LDL cholesterol - The BAD cholesterol

Contents: What is LDL.  What does LDL do? -- 1.. That decreasing LDL cholesterol did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular accidents by as much as expected -- 2.. Other LDL associations were found that were thought to be more riskier -- LDL information is still in it's infancy -- Lowering LDL cholesterol

What is LDL.  What does LDL do?

LDL cholesterol is referred to as the bad cholesterol.  Studies have repeatedly shown high LDL is associated with cardiovascular disease.   LDL cholesterol appears to significantly increase the risk of cholesterol induced stroke.

LDL is defined as a type of cholesterol, a type of fatty substance, that can adhere to the walls of arteries and veins.  When it does so, the LDL deposits restrict the blood flow at that those points.  A stroke can much more easily occur where LDL deposits have accumulated and therefore, depending on where the stroke occurs, you can suffer death, or be maimed by it.

There is currently much debate over the precise role of LDL cholesterol in cardiovascular disease.

One popular belief was that LDL was the baddy and by reducing it, you would reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. This role of LDL has been confirmed, but in doing so, later research revealed:

1.. That decreasing LDL cholesterol did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular accidents by as much as expected:

YES, altering diet, increasing exercise and taking drugs and herbs as needed, did lower LDL and does reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease.

However, a recent study conducted by Merck and Schering-Plough, found that combining two powerful LDL cholesterol lowering drugs, did indeed result in lowering LDL cholesterol by alot more than just one of the drugs alone, BUT their research, which involved imaging of the peoples blood vessels, showed no greater improvement in reducing LDL deposits on blood vessel walls.

2.. Other LDL associations were found that were thought to be more riskier.

LDL oxidization is one of the other associations found.  Research begun showing that increased levels of oxidized LDL was associated with increasing risk of cardiovascular incidents - blockages and strokes.  However, as popular as the oxidization concept was and is, other research has shown that people lowering their oxidized LDL levels did not necessarily show a drop in cardiovascular risk.  For example, Vitamin E treatment, although greatly preventing the LDL from oxidising, did not reduce cardiovascular incidents by very much at all.

The question of course that people were actually asking, in a way, was "Why does LDL stick to blood vessel walls?".

  The answer may have come a bit by accident.  The researchers working for Merck and Schering-Plough came to believe that if blood vessels were inflamed, they were more likely to have LDL deposited on them. 

Blood vessels can become inflamed through the body getting an infection, such as a cold, periodontal disease ...

The researchers found that if a cholesterol lowering drug had an anti-inflamatory effect as well, that LDL was less likely to stick.

LDL information is still in it's infancy

Going back to an older preception of cardiovascular disease, you may come across the homocysteine association. Research found that high levels of homocysteine were associated with higher cardiovascular risk.  However, correcting the homocysteine levels through vitamin B treatment, did not reduce cardiovascular incidents.

So, although we know that lowering our LDL levels naturally, as through diet and exercise, does lead to lower cardiovascular risk, there is still much about LDL we don't know, such as why it sticks or what is, perhaps, associated with LDL, that we don't know, that causes cardiovascular disease.

Lowering LDL cholesterol

Lowering LDL cholesterol is easy for many people to do through diet and exercise.  This is particularly so if you look at your belly and see it sticking out.  The important thing is that LDL can be lowered with your risk of heart attack and stroke reduced. 

Remember that lowering LDL cholesterol is a good aim, but the older you get, no matter how healthy your or how healthy you eat, the risk of suffering a cardiovascular accident is still there.  In fact, if you are 50, there is a 6% chance of having one within the next ten years - a sad and sorry reality.  With high LDL levels, that risk increases dramatically, and sky rockets if you have diabeties or are a smoker or your HDL is too low.

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