Why Do You Get High Cholesterol After Intermittent Fasting? – Dr.Berg

I explain why you get high cholesterol on keto; but don’t worry, it’s temporary.

Timestamps:
0:00 Why you get high cholesterol on keto
1:28 Cholesterol helps repair damage within your body
2:30 If your cholesterol goes up, realize you’re in the transition phase and it will drop back down

I was asked by someone why she got high cholesterol on keto. I totally understand not wanting to get a clogged artery that could cause a heart attack. But hear me out. If you’re on the keto diet and doing intermittent fasting you’re not going to have a heart attack even if your cholesterol temporarily goes up.

When you fast you mobilize your fat. There are triglycerides in your fat, along with some cholesterol. The triglycerides are primarily going to be used as energy. Cholesterol won’t be. Instead, it’s used to make hormones; especially sex hormones such as testosterone and estrogen. It’s also used to make cortisol, you’re anti-inflammatory hormone.

Cholesterol is also needed for cell membranes. Every cell membrane in your body has cholesterol. Your body makes about 3,000 milligrams per day of it. When you eat more cholesterol your body will make less. When you eat less your body will make more.

Cholesterol helps repair damage in your body. It doesn’t just float through your body; it has to be put in a protein in order to be transported through the body. These proteins are what we call LDL, HDL, and the like.

By far the majority of the time when fasting you’ll see a drop in LDL and triglycerides. Even if you do see a temporary spike in triglycerides you’ll normally see a drop in LDL and a spike in HDL. LDL takes the cholesterol from the liver and transports it to where it’s needed in your body. HDL takes any excess back to your liver for recycling.

If your cholesterol is a little high, realize you’re just in the transition phase and it will come down. Even when it’s high it’s not a problem. A really good test is to take your cholesterol count, subtract your HDL and LDL, and you’ll be left with what’s called remnant cholesterol.

What’s really behind high cholesterol and high triglycerides is carbohydrates; when you eat high carb foods especially desserts and sweets. When you bring down your carbs your body stops storing fat and starts using your stored energy as fuel.

And now you know why you get high cholesterol on keto!

Dr. Eric Berg DC Bio:
Dr. Berg, age 56, is a chiropractor who specializes in Healthy Ketosis & Intermittent Fasting. He is the author of the best-selling book The Healthy Keto Plan, and is the Director of Dr. Berg Nutritionals. He no longer practices, but focuses on health education through social media.

Follow Me On Social Media:

Disclaimer:
Dr. Eric Berg received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1988. His use of “doctor” or “Dr.” in relation to himself solely refers to that degree. Dr. Berg is a licensed chiropractor in Virginia, California, and Louisiana, but he no longer practices chiropractic in any state and does not see patients so he can focus on educating people as a full time activity, yet he maintains an active license. This video is for general informational purposes only. It should not be used to self-diagnose and it is not a substitute for a medical exam, cure, treatment, diagnosis, and prescription or recommendation. It does not create a doctor-patient relationship between Dr. Berg and you. You should not make any change in your health regimen or diet before first consulting a physician and obtaining a medical exam, diagnosis, and recommendation. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Thanks for watching!

[Drberg]

Thank you so much for subscribing - we hit that 3 million mark on this video -

[pootieputin]

Dr Berg's channel is by far the best channel on Utube by far!

[kellypetit]

Dr. B - my husband and I have been doing keto for 3.5 years and following you for 2.5; you have changed our lives. My husband recently was at the Dr and he said that if my husband’s cholesterol doesn’t come down he wants to put him on meds this fall. Of course we aren’t going to do that but GRRRR so frustrating with the prevailing mindset out there

[amandatkids]

Thank you for this!!! Just got a call from a lab that I have total cholesterol of 300 and how serious that can be. I’ve binge watched your informative videos of cholesterol numbers so I asked what my triglycerides are and they could not provide me yet with any other numbers. Just the total cholesterol number. All this did was cause concern among family members and I’m showing them this particular video and that of your wife’s high number so everyone relaxes until we get all the numbers along with A1C and CRP. Thank you for teaching me about all of these Dr. Berg! I’m not nervous by the call. I’ve been healthy keto and IF for three years so despite my numbers being higher than before keto, I feel great!

[anamnesiser]

Funny how since starting to take advice from Dr Berg three years ago I basically haven't needed to see my big pharma rep, I mean GP.

[sonyb]

3M subscribers! You rock this world, Dr. BERG! You are my doctor.🥰👍🏾👊🏽✌🏾

[fidelcatsro]

Thanks for saying these a thousand times!

[dyahviona]

We actually need to hear this a bit more, probably a thousand more times! Thanks for educating us dr. Berg. Bless you!

[totoypogi]

My real problem is how to share these knowledge to my love ones without the "so the doctors are wrong" debate..

[jackraio]

Congratulations, Doctor, has reached 3 million subscribers❤❤❤

[missair]

This is exactly the results I received from my doctor & my bloodwork having the high bad cholesterol/low good cholesterol & I was very worried and baffled as I’ve been doing intermittent fasting for a very long time (with mostly good eating on keto and some periods of bad eating & weight gain during quarantine). So glad I found this video! Thank you for the info Dr. Berg!

[laquingal]

....just to let you know... I appreciate when you repeat important info. I am new here and while I don't have time to go through ALL your wonderful videos, I usually check out all the new ones... ALSO, wanted to let you know that I simply love how in-depth yet short your informative videos are. Also love the weekly call-ins. I listen to them as I am driving. THANK YOU SO

[linak]

Dr Berg you may have explained this topic six ways to Sunday but the repetition is needed.
You aren't beating a dead horse 🐴 ⚟ You say it better. You say it well.

💗👍

[HotRefuse]

Every damn time I explain keto + IF to people unaware I get, "your cholesterol must be astronomical!" My response is, "yeah" "but every other marker that would put me at risk for cardiovascular disease is low." No chronic inflammation. Low triglycerides. Low to normal blood pressure. Low stress.

[nnrdm]

People get mixed results -

All I can say is after 17 months of low carb and 16;8 fasting (not keto) ive raised my HDL from 31 to 62-

Current blood work last week-

HDL 62
LDL 112
Triglycerides 70
Remnant chlorestral 14

(I pack in a fair amount of fish and vegetables of most kinds and 15 eggs a week- soft boiled are best)

All other blood work normal-
BP normal
No medications


Thanks Dr Berg.

[Keroppikun]

I have always found that the best teachers repeat and regurgitate a lot of material while adding new things a little at a time. Worry not, you are a great teacher. Keep up the good work, please.

[jonlanier_]

I have a saying as a preacher, "By the time I'm tired of saying it, they are just beginning to hear it."

[loveandfaith]

I appreciate your repetition...thank you!
Sometimes repeating certain subjects needs to be done.

[strongpowerthankyou]

3 weeks in keto. My cholesterol and uric acid raised. But i was not panic because of you, Dr. Berg! All your videos are so helpful 💜

[katherinejoseph]

Had a blood tests in prep for annual physical, cholesterol and LDL were high, but so was HDL. This was a great reminder and I may send it to my PCP….Thanks, Dr. Berg