Intro to Lipids & Lipoproteins: Why there is no ‘bad’ or ‘good’ cholesterol | Peter Attia, M.D.
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April 1, 2026
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09:44 >>> Peter answering The Question:
" What is your HDL
What is your LDL ?? "
thank you!
Thank you , can you explain what are triglycerides used for in the body.
Sir is there a chance I can show you my lab report and get an opinion whether I should take statins?
I'm 35 years old, fit, and have been doing sports all my life. I went on a keto diet to fix gut bloating, and it helped, but my LDL went through the roof(266 atm). Now, six months after stopping the keto diet, my total cholesterol is 350, and HDL is around 65-70, so my ratio is not the best (5.3). However, my triglycerides are 90, so the TG/HDL ratio is 1.38.
Should I be worried that my LDL is not dropping after I reintroduced carbs into my diet?
John Yudkin found a link between sugar and cardiovascular risk, and Ancel Keys decided it was cholesterol. The sugar industry influenced the narrative and cholesterol won. Today, the evidence is overwhelming that metabolic dysfunction is the foundation of all chronic disease…sugar!
I appreciate your commitment to scientific accuracy and agree that understanding the difference between cholesterol and lipoproteins is important, especially for those in the medical field. However, for the general public, the key takeaway is that elevated levels of atherogenic lipoproteins (like LDL) ultimately lead to the deposition of cholesterol in the vessel wall, driving atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk.
Overemphasizing the technical distinction-while correct-can sometimes be misused by those who deny the importance of dyslipidemia and its treatment. At the end of the day, whether we’re talking about “LDL cholesterol,” “ApoB,” or “lipoprotein particles,” the clinical message remains: managing these risk factors is crucial for preventing heart disease. Thanks for spreading awareness, and for making the science accessible!
Dr. Attia, i love your youtube videos❤. No dr.will check LP little ( a ), not even a cardiologist. They keep pushing the toxic drugs😢( statins almost killed me in 2022😢), and if i talk about proper human diet/ fasting ( thanks to dr. Ken Berry ❤ and Nina Tolchis❤), they totaly egnore me by pulling that stupid prescribtion pad, without even check the couse of my hear issue😢. They even served crapy toxic foods in the hospital, packed with toxic seed oils, fake sentetic sugars, and toxic so call grains😢. I don't eat hospitals foods😢 Sad but so darn true😢. FDA and AMA, and ADA, approved ❤ healthy MATZOLA SEED OILS ,by staple a ❤ healthy on it. And also staple ❤ healthy on fricking toxic cereals, packed with all kinds of dyes and toxic fake substitute sugars😢. Ha???, come on😢😢😢. I hope mr. RFK JR. will put a end to all those toxic crapy fake foods and toxic sugary drinks, and M.A.H.A. by going back to what it use to be back 50 years ago. "HEALTHY WHOLE FOODS, REAL MEATS( NOT FAKE LAB MEATS😢), REAL ANIMAL FATS TO COOK WITH ( NOT DEODORIZED😢). AND REAL VEGGIES AND FRUITS GROWN WITHOUT PESTESIDES OR HARS CHIMICALS😢.
You know there’s so much yup yup yup yup yup yup there’s no understanding if you could condense this down to simplicity, it would go a lot further I just have a bad feeling so many people like to hear themselves talk
Brilliant
My HDL is 103 and LDL is 157 my PCP says take a statin but my Cardiologist says not to. I’m so confused.
I had a stroke 2 weeks ago after 7 months on the Keto diet, and my total and non HDL levels are VERY high. (Never smoked, non-drinker, ideal weight, 63). What to do?
Curious on what you currently think about high HDL. My husband has had HDL over 100 for the past 10+ years. Most recently 127. We eat very healthy (plant-predominant), he exercises 6 days / week (cardio and weights), averages 3-4 alcoholic drinks per week. We have always been told "congratulations, your HDL is nice and high." However, we have read the recent studies on the U-shaped curve, hypothesizing that risk goes up with very high HDL. We are trying to determine if there are situations where very high HDL is indeed a good thing, or if this is something we need to dive deeper into.
I can’t wait for your next upload!
