Re: Fats & Cholestero

[Guest guest]

Hi Dan,

> Now, they also take couple of 'hard-boiled' eggs each day.. that

> would not be the culprit, would it?..

If they were not eating eggs at all, and their diet was otherwise very

low in cholesterol, and they added the eggs at the same time they

added the coconut oil, it is quite possible that adding two eggs per

day could cause a significant increase in cholesterol levels. This

happens in a small minority of people. Generally, the HDL and LDL go

up together so the ratio is unchanged, and the LDL become larger and

more buoyant rather than greater in number, which is good. This,

together with the fact that eggs cause carotenoids to accumulate in

the LDL makes it less likely to oxidize and accumulate in plaque.

The problem with these cholesterol tests is they measure the LDL in

weight rather than particle number or particle size. An increase in

particle number is bad; an increase in size is good. But all you know

is that you had an increase in weight, which doesn't tell you much.

However, if the increase came about from eating eggs, you can be

reasonably sure it is a good increase rather than a bad one. See

here:

http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Cholesterol-Rich-Foods-Raise-Blood-Cholest\

erol.html

> basically, they put the egg to

> sink in boiling water for 20 minutes, and then peel off the outer

> shell, after it is cooled down..

That seems kind of excessive -- 20 minutes of boiling? I doubt it

makes much of a difference vis-a-vis cholesterol but you can generally

boil an egg in less time especially if it's a boil rather than a

simmer. Or do you mean they turn the heat off at the same time?

> reg the coconut oil, i will pass the info.. to get the brand with the

> most polyphenols.. do you recommend any other foods/lifestyle that

> may help him keep the LDL from oxidizing?

Vigorous exercise increases nitric oxide production, which protects

LDL from oxidizing (and also makes up for the effect of oxidized LDL,

whose worse effect is to inhibit nitric oxide production).

Stabilizing blood sugar, avoiding polyunsaturated fats, eating lots of

very fresh and unrefined foods, and eating red meat medium or less

rather than well done should all be helpful.

> 4 tablespoons a day of coco oil..(+cooking) do you think that is

> overboard?

Not really. Although everyone's a little different.

> regarding the question of metabolic shift, is there any tests he can

> do related to that (blood work etc), if anything is wrong.

No I meant more in the sense of a temporary shift. Sometimes the body

takes a little while to adjust to a dietary change. Perhaps, for

example, a reduction in polyunsaturated fats reduced the need for

cholesterol in cell membranes, so reduced the uptake of cholesterol by

cells, but the liver has not yet adjusted by decreasing its

production, but will do so over time. That's just a hypothetical

scenario. Or, perhaps the reduction in polyunsaturated fats or

increase in egg carotenoids or increase in LDL particle size made the

LDL less likely to oxidize and therefore less likely to make its way

into the blood vessel wall, and so there is more in the blood, and

again the liver has not yet adjusted. Again, these are just

hyoptheticals off the top of my head. So the way to test that is to

just give it some time and see if things go back to normal.

Chris

[Guest guest]

Hi, Chris

I take raw eggs/coconut oil daily. My last blood test LDL 200(too high)

HDL 90. My doctor wants me on cholesterol drugs. Do think I should cut down

eggs or cocotnut oil avoid taking durgs? Thanks. Helen

Masterjohn <chrismasterjohn@...> wrote:

Hi Dan,

> Now, they also take couple of 'hard-boiled' eggs each day.. that

> would not be the culprit, would it?..

If they were not eating eggs at all, and their diet was otherwise very

low in cholesterol, and they added the eggs at the same time they

added the coconut oil, it is quite possible that adding two eggs per

day could cause a significant increase in cholesterol levels. This

happens in a small minority of people. Generally, the HDL and LDL go

up together so the ratio is unchanged, and the LDL become larger and

more buoyant rather than greater in number, which is good. This,

together with the fact that eggs cause carotenoids to accumulate in

the LDL makes it less likely to oxidize and accumulate in plaque.

