So clearly it would appear I’ve had excess iron in my body built up over a lifetime to 52 yo pre donations (57 now).

Your iron genes have a large impact on iron storage. I am homozygous H63D, so I would trend toward mild iron elevation. Maybe why my CBC is fine yet ferritin suggests otherwise.

Some clinical benchmarks I watch for. I just want to skirt above deficiency which I have with regular 8 week donations.

As another check, I am tested for haemoglobin prior to every donation, I need to be above 125 g/L or I cannot donate.

Iron depletion: serum ferritin less than 20 µgr/dl.

Lack of iron stores: serum ferritin less than 12 µgr/dl.

Iron Deficiency: serum ferritin less than 12 µgr/dl and transferrin saturation percentage less than 15.

Iron deficiency anemia: serum ferritin less than 12 µgr/dl, transferrin saturation percentage less than 15, and Hb less than 14 mg/dl.

Here’s something very interesting…confounding? It appears that trending towards low iron leads to an increase in RDW, which in the Levine Phenoage calculator is a VERY heavily weighted parameter: the higher the RDW, the much older your phenoage.

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So I am dumping iron/creating new albumin and generally “younging” my whole blood for longevity (plethora of literature supporting), yet Morgan Levine says I am aging and penalizing my biological age?

This appears to be a confounder in the classic U shaped curve epidemiological all cause mortality data? Sure hope so!

Change in red blood cell distribution width with iron deficiency
https://sci-hub.se/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2257.1989.tb00193.x

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But my body so far seems to be tightly regulating my RDW, so not obviously penalizing me from a phenoage.

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