Re: Cholesterol - Can We Go Too Low?

On Sat, 07 Oct 2006 07:49:11 +1000, Alan S
<loralgtweightandcarbs@gmail.com> wrote:

>Hi All
>
>In another thread it was mentioned that a certain level of
>cholesterol is necessary for the brain among other things.

By a strange and amazing coincidence while checking out prices for
glucosamine and chondroitin for mother, and looking into some other
supplements I came across this

http://www.healthspan.co.uk/articles...Id=238&ct=true

Heavy disclaimer: obviously the writers of the articles here are paid
to write them by people whose business is selling supplements.

However they don't appear to be so OTT as those on other sites.

It would be interesting to see further research into the levels of the
different forms of cholesterol, maybe as seems likely with CVD and the
correlation with HDL rather than LDL, a different pattern from what
was first considered will emerge.

It seems logical, after all so many other chemicals need to be within
range (hypo vs hyperglycemia, thyroid, etc. too much dopamine =
schizophrenia, too little = parkinsonism . . .)

Trinkwasser wrote:
Drink water?
Just to add another facet to the LDL cholesterol issue there are some
things discussed in "Through the Looking Glass: Current and Future
Perspectives on the Role of Hormonal Interplay in Glucose Homeostasis" -
http://www.medscape.com/viewprogram/5552 (Medscape subscription is free
and a good site for maintaining your privacy.)
>>In another thread it was mentioned that a certain level of
>>cholesterol is necessary for the brain among other things.
>
> It would be interesting to see further research into the levels of the
> different forms of cholesterol, maybe as seems likely with CVD and the
> correlation with HDL rather than LDL, a different pattern from what
> was first considered will emerge.
>
I know Alan is generally careful to eat frequent small meals and keeps
his carbohydrate load down to avoid spiking (incidently, a relative
term) which has other positive consequences (see article which follows).

In the Introduction of this CME Dr. Jellinger illustrates some
interesting stuff that relates to postprandial blood glucose
particularly for type 2 diabetics. In slides 4 and 5, he shows how high
levels of glucose effect the dilation of blood vessels (the cells inside
the arteries are called endothelium). It takes much longer for a T2's
vessels to return to normal function. In slides 6 and 7, he describes a
sequence of events from oxidative stress to intermediates to AGE
(advanced glycation end-products) as well as oxidized LDL. Oxidized LDL
also gets involved with plaque deposits and is part of the scheme of
things for hardening of the arteries. "Slide 7. Oxidative Stress: Role
of Post-challenge Hyperglycemia in Generating Oxidized LDL - In fact, it
goes beyond that because oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) seems to
relate directly to the glucose levels. Glucose, as it rises, relates
very strongly to malondialdehyde (MDA), which is a measurement of
oxidized LDL. In 60 and 120 minutes, we get an increased production of
oxidized LDL merely by exposing that patient to glucose." Note that
these graphs illustrate both high carbohydrate and low carbohydrate
meals. There is an obvious advantage for low carb when it comes to
micro and macro vascular complications. It would seem that lower LDL
levels would expose less of it to oxidation.

Reverse cholesterol transport (http://tinyurl.com/y7c97s - over 23
thousand finds) is not discussed in this article but it is significant
when VLDL, triglycerides, and HDL come into the picture. Bear in mind
that LDL is usually estimated in lab results from triglycerides.

Frank

On Thu, 12 Oct 2006 11:17:55 -0400, Jefferson <xyz@adelphia.netng>
wrote:

>Trinkwasser wrote:
>Drink water?

Well I find it helps

I saw a paper recently by a Dr Passwater, dunno if they are related
<G>

I suppose such names come from a familial history of diabetes in the
past, but that doesn't expalin how many McAnallys there are . . .

>Just to add another facet to the LDL cholesterol issue there are some
>things discussed in "Through the Looking Glass: Current and Future
>Perspectives on the Role of Hormonal Interplay in Glucose Homeostasis" -
>http://www.medscape.com/viewprogram/5552 (Medscape subscription is free
>and a good site for maintaining your privacy.)
>>>In another thread it was mentioned that a certain level of
>>>cholesterol is necessary for the brain among other things.
>>
>> It would be interesting to see further research into the levels of the
>> different forms of cholesterol, maybe as seems likely with CVD and the
>> correlation with HDL rather than LDL, a different pattern from what
>> was first considered will emerge.
>>
>I know Alan is generally careful to eat frequent small meals and keeps
>his carbohydrate load down to avoid spiking (incidently, a relative
>term) which has other positive consequences (see article which follows).

Yes I've been following his lead there, it's not only improved the BG
but also the lipids, especially the trigs and the HDL, and I think
it's now starting to reduce the BP <crosses fingers>

>In the Introduction of this CME Dr. Jellinger illustrates some
>interesting stuff that relates to postprandial blood glucose
>particularly for type 2 diabetics. In slides 4 and 5, he shows how high
>levels of glucose effect the dilation of blood vessels (the cells inside
>the arteries are called endothelium). It takes much longer for a T2's
>vessels to return to normal function. In slides 6 and 7, he describes a
>sequence of events from oxidative stress to intermediates to AGE
>(advanced glycation end-products) as well as oxidized LDL. Oxidized LDL
>also gets involved with plaque deposits and is part of the scheme of
>things for hardening of the arteries. "Slide 7. Oxidative Stress: Role
>of Post-challenge Hyperglycemia in Generating Oxidized LDL - In fact, it
>goes beyond that because oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) seems to
>relate directly to the glucose levels. Glucose, as it rises, relates
>very strongly to malondialdehyde (MDA), which is a measurement of
>oxidized LDL. In 60 and 120 minutes, we get an increased production of
>oxidized LDL merely by exposing that patient to glucose." Note that
>these graphs illustrate both high carbohydrate and low carbohydrate
>meals. There is an obvious advantage for low carb when it comes to
>micro and macro vascular complications. It would seem that lower LDL
>levels would expose less of it to oxidation.

Now that IS interesting. (I'll read the rest of the paper later) yet
another way the postprandial numbers are important in generating
disease

>Reverse cholesterol transport (http://tinyurl.com/y7c97s - over 23
>thousand finds) is not discussed in this article but it is significant
>when VLDL, triglycerides, and HDL come into the picture. Bear in mind
>that LDL is usually estimated in lab results from triglycerides.

There was something I saw recently (can't remember where, sorry) where
above normal statin doses had been shown to actually reduce arterial
plaque rather than just prevent its increase.