Thread by @calleymeans

The best health tip I learned last year:

🩸Take your most recent blood test

🙅Do not listen to your doctor if they say "levels look fine"

➗Divide your Triglycerides/HDL

‼️If your ratio is over 2:1, take immediate action to get it below

How this test changed how I think:

The first question is: "What actionable information are we trying to learn from our cholesterol tests?"🩸

The answer: "Gauging our risk of metabolic dysfunction"

🔋This is our cell's ability to regulate energy, which is the foundation of disease (heart, diabetes, cancer, etc.)

Our cholesterol numbers (triglycerides, HDL, LDL) alone have been shown to be a poor gauge of our risk for metabolic dysfunction (and particularly heart disease).

But ranges on these isolated numbers are still what triggers flags from the doctor. This will probably change soon.

More info here if you're interested in digging into why standalone cholesterol numbers are incomplete:

drhyman.com/wp-content/upl…

The best ratio to measure your level of metabolic dysfunction (and risk of diseases) is dividing your Triglyceride / HDL.

‼️If this ratio is over 2:1, your body is experiencing some degree of metabolic dysfunction.

According to a paper published in Circulation, this ratio is the most powerful way to predict your risk of a heart attack. If the ratio is high, then your risk for a heart attack increases 1,600 percent!

ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/hc…

When I learned, my ratio was over 2:1, I messaged my doctor to ask if he agreed this was a problem and if there was anything we could to do lower my ratio...

I was floored by the response:

The doctor acknowledged that the high ratio was a risk factor for disease, but said "you are not at a treatable level" - meaning high enough to be prescribed a statin. 🤯🤯

Doctors try very hard, but the system is built for us to get sick and then receive lifetime treatments to manage our symptoms (statins for heart disease, insulin for type 2 diabetes, SSRIs for depression, etc.)

The Triglyceride / HDL ratio is a window into the *root cause*

My high Triglyceride / HDL led me to see the importance of basic habits in a new way:

😴Getting an @eightsleep to make sure I get solid sleep.
🍭Reducing processed sugar.
✖️Checking labels for any seed oils and not buying those products.
🏃‍♂️150 minutes of exercise per week.

Experiences like this also convince me that "health" is the most important and misunderstood issue we face, which is why I'm tweeting.

Subtly, our bodies and brains are under threat.

This is a first-order issue, because our reality is what those bodies and brains perceive.