Heart Health

Your cholesterol came back high. Your doctor mentioned statins. You left the appointment with a number, a prescription, and very little sense of why any of it happened.

That is where a lot of people start. However, a total cholesterol figure is a summary rather than an explanation. It tells you something has shifted. It does not tell you what drove the shift.

You deserve the fuller picture. As a heart health naturopath service across Geelong and the Bellarine, we look at what sits underneath the number. That means how your body transports fats, how it handles blood sugar, and how much inflammation it is carrying. There are alternatives that can help you.

What a standard cholesterol test doesn’t tell you

A standard lipid panel measures four things. Total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides. It is genuinely useful. Nevertheless, it leaves important questions unanswered.

LDL measures how much cholesterol your LDL particles are carrying. It does not measure how many particles there are. Two people can share an identical LDL result while carrying very different particle numbers.

According to PubMed, a 2022 analysis in Circulation examined this directly. Apolipoprotein B, usually shortened to ApoB, is a direct count of those particles. It predicted cardiovascular events even after adjusting for LDL cholesterol. LDL cholesterol did not predict events once ApoB was accounted for.

Lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), is the second gap. It is largely inherited, it is not included on a routine panel, and it responds very little to diet. As a result, someone can do everything right and still carry a risk factor nobody has looked for. In other words, a standard panel can look reassuring while an important piece stays hidden.

The four areas we investigate

Lipid transport

We are interested in how many particles move through your bloodstream, not only how much cholesterol sits inside them. ApoB and Lp(a) both belong to this question. Together they describe transport rather than volume.

Blood pressure and vascular health

Blood pressure is a simple measurement that often goes unchecked between annual visits. We track it alongside everything else. Vascular pressure and lipid transport influence one another, so reading them together makes more sense than reading either alone.

Insulin resistance

Blood sugar regulation and cardiovascular risk are closely connected. According to PubMed, a 2024 study in Cardiovascular Diabetology found an insulin-resistance index was associated with future cardiovascular disease. Consequently, we assess fasting glucose, insulin and related markers rather than treating cholesterol as a standalone problem.

Homocysteine and inflammation

Homocysteine is an amino acid shaped by B-vitamin status and, in some people, by MTHFR gene variants. The evidence here is genuinely mixed. According to PubMed, a 2021 review in Nutrients describes the relationship as complex rather than settled. For that reason we assess it where it is relevant, and we say plainly that it is one input among several.

The testing we use

We use comprehensive functional testing alongside standard pathology. Some of it your GP may have ordered already. Some of it we can arrange ourselves.

ApoB and Lp(a) are available through a private laboratory, as part of an advanced lipid panel. It is sometimes called a heart health panel. This panel carries an additional cost to you, separate from your consultation fee.

We will always talk you through what the panel involves, and what it costs, before anything is ordered. You are never committed to it. Many people begin with the results they already have, and that is a perfectly reasonable place to start.

Because these markers are not part of a routine panel, they are a choice rather than a default. Our job is to explain what each one would tell us, so that the decision is an informed one.

What happens in your first appointment

The first consultation is a long one, because your history matters more than any single result. We ask about your family history, your diet, your sleep, your stress and your medications. We will always listen.

Next, we review whatever pathology you already have. Often that is enough to identify a sensible first step. If further testing would genuinely change our advice, we will explain why. If it would not change anything, we will say that too.

From there we build a plan around food, movement, sleep and, where appropriate, nutritional support. Every person is different, so the plan is customised to you rather than pulled off a shelf. We would rather leave no naturopathic stone unturned than hand you a band-aid.

Working alongside your doctor, not instead of them

This part matters, so we will be direct about it.

Naturopathic care does not replace medical care. We do not diagnose cardiovascular disease and we do not treat it. What we do is investigate the factors that contribute to it, and support your body’s own regulation of them.

If you have been prescribed medication, keep taking it. Please do not stop or change a prescription because of something you have read here. That decision belongs to you and your doctor. Furthermore, we are glad to write to your GP so that everyone is working from the same information.

If your results point to something needing medical attention, we will tell you plainly and we will refer you.

Read more on cholesterol and heart health

We have written in more depth on several of these topics.

• Reducing High Cholesterol Naturally: An Evidence-Based Guide
• Cholesterol Test Results Explained: Beyond Total Cholesterol
• Seven Heart Health Tests You’re Probably Not Getting
• The Best Foods to Lower Cholesterol (and What to Limit)
• Natural Alternatives to Statins: What the Evidence Actually Says

Frequently asked questions

Can a naturopath order cholesterol testing?

Yes. We can arrange pathology through a private laboratory, including markers that are not part of a routine panel. Your GP can also order standard lipid testing, and we are happy to work from results you already have.

What is ApoB, and why isn’t it on my standard test?

ApoB counts the number of cholesterol-carrying particles in your blood, rather than measuring the cholesterol inside them. It is not yet part of standard practice in Australia, although the research supporting it is strong. For that reason it sits within a private advanced lipid panel, at an additional cost.

Do I need to stop my statin to work with a naturopath?

No, and we would ask you not to. Medication decisions belong with the doctor who prescribed them. Naturopathic care works alongside that, not in place of it.

How long before we look at my numbers again?

We generally allow eight to twelve weeks to assess progress. That interval is standard clinical practice, because it gives dietary and lifestyle changes enough time to show up in pathology. Retesting sooner rarely tells us anything useful.

Do you offer telehealth?

Yes. We consult face to face at our Geelong and Drysdale rooms, and by telehealth six days a week. Many people mix the two.

Is Lp(a) worth testing if it is inherited?

It can be. Lp(a) itself does not shift much, however knowing your level changes how closely we watch everything else. According to PubMed, a 2022 American Heart Association statement describes Lp(a) as an independent and causal risk factor, which makes it worth knowing about once in your life.

Call us on (03) 5201 0557 or book online. Let’s find the underlying cause together.

References

1. Hagström E, et al. Circulation. 2022;146(9):657-672. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.057807
2. Reyes-Soffer G, et al. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2022;42(1):e48-e60. https://doi.org/10.1161/ATV.0000000000000147
3. Raghubeer S, Matsha TE. Nutrients. 2021;13(12):4562. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13124562
4. Li W, et al. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2024;23(1):292. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12933-024-02352-6
5. Boffa MB, Koschinsky ML. Biochem J. 2024;481(19):1277-1296. https://doi.org/10.1042/BCJ20240037