The problem with these cholesterol tests is they measure the LDL in

weight rather than particle number or particle size. An increase in

particle number is bad; an increase in size is good. But all you know

is that you had an increase in weight, which doesn't tell you much.

However, if the increase came about from eating eggs, you can be

reasonably sure it is a good increase rather than a bad one. See

here:

http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Cholesterol-Rich-Foods-Raise-Blood-Cholest\

erol.html

> basically, they put the egg to

> sink in boiling water for 20 minutes, and then peel off the outer

> shell, after it is cooled down..

That seems kind of excessive -- 20 minutes of boiling? I doubt it

makes much of a difference vis-a-vis cholesterol but you can generally

boil an egg in less time especially if it's a boil rather than a

simmer. Or do you mean they turn the heat off at the same time?

> reg the coconut oil, i will pass the info.. to get the brand with the

> most polyphenols.. do you recommend any other foods/lifestyle that

> may help him keep the LDL from oxidizing?

Vigorous exercise increases nitric oxide production, which protects

LDL from oxidizing (and also makes up for the effect of oxidized LDL,

whose worse effect is to inhibit nitric oxide production).

Stabilizing blood sugar, avoiding polyunsaturated fats, eating lots of

very fresh and unrefined foods, and eating red meat medium or less

rather than well done should all be helpful.

> 4 tablespoons a day of coco oil..(+cooking) do you think that is

> overboard?

Not really. Although everyone's a little different.

> regarding the question of metabolic shift, is there any tests he can

> do related to that (blood work etc), if anything is wrong.

No I meant more in the sense of a temporary shift. Sometimes the body

takes a little while to adjust to a dietary change. Perhaps, for

example, a reduction in polyunsaturated fats reduced the need for

cholesterol in cell membranes, so reduced the uptake of cholesterol by

cells, but the liver has not yet adjusted by decreasing its

production, but will do so over time. That's just a hypothetical

scenario. Or, perhaps the reduction in polyunsaturated fats or

increase in egg carotenoids or increase in LDL particle size made the

LDL less likely to oxidize and therefore less likely to make its way

into the blood vessel wall, and so there is more in the blood, and

again the liver has not yet adjusted. Again, these are just

hyoptheticals off the top of my head. So the way to test that is to

just give it some time and see if things go back to normal.

Chris

---------------------------------

Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile. Try it now.

[Guest guest]

Hi Helen,

> Hyporthyroid? What does it anything to do with cholesterol?

Everything. Thyroid hormone mediates uptake of LDL via the LDL

receptor, so hypothyroidism would have the equivalent effect of

familial hypercholesterolemia.

>My FT3

> was very low(below normal range), Doctor priscribed Armour 60 mg. to me. Do

> I have hyporthyroid? My doctor did not use this term and just handed me

> script of Armour and wants me to get back check blood in three month. By

> the way, I am also suffering hives everyday. My doctor wants me to see

> allergist. Does hive also relate to hyporthyroidism? Thanks. Helen

I think that would be considered hypothyroid. I don't know if hives

do, but there could certainly be a connection between the low thyroid

and the high cholesterol. Make sure you are getting vitamin A too,

which is used in the utilization of cholesterol for some things.

Chris

[Guest guest]

very interesting thought to pour off the peanut oil. i wonder if one could

do this and then re-blend with olive oil to balance the omegas out a bit?

perhaps the perfect peanut butter (although it smacks just a tad of

over-processing <g>)?

oliver...

On Jan 16, 2008 1:37 PM, <oz4caster@...> wrote:

> ...

>

> However, be sure to get organic peanuts grown in a dry climate, as

> peanuts grown in wet climates are often contaminated with aflatoxin,

> which is highly carcinogenic. Also, non-organic peanuts are grown

> with lots of pesticides. Don't over-do the peanuts though, because

> they are fairly high in omega-6 oil and too much is not good. You can

> buy organic peanut butter like Maranatha and Arrowhead Mills that

> comes from New Mexico peanuts, grown in a dry environment and you can

> pour off the high omega-6 oil that collects at the top of the jar to

> reduce the omega-6 dosage.

