The Good Cholesterol

03/12/2018

The Good Cholesterol

High HDL cholesterol could help fight Alzheimer's Disease. Researchers at Columbia University’s Taub Institute, studied 1,130 older adults to examine the association of blood lipid (fat) levels with Alzheimer’s disease and found that high levels of HDL, the good cholesterol, were associated with a decreased risk of the disease. It is just the opposite if you have high levels of LDL, the bad cholesterol. Scientists learned that some damage from Alzheimers comes from deposits of sticky protein in vital areas of the brain. Ten thousand men and women from Northern California underwent health evaluations between 1964 and 1973 which included measurements of blood cholesterol and blood pressure. Recently, researchers obtained the medical records of the participants and determined that 5.2% of the initial group had developed Alzheimer’s disease while an additional 1.7% had developed vascular dementia. Not surprisingly, people who had very high total cholesterol levels (between 249 and 500 mg/dL) in middle age were approximately 50% more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those with low cholesterol levels (less than 198 mg/dL).Those with moderately high cholesterol levels (between 221 and 248 mg/dL were around 25% more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. To keep your cholesterol in check you should avoid saturated and trans fat foods. Make sure you fill your plate with lean meats, fruits and vegetables.

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