This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

I recently had bloodwork done and the following flags came up.... (copied precisely from the form)

-HDL Cholesterol: 83 mg/dl Reference Range: 40-60 Flag: High
-CHOL/HDL: 2.2 ratio Reference Range: 3.7-4.7 Flag: Low

I don't believe these to generally have any relation to MS, but I figured it could be worth mentioning... aside from that...

I have high A.C.E. levels (which I believe MS patients tend to have) and my Vitamin D information says:

33.4 ng/ml Reference Range: 30.0 - 100.0

I realize that this is inside the reference range, but is this still considered low? Then comes the tricky question of asking... what amount of Vitamin D supplement is appropriate?

yes you could stand to get your level up to say 50. your dose for d3 depends on a few things eg why your level is low - insufficient intake, poor absorption/utilization, or a bit of both. also, not wise to take therapeutic d3 alone. I learned the hard way. best to be safe and balance with other minerals. which means it is best to also test those other minerals and see how they are playing into the picture. specifically zinc and magnesium for starters. if you haven't read the targets post yet here's the link regimens-f22/topic2489.html#p15460

HDL is the good cholesterol and having a low total to HDL ratio is good. don't worry about your lab's population data - while yes the flags indicate you are different than the other patients getting tested at that lab, in this case it means you are doing better than average joe who gets tested there.

here's an optimal numbers resource
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/choles ... ls/CL00001

notice:
total cholesterol Below 200 mg/dL (5.2 mmol/L) = Desirable
HDL cholesterol 60 mg/dL (1.6 mmol/L) and above = Best

that means total:HDL = 200/60 = 3.3 or lower is desirable/best

this is the kind of thing that bugs me. all those 3.7s and worse coming out of your lab will be thinking they're in good shape when in fact they'd be better off with numbers like yours.

if your lab is like other labs, now your good numbers are in the data set so the max and min values may change. next time you have these tests done, see if the ref range for HDL changes to 40-83 etc.

don't know too much about ACE, will have to read up.

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my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com