For many years, doctors have drawn a
distinction between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ cholesterol. The advice has been to keep
your levels of ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol low and to raise your levels of ‘good’ HDL
cholesterol.
The concern is that LDL increases
patients’ risk of heart disease and stroke. HDL, on the other hand, has been
seen as the good guy, removing excess cholesterol and reducing the risk of
heart disease.
Not surprisingly, drug companies have
been ploughing money into treatments that raise HDL, thinking that high levels
can reduce the incidence of strokes or heart attacks but, so far, efforts have
been unsuccessful.
Now it seems that for some patients,
high HDL levels, far from being helpful, actually confer no benefits and may even
be detrimental.
As Professor Eliano Navarese, an
Italian cardiologist and director of SIRIO Medicine, a network of experts
reviewing medical research, explains: ‘The thinking that increasing HDL, which
is widely advised by clinicians, could provide health benefits has been denied
by a growing body of evidence.’
Most of the cholesterol circulating
in our blood is made by the liver, mainly from saturated fats. LDL transports
cholesterol from the liver to cells where it is needed for such processes as
strengthening cell walls and making hormones.
HDL does the opposite, taking
surplus cholesterol from cells back to the liver, where it is recycled or
removed from the body in bile.
Bad news? HDL takes surplus
cholesterol from cells back to the liver, where it is recycled or removed from
the body in bile - rather than strengthening cell walls and making
hormones
One theory is that the fall in
oestrogen with the menopause could change the quality of HDL and its
function.
What is not clear is whether this
effect on HDL is influenced by hormonal changes or the normal ageing process in
general, which would be relevant to women and men, says Naveed Sattar, a
professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow.
Professor Navarese adds: ‘The
findings build on several lines of evidence showing that increased HDL levels
are not only not protective, but also may increase cardiovascular risk.’
High HDL is not just associated with
damaging the heart; a 2012 study in the Journal of the American Society of
Nephrology, found high HDL levels were harmful to kidney dialysis patients,
possibly by exacerbating inflammation and tissue damage. Other studies have
suggested similar effects in those with such conditions as arthritis or
diabetes.
‘In certain circumstances, such as
acute infection, or in chronic diseases linked to inflammation, such as
rheumatoid arthritis, research has suggested that the HDL particles change
their make-up,’ says Professor Sattar, adding that more work is needed to
understand the implications of these changes.
(Alright readers if you ask my opinion on this HDL controversy going on i will simply tell you stick to fruits and vegetables i dont trust this American scientist and researchers each time they dispute previous held claims and scientific facts, they have some evil plan up their sleeves and that is the introduction of a new drugs that will generate billions of dollars for them)
(picture credit to shutter stock)
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