> ...

>

[Guest guest]

Oliver,

> very interesting thought to pour off the peanut oil. i wonder if one could

> do this and then re-blend with olive oil to balance the omegas out a bit?

> perhaps the perfect peanut butter (although it smacks just a tad of

> over-processing <g>)?

Olive oil is also mostly omega-6.

Chris

[Guest guest]

oops, my bad. i meant flax oil but had olive oil on my mind (must be the

similarity to my name). or, we could go with fish oil <g>.

perhaps coconut oil in the warmer months would work out best though.

oliver...

On Jan 16, 2008 3:19 PM, Masterjohn <chrismasterjohn@...> wrote:

> ...

>

> Olive oil is also mostly omega-6.

>

> Chris

>

[Guest guest]

Oliver-

> oops, my bad. i meant flax oil but had olive oil on my mind (must be

> the

> similarity to my name). or, we could go with fish oi

Flax oil isn't very good either, as its omega 3s are mostly short-

chain. Coconut oil or maybe palm oil would probably be the best

replacements, texture allowing.

-

[Guest guest]

I like the flax but I chew it up. Also use the coconut oil and fish oils.

Katy Brezger

http://to-reverse-diabetes.blogspot.com/

Be a Blessing, Find ways to be someone's Santa Claus all year 'round. May you be

so richly blessed that you will bless others with what overflows from your cup.

" If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they

take, their bodies will soon be in a sorry state as are the souls of those who

live under tyranny. "

~ Jefferson~

Re: Fats & Cholestero

Oliver-

> oops, my bad. i meant flax oil but had olive oil on my mind (must be

> the

> similarity to my name). or, we could go with fish oi

Flax oil isn't very good either, as its omega 3s are mostly short-

chain. Coconut oil or maybe palm oil would probably be the best

replacements, texture allowing.

-

[Guest guest]

Hi Oliver (and et al),

> oops, my bad. i meant flax oil but had olive oil on my mind (must be the

> similarity to my name). or, we could go with fish oil <g>.

Yes, but all this is just piling on and piling on the PUFA. I think

the better thing would be to avoid the peanuts in the first place. I

mean, use some of course if you like them, but I don't think you want

to eat a therapeutic dose of magnesium from peanuts. I'd use nuts

relatively sparingly and go for the seafood, legumes and greens

personally.

For the sake of seeing if it helps cholesterol levels, I'd use a

supplement as a test rather than food (less confounding factors).

Then if that works well, try to rearrange the diet to boost up

magnesium levels. You can take baths in epsom salts too, though you

have no control over the dose.

Chris

[Guest guest]

Chris-

> Yes, but all this is just piling on and piling on the PUFA. I think

> the better thing would be to avoid the peanuts in the first place. I

> mean, use some of course if you like them, but I don't think you want

> to eat a therapeutic dose of magnesium from peanuts.

Yeah, no kidding. Even if you pour off the peanut oil, there's still

going to be a lot of PUFA left in the peanut butter. (And I say this

as someone whose ultimate childhood comfort food is peanut butter.)

> For the sake of seeing if it helps cholesterol levels, I'd use a

> supplement as a test rather than food (less confounding factors).

> Then if that works well, try to rearrange the diet to boost up

> magnesium levels. You can take baths in epsom salts too, though you

> have no control over the dose.

Though I usually recommend magnesium taurate as the best form of

supplemental magnesium because it's generally the easiest on the gut

and because taurine is also beneficial, in this case a different form

might be preferable, because taurine can lower cholesterol levels

itself.

-

[Guest guest]

On 1/16/08, Idol <Idol@...> wrote:

> Yeah, no kidding. Even if you pour off the peanut oil, there's still

> going to be a lot of PUFA left in the peanut butter. (And I say this

> as someone whose ultimate childhood comfort food is peanut butter.)

