Been on carnivore for over 4 months, yesterday blood work showed 600 cholesterol number. I was on statins after a heart stent but took myself off them. Should I start back?

Since started carivore blood pressure good with no meds

Heart burn much better.

Lost 25 lbs so my strength and energy are less.

Any suggestions

I know Dr Berry says high cholesterol not that big of deal, but 600 is pretty high especially with stent.

Hello @Jeff Mac - I just saw this post. Sorry it took so long to respond. I've been busy offline.

Whether you should start back is a personal decision. There are some trusted doctors I watch, such as Dr. Ford Brewer, who himself takes a low dose Rosuvastatin every other day moreso for it's anti-inflammatory benefits and not so much for cholesterol.

Tell us a little about yourself. When someone experiences high cholesterol on a carnivore diet, it's usually down to these 2 common scenarios...

1) You were overweight/obese and have lost weight rapidly. LDL is stored in adipose tissues and gets released into the bloodstream as the fat is mobilized from your body to be used as energy. This LDL will come down on it's own after 3-6 months of being weight stable. As a general rule, don't put too much stock into a lipid panel while losing weight.

2) You are lean, or now have become very lean, and you are a LMHR, "Lean Mass Hyper Responder". These individuals often have high HDL, low triglycerides, and super-high LDL.

Many of the online doctors like Dr. Berry and others don't think the statin is worth it. Although I have heard Dr. Berry say that he might prescribe one for a person who had a previous heart attack since the studies do show that it can benefit those individuals, but he things a proper human diet is going to be far more beneficial.

Thanks for you reply.

Im 5 ft 11 in, was around 187 heading towards 190, a little overweight I thought.

Lost weight pretty quick and now I'm steady 158 to 163

My wife and most people I know say I'm too skinny

Carnivore helped me with

BP, Heart burn, gas...all of these are still pretty good

I also found out I was addicted to sugar😳

I have been eating some carbs of late , it just seems to give me some energy

I lost strength because of weight loss I believe

I did start back the 20 mg Rosuvastatin

My triglycerides were normal,

146, HDL 63, LDL mg/dL 504.8, glucose 91

Everything but LDL good

Thanks for your help

On 8/19/2025 at 10:49 AM, Jeff Mac said:

Been on carnivore for over 4 months, yesterday blood work showed 600 cholesterol number. I was on statins after a heart stent but took myself off them. Should I start back?

Since started carivore blood pressure good with no meds

Heart burn much better.

Lost 25 lbs so my strength and energy are less.

Any suggestions

I know Dr Berry says high cholesterol not that big of deal, but 600 is pretty high especially with stent.

As Bob said, restarting the statins is a PERSONAL choice.

Remember our bodies have a CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ CLICK THE LINK

CIRCULATORY | English meaning -...

circulatory

1. relating to the system that moves blood through the body and that includes…

So explain why doesn't the "CHOLESTEROL" build up in the veins? Since it travels

throughout the who circulatory system, it would make sense to clog veins as well as arteries.

Find out where the body's cholesterol comes from, hint Ask your Dr why your liver is trying to kill you.

Liver makes up approximately 80% of the body's cholesterol. <<<< Please look this up

I myself have stent in main artery to heart since 2014, cholesterol has been over 500 (pre carnivore) and dr's prescribed statins and I would take them

when I felt like it.

1 year on carnivore, watching youtube dr's, nutritionists, and physiologists discuss, tear apart the panacea created by the health management system....

I took myself off statins completely. I have 0 chest pains like before i've taken maybe maybe 4 nitro pills this year vs 5 a week pre carnivore.

Watch Dave Mac's 10 minute vids on the system (he's got several), watch Dr Chaffee's cholesterol video and I have a short in my signature you can watch.

Be diligent in your research, don't take my word for gospel.

Edited Tuesday at 09:27 PM1 day by Meathead

Appreciate the reply, I will check out some of the videos.

On 9/1/2025 at 9:11 PM, Jeff Mac said:

I have been eating some carbs of late , it just seems to give me some energy

Well sugar will indeed do that, since insulin will help shuttle glucose into the cells almost immediately. This is why one might get a "sugar rush", why others like to load up on carbs before working out, etc. On the flip side, you could lose your fat adaptation if you go overboard regularly.

On 9/1/2025 at 9:11 PM, Jeff Mac said:

I lost strength because of weight loss I believe

Possible, especially if you ate to little and maybe lost muscle as well. This is very rare though, especially on any form of carnivore diet.

What people DO experience is their gym performance takes a hit. This is because the body is still having that preference for glucose. I've heard that for some, it could take up to a year to become fully fat adapted and get back to what you were lifting/performing prior to switching to a ketogenic diet.

On 9/1/2025 at 9:11 PM, Jeff Mac said:

Im 5 ft 11 in... and now I'm [a] steady 158 to 163

LDL mg/dL 504.8

Everything but LDL good

Steady for how long?

I don't trust a lipid panel until about 6 months of being weight stable.

And at 5'11" you are pretty lean at 160-ish pounds. You said your wife and others recognize this too. It could very well be that you are on your way to being one of those with the LMHR phenotype. Look up Dave Feldman and Nick Norwitz for a thorough discussion on LMHR's and the Energy Model.

You could get some other tests, like a CAC score, a carotid artery ultrasound, CT Angiogram, etc. If those tests show that you are looking good, you would have a valid basis for dropping the statin for sure.

Most of us in the carnivore community could care less about our LDL.