Is there a lower limit for one’s LDL cholesterol? Can it be too low? I’m seeing mixed answers depending on the doc I ask.
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If you get mixed answers from doctors, don’t be surprised to get the same from here. Make up your own mind based on the evidence.
It sounds to me you are starting to question the validity of low LDL cholesterol and health. That can happen if it increases. You just got off a statin? Just my thoughts.
I’m targeting 30-40 apoB if it is easy, below 60 otherwise.
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Thanks for the reply.
I actually want to get LDL as low as possible given high Lpa. APOE is good.
I am interested in the exact same thing. I have not gotten a definitive answer, but the ‘feeling’ I have is you can probably go pretty low unlike blood sugar. But, I don’t have much evidence to support this and would change my opinion if presented with solid evidence.
Doesn’t cholesterol serve as a precursor for testosterone, estrogen, and other necessary hormones?
In males, lower cholesterol correlates to lower testosterone.
Higher testosterone seems key to longevity and health-span.
Curious that the drug companies get everyone on statins and then manage to offset the affects of lowered testosterone by selling the same cohort Viagra.
We all need to finding the balance between all these variables.
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Here are two articles I found that shed light on the “too low” of LDL question.
If you have low risk for ASCVD there is no need to go lower then 70 mg/dl I suppose. If you exercise, have low BP, low BS, low TG, reasonably healthy diet and you are not genetically predisposed to hypercholesterolemia there is no need to lower it beyond IMO. Cholesterol is also a precursor for many important steroid hormones as @Alpha pointed out that are important for longevity and health(span) too.
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It doesn’t really matter what I am about to tell you, because I can see the confirmation bias. It is an empirical claim you’re asking, namely how does affecting cholesterol levels effect testosterone levels. Very little, if you searched, not by an amount that will affect erectile function. Still within the wide normal range.
Most people on statins will naturally be on Viagra since the atheroschelosis has blocked more arteries than around the heart. Basically the people who aren’t on statins will prevent their T levels from reducing by 3.4% (The effect of statins on testosterone in men and women, a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials - PMC) but they will lose erectile function as atheroscherosis progresses and have a very high risk for heart disease, over time.
Steroid users you see in the gym take supra-physiological doses of testosterone, -3,4% relative to that is nothing and will have no effect.
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