Yeah I would eat peanut butter because you like it and for not much

other reason.

> > For the sake of seeing if it helps cholesterol levels, I'd use a

> > supplement as a test rather than food (less confounding factors).

> > Then if that works well, try to rearrange the diet to boost up

> > magnesium levels. You can take baths in epsom salts too, though you

> > have no control over the dose.

> Though I usually recommend magnesium taurate as the best form of

> supplemental magnesium because it's generally the easiest on the gut

> and because taurine is also beneficial, in this case a different form

> might be preferable, because taurine can lower cholesterol levels

> itself.

Do you happen to know why/how taurine lowers cholesterol levels?

Chris

[Guest guest]

--- Masterjohn " <chrismasterjohn@...> wrote:

> Yeah I would eat peanut butter because you like it and for not much

> other reason.

yes, I do like peanut butter and therefore, I think that's a

good reason to eat it. The copious vitamins and minerals are just a

bonus

BTW, peanut oil is almost half MUFA, not PUFA. The omega-6 PUFA is

about one third and separates to the top of the organic peanut butter

jar and that is what is poured off (or so I have read). The remainder

of fat is saturated:

http://stay-healthy-enjoy-life.blogspot.com/2007/10/selecting-fats-and-oils-for-\

health.html

Peanut butter has vitamin E and resveratrol, which I'm guessing should

help to keep the MUFA from oxidizing.

Just 2 tbsp of peanut butter has the following percent of adult male

RDAs according to the USDA Nutrient Data Base:

27 niacin

25 manganese

21 copper

15 phosphorus

13 vitamin E

12 magnesium

10 vitamin B6

08 zinc

08 iron

07 vitamin B5

07 folate

188 calories

2.6g sfa

7.9g mufa

4.7g pufa (poured off)

[Guest guest]

i agree. the peanut butter angle caught my eye as my kids still enjoy a pbj

from time-to-time. i haven't touched the stuff in a year or so myself.

but, you have to admit that the peanut butter - fish oil could be

interesting <g> !

thanks,

oliver...

On Jan 16, 2008 4:27 PM, Masterjohn <chrismasterjohn@...> wrote:

> Hi Oliver (and et al),

> > oops, my bad. i meant flax oil but had olive oil on my mind (must be the

> > similarity to my name). or, we could go with fish oil <g>.

>

> Yes, but all this is just piling on and piling on the PUFA. I think

> the better thing would be to avoid the peanuts in the first place. I

> mean, use some of course if you like them, but I don't think you want

> to eat a therapeutic dose of magnesium from peanuts. I'd use nuts

> relatively sparingly and go for the seafood, legumes and greens

> personally.

>

> For the sake of seeing if it helps cholesterol levels, I'd use a

> supplement as a test rather than food (less confounding factors).

> Then if that works well, try to rearrange the diet to boost up

> magnesium levels. You can take baths in epsom salts too, though you

> have no control over the dose.

>

> Chris

>

[Guest guest]

don't forget sunflower seeds for magnesium.

another salient point is that the thyroid and adrenal glands are linked,

and adrenal insufficiency can cause itching, etc. especially at night

when the adrenals are fatigued. i used a modified salt/vitamin c morning

proticol, with some herbs from my accupuncturist (licorice etc) to break

my adrenal stimulant addiction (otherwise known as coffee).

desh

[Guest guest]

,

> If you're eating plain peanuts, or real nuts, it is very easy to get

> too much PUFA. I think that's one of the advantages of nut butters -

> if you can pour off the PUFA. My guess is that since PUFA is

> generally a liquid at room temperature, that most of the PUFA in the

> peanut butter is removed by pouring off the liquid oil that rises to

> the top. I doubt that all of it is removed and it is possible that

> some of the liquid oil is MUFA, which can also be liquid at room

> temperature.

