COMPARISON of Standard recommendations VS McDougall’s recommendations for blood lipids. McDougall plan is much more rigid than standard, but shoot for the stars & you’ll amaze yourself!
The following are in mg/dl.
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*TOTAL cholesterol levels*
STANDARDS SAY:
a) Less than 200 = desirable
b) 200-239 = borderline high
c) 240 or above = high
MCDOUGALL SAYS:
d) Less than 150 = gold!
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*LDL cholesterol levels* – the so-called “bad” cholesterol
STANDARDS SAY:
a) Less than 100 = optimal
b) 100-129 = near optimal/above optimal
c) 130-159 = borderline high
d) 160-189 = high
e) 190 and above = very high
MCDOUGALL SAYS:
f) Less than 90 mg/dl = gold!
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*HDL cholesterol levels* – the so-called “good” cholesterol
STANDARDS SAY:
a) Less than 40 = low
b) 60 or above = high
c) 40-60 = optimal
MCDOUGALL SAYS:
d) Higher is better, but a healthy diet makes this fraction of total cholesterol lower because all fractions of cholesterol are reduced. So don’t be misguided into thinking something is wrong when your HDL level falls with a healthy diet.
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*TRIGLYCERIDE levels* measure of the amount of fat in the blood
(Triglycerides are a bit less important predictors of heart disease risk than cholesterol)
STANDARD SAYS:
a) Normal less than 200 mg/dl
b) High = 200 to 500 mg/dl
c) Very high = in the thousands
MCDOUGALL SAYS:
d) Less than 150 mg/dl
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Why McDougall says ideal TOTAL CHOLESTEROL is below 150 mg/dl:
“Worldwide and nationwide heart disease is very rare when people have blood cholesterol levels below 150 mg/dl. (reference 1,2) This is why I have set this value for your laboratory results as “a great big A+” on the report card. This level can be attained by almost everyone by following a strict low-fat, no cholesterol diet, such as I recommend, and judicious use of medications.”
References:
1) Roberts W. Atherosclerotic risk factorsﾐare there ten or is there only one. Am J Cardiol. 1989 Sep 1;64(8):552-4.
2) Kannel W. Is the serum total cholesterol an anachronism? Lancet. 1979 Nov 3;2(8149):950-1.
https://www.drmcdougall.com/education/information/cholesterol-when-and-how-to-treat-it/