follow up on some interest in blood tests on forum. i have found tons of material on line about how to interpret most any blood test (cholesterol, triglycerides etc) and what is considered “normal” ranges for “normal” adults. Can anyone point me to internet or print resources on how and/or why blood composition of elite endurance athletes typically varies from these normal ranges, by how much, and to what extent these variances are function of genes, training, diet or whatever.
For example, in my most recent test my triglyceride level was slightly above “normal” (182mg/dl versus “normal” range of <150mg/dl). From standard internet resources I learn that high triglyceride level can be dangerous in conjunction with high cholesterol but that triglyceride test also “measures your body’s ability to metabolize fats” so maybe this high reading is due to the fact that i am an “above-average” aerobic fat-burner. Or maybe it was just the burrito I had for lunch.
John, I have a bunch of training partners in their mid thirties to mid fourties, who have mildly high LDL numbers and reasonably high HDL (>1.7 mmol/L). I can’t help but think that there is some correlation between exercise and HDL-LDL. My theory is that the liver is the final source of glycogen. The liver also produces cholesterol in response to high insulin levels (i.e. when you bonk). So something tells me that if you are an endurance athlete, and have wildly varying blood sugar and insulin levels in response to exercise and exhaustion, the liver MAY start to produce high cholestorol.
Again, perhaps I am out to lunch totally, and my theory from an engineer-marketing guy has no sound medical principles behind it. It just seems to be too much of a coincidence that I know that many good “mid life” endurance athletes with high LDL and HDL numbers. Don’t know about triglycerides though. I do know that mild aerobic activity is supposed to favourably raise HDL.
Taku, can you shed any light ?