Your Doctor Is Watching the Wrong Number. LDL, ApoB & Heart Risk Explained. - Dr. Kevin Maki

Your Doctor Is Watching the Wrong Number. LDL, ApoB & Heart Risk Explained. - Dr. Kevin Maki

May 26, 2026 · 1h 25m · Episode 207

About this episode

Dr. Gabrielle Lyon and Dr. Kevin Maki discuss the importance of ApoB and Lp(a) over LDL in predicting heart risk and the implications for dietary choices.

Most people think the cholesterol number on their lab report tells them whether their heart is at risk. But former National Lipid Association President Dr. Kevin Maki explains that LDL is just one piece of a much bigger picture and focusing on it alone can mean missing the markers that matter most. In this episode, Dr. Gabrielle Lyon sits down with Dr. Kevin Maki, former President of the National Lipid Association and co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical Lipidology , to discuss: Why ApoB and Lp(a) are better predictors of heart risk than LDL and why only about 2% of people ever get Lp(a) tested What a beef-vs-chicken feeding study revealed about red meat and cholesterol (the LDL results came back identical at 112 mg/dL) The evidence behind the seed oil debate, including why higher linoleic acid levels tracked with lower inflammation markers across a 2,000-person dataset Why the balance of cholesterol-raising and cholesterol-lowering foods matters more than saturated fat alone The simple "ABCs" framework: A1c, blood pressure, cholesterol - for actually lowering long-term cardiovascular risk By the end, you'll know which numbers actually predict heart risk, which tests to…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Gabrielle Lyon

Guest: Dr. Kevin Maki

Topics covered

Sponsors

OneSkin, BodyHealth

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: National Lipid Association, Journal of Clinical Lipidology

Products: OneSkin, BodyHealth

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