It's another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily, episode 1631, and I'm Dr. Neil Malik.

Hey there, happy Friday and happy Super Bowl weekend for those of us in the U.S.

And welcome to another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily, where I answer your health

questions related to fitness, diet and nutrition, and lots more.

You send in the questions, and I answer them for you.

Now, if you want to know more about me and my background and my credentials, definitely check out

the first Q&A episode from earlier this month. That's where I discuss all of that in more detail.

But for now, I'm going to spare you from that long introduction, so we can jump right in and hear today's audio question as we optimize your life.

Hi there. My name is Jeanette. I live in Washington, D.C., and I just had a blood panel done about 10 days ago with my primary care physician, I was shocked when

she called me today and said that my LDL is, as she put it, sky high. It's around 280 or something.

And what's really making me crazy is that a year ago, I embarked on a concerted

effort to lose a bunch of weight. I've since lost about 18 pounds, changed my diet, cut out a

bunch of meat. And I kind of thought that I'd be affecting my cholesterol for the better, too.

So I wonder if you could speak to this issue of, in one way I'm healthier than I was a year

ago, and another way I'm absolutely not. Thank you so much.

Thank you so much for taking the time to send in your question, Jeanette.

I'm so sorry to hear about these recent lab results.

I mean, it sounds like you've been doing everything right to help lower your LDL cholesterol.

Weight loss, reducing meat intake, increasing your activity levels.

All of these have been found to help reduce LDL cholesterol.

So why these lifestyle changes may not be working

in your case is a bit of a mystery. But I'll offer some thoughts as to what may be happening.

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