Size Matters
New cholesterol research says bigger lipoproteins (both low-density and high-density) reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
9/2007
Lipoproteins vary in size, and researchers have discovered that for both low-density lipoproteins, or LDLs ("bad" cholesterol), and high-density lipoproteins, or HDLs ("good" cholesterol), bigger is better. In 1994, researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in San Francisco presented studies to the American Heart Association indicating that people with the smallest and most dense LDLs had more than three times the risk of a heart attack than those with larger LDLs. Smaller particles are able to penetrate artery walls and build up as plaque. They are also more easily oxidized, a chemical process associated with inflammation, which many experts now believe contributes to plaque buildup and hardening of the arteries.
Just like LDL particles, HDLs vary in size. The larger HDLs are more desirable because they are more actively involved in removing cholesterol from the body. A 2003 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that people who live to an exceptionally old age have significantly larger LDL and HDL particle sizes, decreasing their risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
For information about reducing your cholesterol, see the September 2007 issue of Natural Health.
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