Learn what the lipid profile is, why it’s important? How often do you need to test your cholesterol levels, and what should your HDL/LDL ratio be and how you can optimize your levels.

1. Website - www.calgarymenopause.com Phone No. - (403) 456-0287
Lipid Panel

2. Website - www.calgarymenopause.com Phone No. - (403) 456-0287
What is the lipid panel?
When we talk about cholesterol, we are usually referring to the lipid panel. It’s a routine
screening test starting at 50 yrs of age for women (and 40 yrs for men). The panel
consists of 4 biomarkers that examine fats and fatty substances in your blood. It’s
commonly used for assessing risks for cardiovascular disease (CVD), but it can also be
employed for catching and monitoring other medical conditions.
 Cholesterol (optimal range: 4-5.5mmol/L)
1. High is associated with insulin resistance, thyroid disease, poor elimination
from the gut, bile duct obstruction, supersaturated bile produced by the liver,
gallbladder disease, and plaque buildup in blood vessels. In some healthy
individuals, a high level of cholesterol is acceptable if their HDL is also high.
2. Low is associated with high oxidative stress, eg. cancer, fasting, and athletic
training.
 HDL (optimal range: 1.8 – 2.2 mmol/L)
1. High means that there’s inflammation, increased estrogen, and is associated
with hypothyroidism.
2. Low is associated with insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, high oxidative
stress, fatty liver, and hypothyroidism.

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 LDL (Optimal range: < 4mmol/L)
1. High means increased risk of diabetes, plaque formation in blood vessels, fatty
liver, and oxidative stress. It is associated with taking birth control pills and
increased androgen such as testosterone, DHEA, and DHEA-S.
2. Low is favorable.
 Triglycerides (Optimal range: <0.8)
1. High increases the risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It’s also
associated with taking birth control pills and estrogen therapy.
2. Low is associated low-fat diet, hyperthyroidism, autoimmune disease, fatty
liver, gallbladder inflammation, and hepatitis.
Who should get this panel?
 By mid-age, your GP would check off this panel on your lab requisition. If you
have a strong family history of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes before
mid-age, your doctor may request this panel sooner.
 Those with known hypercholesterolemia and or other chronic health conditions.
 Women with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), also known as early
menopause. Estrogen is protective against cardiovascular disease, and so the
reduced production of estrogen in POI increases the risk of CVD.
 Women who are newly exposed to birth control pills or recently switched to a
brand that is known to exhibit thrombogenicity.
 Women who are about to begin hormone replacement therapy. HRT has a
favorable profile on lipids, so getting the panel checked before initiating HRT
helps to establish the lipids baseline.
 People with thyroid disease, insulin issues, fatty liver, liver disease, and
autoimmune disease.
 People who are chronically constipated.
 People who have been consuming a low-fat diet for a while.

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Why check the lipid panel?
 Just from WHAT and WHO above, we understand how important it is to check
the lipid panel. While it is important to make sure that lipids are not too high, it’s
equally important to address low lipid status as cholesterol is the starter molecule
for making steroidal hormones and vitamin D.
When to check the lipid panel aside from the routine annual blood test?
 Your GPs will automatically test your lipids if you are newly diagnosed with the
conditions mentioned above, but you should also check in with your doctor if you
have new onset of the following:
○ Recent contraction of hepatitis C
○ Yellowing of skin and white of the eye, aka jaundice
○ Repeating episodes of fat found in stool
How is this test done?
 Blood draw
 No fasting is required for this test as it does not affect the assessment of CVD risk.
However, your doctor may request that you fast if your triglyceride level was
previously high or low.
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Source - https://calgarymenopause.com/lipid-panel/