Cholesterol reduction

[Guest guest]

Last month we discussed the Hegsted equation and the fact that serum

cholesterol can be reduced by lowering the consumption of myristic

acid (in butter, animal fats) and by increasing the consumption of

linoleic acid (safflower oil, grape seed oil). This is the basis for

the claims made by " Smart Balance " margarine.

Exercise does not come into the equation -- only diet.

Tony

see Message 14624 for the Hegsted equation. The following is

Perlman's simplification.

===Message 14645

From: " citpeks " <citpeks@y...>

Date: Tue Sep 7, 2004 2:26 pm

Subject: Re: macro nutrients, sat fats

What I like about the Hegsted equation and U.S. Patent 5,382,442

(1995) by Perlman, et al. is that they characterize the *quantitative*

effect of *specific* fatty acids on serum cholesterol. Perlman

concludes that

Delta SC =

+ 9.10 Delta C14:0 (myristic acid)

- 1.78 Delta C18:2 (linoleic acid)

- 10.15

===================

Message 15329

From: " " <crjohnr@b...>

Date: Wed Oct 13, 2004 10:18 pm

Subject: RE: [ ] How much is enuf?

-----Original Message-----

From: jwwright [mailto:jwwright@...]

Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2004 6:12 PM

Subject: Re: [ ] How much exercise is euf?

BTW, I've just been reading a Pritikin book, Diet for Runners, and

I don't want to sound like I'm pushing pritikin's program, but there

is some good data on runners who have had heart attacks and the (his)

reason for it. Fixx was not the only one. Worth the 3$ I paid for it.

I submit the one statement, pg 73: " Cholesterol cannot be cleaned

out by running. Cholesterol cannot be used for fuel. " That's his

statement and I've yet to find a confirming source for it. Comments?

Regards.

I hope you're not baiting me to disagree with Pritikin.

I never much though about interactions between running and

cholesterol. About the only associated mechanism that comes to mind is

that exercise increases HDL which is a scavenger for LDL which carries

cholesterol. Running is generally healthful and I believe improves

HDL/LDL ratio, but its not magic.

A quick search of cholesterol metabolism on the WWW turns up a lot

of words I can't pronounce but no direct association with energy

pathways. I suspect out body might " eat " it eventually, but only after

consuming all glycogen, adipose, protein(?) and whatever else it can

grab first. I doubt jogging around the block will get us there.

AFAIK the direct way to reduce cholesterol is to bind up the bile

acids (made from cholesterol) in our digestive track so they will be

passed instead of being recaptured for re-use. There was a popular

intervention using a specially designed resin that did this

(cholestrymine ?). I think it was mentioned in an early Walford book

as a cheat, allowing one to eat fat while not absorbing it. There is

also a popular health food store supplement " Chitosan " based on some

marine exoskeleton that is reported to bind to fats. I think these

have replaced with different medical interventions these days. " I

don't wan't want no messy powder, give me a neat little pill. "

I suspect a dietary intervention combining low ingested

cholesterol while high in vegetable fiber that will increase the

transist speed through the intestine, will trap some of the bile

present while the reduced transit time will also diminish bile

recapture for re-use. The body will then need to convert existing

cholesterol to generate new bile to replace what was lost.

I'm not sure how or if the amount of dietary fat consumption plays

into the amount of bile in circulation but since it's purpose is to

aide in digestion/absorption there may be some relationship.

I don't know that the presence or quantity of circulating

cholesterol is " the " dominant mechanism for heart disease. Cholesterol

is always present and is essential for multiple bodily processes. I

seem to recall something about cholesterol being deposited in response

to some insult. But I could be wrong.

JR