Word: hdl
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...main culprit, LDL (for low-density lipoprotein), is the body's oil truck, circulating in the blood, delivering fat and cholesterol to the cells. Studies have shown that the higher the level of LDL, the greater the risk of atherosclerosis. Another type of cholesterol package is called HDL (for high-density lipoprotein). It appears to play a salutary role, helping remove cholesterol from circulation and reducing the risk of heart disease. Shragai's goal was to lower his level of LDL and raise his HDL...
...reasons that are still under study, cholesterol levels are influenced by a number of life-style factors. For instance, regular exercise can significantly raise the level of protective HDL. Alas, a couple of push-ups a day will not do the trick, says Dr. Josef Patsch of Houston's Baylor College of Medicine: "You need sustained aerobic exercise for 20 minutes at least four times a week to really benefit." A less strenuous way to raise HDL levels may be to have a daily shot or two of alcohol. "The evidence is indirect," reports Epidemiologist Stephen Hulley...
Gender also has an effect. Males and females start out with the same cholesterol levels, but around puberty boys experience a 20% to 25% drop in protective HDL and an ominous rise in LDL. This difference, researchers believe, is probably the reason why there are 60% fewer deaths from heart attacks in women than in men in the U.S. Race seems to play a part in how well the body handles cholesterol. Dr. Gerald Berenson, director of a long-term study in Bogalusa, La., has found that the changes in boys at puberty are more drastic in whites than...
...cholesterol issue has been complicated in the past decade by new discoveries about the fatty proteins that carry cholesterol in the blood: high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL). HDL-cholesterol appears to be "good" cholesterol. Explains Dr. Antonio Gotto of the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston: "We think that high-density lipoprotein may work as a scavenger of cholesterol from the tissues, ridding the body of excess cholesterol." Research is under way to determine whether coronary disease can be fought more effectively by manipulating the levels of HDL...
There is still another factor to keep runners off stride. Cornell's Dr. Thomas Pickering, who has also studied HDL levels, reports that arrhythmias-abnormal heartbeat rhythms-occur more frequently during exercise and thus may be the cause of many unexplained deaths among runners. Says he: "A case could be made that the marathon runner is at a decreased risk of cardiovascular death when he is not running, but at an increased risk when he is." So what is a runner to do? Not to worry, says Roberts, who runs five to ten miles...