Oils with saturated fats can be liquid at room temperature too -- it

depends on the proportion. But the FAs are generally not segregated

into triglycerides based on sautration. In other words, you generally

don't have some triglycerides that are all saturated and others that

are all monounsaturated and others that are all polyunsaturated. If a

third of the FAs are polyunsaturated, it's more likely that you have

all or most of the triglycerides having one out of three FAs

polyunsaturated, I would guess.

So I think the main effect of pouring off would be to reduce the total

fat. And that would be good, because you'd be reducing the total PUFA

you're consuming too -- you'd basically be making a low-fat (or

lower-fat) peanut butter. I doubt you're *selectively* removing PUFA,

but you're certainly removing some of it. How much, I'm not sure. I

bet the rest of the peanut butter is still pretty fatty.

Chris

[Guest guest]

,

> I haven't been able to find any reliable references that show

> how much omega-6 PUFA is in the oil that rises to the top of organic

> peanut butter. However, wouldn't triglycerides with two or three

> PUFAs be slightly less dense, and therefore more buoyant that

> triglycerides with one or no PUFAs.

Yes, but until we have a more detailed analysis, there's no reason to

believe that there *are* triglycerides with 2 or more PUFAs and others

with no PUFAs. There might be, but in general my understanding is

that TG's are usually preferentially made to combine PUFAs with SFAs.

Now that won't always occur, but I would err on the side of believing

the PFUAs are more evenly distributed among the TGs rather than the

opposite belief.

Chris

[Guest guest]

I am making peanut butter right now! In the past, I've used coconut oil.

I soak, dehydrate, then roast the nuts. Could another step help? I'm

thinking of boiling water over the ground nuts to release the peanut oil,

or something similar, then replacing the oil with coconut and a bit of

olive. I've got suet rendering on the stove, but that doesn't sound so

palatable.

Desh

[Guest guest]

> > basically, they put the egg to

> > sink in boiling water for 20 minutes, and then peel off the outer

> > shell, after it is cooled down..

>

> That seems kind of excessive -- 20 minutes of boiling? I doubt it

> makes much of a difference vis-a-vis cholesterol but you can generally

> boil an egg in less time especially if it's a boil rather than a

> simmer. Or do you mean they turn the heat off at the same time?

No, I found that they do it plain boiling (heat on all 20 minutes)..

how many minutes do you recommend for boiling and simmering eggs to get

the hard-boiled eggs?

Now is this more healthier choice than scrambling them?

Thanks

-Dan.

[Guest guest]

Dan,

> This friend of mind has been struggling/battling Ulcer(stomach)/H-

> pylori the last several months. It is better now. But could this

> inflmmation of the stomach have the same effect on the Rho activation

> as the gum inflammation case you gave.

That is plausible.

Chris

[Guest guest]

On 2/4/08, repent_kog_is_near <repent_kog_is_near@...> wrote:

> Hi &

>

> I recommended the VAP test for my friend. So he did find the apob.

>

> It was found at 136 mg/dl. (recommended to be less than 109).

>

> Is apob a very key number in the Cholesterol number game?

Elevated ApoB means there are a greater number of LDL particles (as

well as other Apo-B containing particles such as IDL and VLDL). This

makes it more worrisiome that he has a high LDL because large, buoyant

LDL particles are resistant to oxidation whereas small, dense LDL

particles oxidize easily (starting at the PUFAs and working its way to

the protein apoprotein itself and then the cholesterol). Oxidized LDL

promotes atherosclerosis.

If he has a large number of LDL particles for a given weight, that

means that each particle is smaller and thus more likely to promote

atherosclerosis.

Chris

[Guest guest]

Thanks Chris.

Last time, you had said the gold coco oil from TT should be ok, in

his case. Would you still say so,after these numbers? And I remember

you telling Eggs will only help to make the LDL bigger. so i am guess

eggs will be good for him.

so, he has to figure a way to reduce the LDL and apob, and make them

bigger/fluffier, and also should try to minimize oxidizataion on the

existing LDL..