The main question is, why do Lipoproteins only harm arteries but no veins??? Stay critical. Think for yourself! Think of pressure and think of harmed arteries…… conclusions???….
gold
Cholesterol to high said the family doctor. 319. Please let me know if this is to high!!!
Just like BMI I think Cholesterol levels apply to the population in general and are not valid for all situations . At 55 years old my recent blood numbers show HDL 1.69 TRi .74, but an LDL of 3.75 . I laughed when it was suggested I make "lifestyle changes". I do 6 hours of zone 2 per week (6 X 1hr Incline treadmill walking) 2 4×4 Vo2 max sessions on my Concept 2 rower per week (Garmin predicts VO2 Max of 48) plus 2 to 3 weight sessions. My diet is literally as close to ideal as humanly possible (almost nothing to tweak) to the point where I switched from french press to a paper filtered coffee maker to reduce the fat in the unfiltered coffee to see if that would affect it (I drink about 5 cups a day). There is nothing I could change from a lifestyle perspective. I would be very shocked if I had anything other than pristine clean arteries yet my "3.75" puts me into the high category.
Mark here, NOT Elke. I have only recently discovered the ill effects of the following… Overall there are many additives that are more directly responsible for the plaque forming & the downgrade in overall health & specifically in the blood vessels. Certain ones which are banned in the EU such as titanium dioxide particularly nanoparticles(TD2np) which pass through the blood brain barrier & into cells individually clogging the cells keeping the cell activity of it"s mitochondria from functioning being sluggish, not therefore bringing IN nutrition nor taking out the toxins. This is used as a colorant both in more & more foods & in supplements & meds as white & in clear coatings or as a whitener to alter the colors. The production of these NP's has also skyrocketed to a massive amount so that the addition of such in the water supply would be virtually undetectable by sight as the particles are too small to be seen by the naked eye.
mall It is put into milk products to produce these whitening results for visual appeal, even used in powdered sugar products. This TD2 is that which is used in paint to produce ultra white paint & in primers sticking super well even to glass. Therefore leading to sticking to blood vessels worse than cholesterol needing to be eliminated by metal detoxing asap. It will also fill in defects in blood vessels making them more subject to further deterioration with internal bleeding & disrepair apparent in easy bruising first noticeable on the skin surfaces . In experiments in mice a slow accumulation of such led to a deterioration of health with crippling effects & even death. End thought is that things are weaponized needing to be studied, which some such studies are now or should be now still available as they once were, mainly of oriental origin(I think Japanese). Thank you for considering these things & expanding on them. Thank you for blowing the trumpet concerning this.
My cardiologist wants to give me meds to reduce my ldl cholesterol. He says it is evidence based and his phd study is based on government funded studies.
i am so interested in the topic now. Peter Attia did a great job explaining it. He would be a great instructor.
This is excellent until the part near the end where you claim that LDL particles are necessarily atherosclerotic. They're not. It's only AFTER they get deranged through oxidation or glycation that they become atherosclerotic. Which means that ApoB as a value to reduce as much as possible is absurd, because this blindly affects normal HEALTHY LDL particles as much as any deranged ones that might be present.
I have very high ldl 127 I’m confused. Im going to cut back on red meat and liver. 😢 284 total. 82 triglycerides hdl 144
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Robinson Nancy Rodriguez Thomas Garcia Brenda
You fucking piece os shit you keep saying things and keep saying I don’t believe in that anymore. You’re dealing with people’s life. You are not a real doctor. You peddle in views and followers fuck you and go to hell..so fuck you.
Yeah I stopped paying attention to anything these PC doctors (even some cardiologists, to be honest) say. They are all outdated and have no time (or interest) to actually research about the topic. I will keep off statins no matter what, until I see any RCT study that shows me the opposite. Thanks, Dr. Attia.
at the end of the video when Dr. Paul says that saturated fats are bad, I believe that's wrong. also wrong, is the reference to using canola oil to lower LDL. Many experts doctors etc. agree with what I'm saying. it's my understanding that canola oil along with all the other oils ( except for extra-virgin olive oil, butter, and ghee ) are contributors to oxidation which is bad.