If he avoids PUFA right now, is that alone enough to help to avoid

any further oxidization.

Thanks again

-Dan.

> > Hi &

> >

> > I recommended the VAP test for my friend. So he did find the apob.

> >

> > It was found at 136 mg/dl. (recommended to be less than 109).

> >

> > Is apob a very key number in the Cholesterol number game?

>

> Elevated ApoB means there are a greater number of LDL particles (as

> well as other Apo-B containing particles such as IDL and VLDL).

This

> makes it more worrisiome that he has a high LDL because large,

buoyant

> LDL particles are resistant to oxidation whereas small, dense LDL

> particles oxidize easily (starting at the PUFAs and working its way

to

> the protein apoprotein itself and then the cholesterol). Oxidized

LDL

> promotes atherosclerosis.

>

> If he has a large number of LDL particles for a given weight, that

> means that each particle is smaller and thus more likely to promote

> atherosclerosis.

>

> Chris

>

[Guest guest]

I want to raise my HDL, any suggestions?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No virus found in this incoming message.

Checked by AVG Free Edition.

Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.19.19/1256 - Release Date: 2/2/2008

1:50 PM

[Guest guest]

On 2/4/08, webriter <webriter@...> wrote:

> I want to raise my HDL, any suggestions?

Magnesium might help; and butter and coconut oil seem to work in women

but not in men so much. Not sure what else off the top of my head.

Chris

[Guest guest]

Why do you want to raise your HDL? In spite of popular wisdom, no clinical

trial has ever

indicated that raising HDL has a cardioprotective effect. High levels of HDL

are associated

with lower rates of coronary heart disease (CHD), but that doesn't mean they

CAUSE low

rates of CHD. This is much misunderstood.

Because the rate of CHD in women is lower, it has been assumed that women were

protected against LDL by sex hormones; one effect of sex hormones is to raise

HDL, so the

conclusion was made that raising HDL levels protects against heart disease (this

made

sense, since high levels of HDL were associated with lower rates of CHD).

To prove this theory, they did studies where they gave women hormone-replacement

therapy (HRT) in order to raise their HDL levels, and thus lower their rates of

CHD (it is

important to note that sex hormones have many other beneficial effects on lipids

and

blood coagulability which could explain a protective function for CHD).

Nevertheless, unfortunately for the women (and the HDL theory), the rate of

deaths from

CHD actually increased in one study, and no benefit was seen in the other (Teede

HJ. Clin

Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 2007 Jul;34(7):672-6.)

In addition, the theory that oxidized LDL causes atherosclerosis is also

incomplete and not

entirely supported by the data. Some studies have indicated an association

between high

levels of oxidized LDL and a significantly increased risk of heart attack,

regardless of total

LDL levels. (Holvoet P, et al. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2003;32:1444-1448;

Holvoet

P, et al. Diabetes. 20004;53:1068-1073)

Yet the Heart Protection Study (5 years, 10,000 patients) demonstrated " no

evidence of

any benefit from antioxidant vitamins " , which would be expected if oxidization

of LDL was

the cause of CHD (Kmietowicz, Z. Statins are the new aspirin, Oxford researchers

say. BMJ

2001;323:1145)

If the endothelium had receptors for oxidized LDL, then oxidized LDL would be

absorbed

through all artery walls everywhere and we would not see discreet plaques

forming - just

general thickening of the artery wall. This is not the case.

The fact that plaques form in discreet locations lends credence to the " response

to injury "

hypothesis, which is becoming more widely accepted and is very well supported by

the

data. This theory suggests that it is an injury to the epithelial wall (lining

of the artery)

that causes plaques to form and promotes heart attacks. Proven risk factors for

such an

injury include: nutrient deficiencies, poor glycemic control (insulin

resistance), cigarette

smoking, homocysteine, nitric oxide depletion, high iron levels, microbial

infection,

dietary trans fatty acids, high PUFA intake, and excessive refined carbohydrate

intake

(which promotes poor glycemic control).

It is still of course wise to avoid foods and other factors that promote

oxidization, since

free radicals have many proven ill effects on the body. In spite of the

commonly held

belief, saturated fats are much better for heart health than PUFAs. I could

show you reams

of data on that (actually, if you're interested you can download my presentation

at

http://chriskresser.com/research/cholesterol_class.pdf), but based on your

presence here

I'm guessing you already know that.

Best,

(the other one)

>

> I want to raise my HDL, any suggestions?

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> -------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------

>

>

> No virus found in this incoming message.

> Checked by AVG Free Edition.

> Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.19.19/1256 - Release Date: 2/2/2008

1:50 PM

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I want to raise it because it's so low.

Why do you want to raise your HDL? In spite of popular wisdom, no clinical

trial has ever

indicated that raising HDL has a cardioprotective effect. High levels of HDL

are associated

with lower rates of coronary heart disease (CHD), but that doesn't mean they

CAUSE low

rates of CHD. This is much misunderstood.

Because the rate of CHD in women is lower, it has been assumed that women were

protected against LDL by sex hormones; one effect of sex hormones is to raise

HDL, so the

conclusion was made that raising HDL levels protects against heart disease

(this made

sense, since high levels of HDL were associated with lower rates of CHD).

To prove this theory, they did studies where they gave women

hormone-replacement

therapy (HRT) in order to raise their HDL levels, and thus lower their rates

of CHD (it is

important to note that sex hormones have many other beneficial effects on

lipids and

blood coagulability which could explain a protective function for CHD).

Nevertheless, unfortunately for the women (and the HDL theory), the rate of

deaths from

CHD actually increased in one study, and no benefit was seen in the other

(Teede HJ. Clin

Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 2007 Jul;34(7):672-6.)

In addition, the theory that oxidized LDL causes atherosclerosis is also

incomplete and not

entirely supported by the data. Some studies have indicated an association

between high

levels of oxidized LDL and a significantly increased risk of heart attack,

regardless of total

LDL levels. (Holvoet P, et al. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol.

2003;32:1444-1448; Holvoet

P, et al. Diabetes. 20004;53:1068-1073)

Yet the Heart Protection Study (5 years, 10,000 patients) demonstrated " no

evidence of

any benefit from antioxidant vitamins " , which would be expected if oxidization

of LDL was

the cause of CHD (Kmietowicz, Z. Statins are the new aspirin, Oxford

researchers say. BMJ

2001;323:1145)

If the endothelium had receptors for oxidized LDL, then oxidized LDL would be

absorbed

through all artery walls everywhere and we would not see discreet plaques

forming - just

general thickening of the artery wall. This is not the case.

The fact that plaques form in discreet locations lends credence to the

" response to injury "

hypothesis, which is becoming more widely accepted and is very well supported

by the

data. This theory suggests that it is an injury to the epithelial wall (lining

of the artery)

that causes plaques to form and promotes heart attacks. Proven risk factors

for such an

injury include: nutrient deficiencies, poor glycemic control (insulin

resistance), cigarette

smoking, homocysteine, nitric oxide depletion, high iron levels, microbial

infection,

dietary trans fatty acids, high PUFA intake, and excessive refined

carbohydrate intake

(which promotes poor glycemic control).

It is still of course wise to avoid foods and other factors that promote

oxidization, since

free radicals have many proven ill effects on the body. In spite of the

commonly held

belief, saturated fats are much better for heart health than PUFAs. I could

show you reams

of data on that (actually, if you're interested you can download my

presentation at

http://chriskresser.com/research/cholesterol_class.pdf), but based on your

presence here

I'm guessing you already know that.

Best,

(the other one)

>

> I want to raise my HDL, any suggestions?

>

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1:50 PM

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