Word: ldl
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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There was much to learn. Cholesterol, as Shragai found out, is packaged by the body in envelopes of protein, and only some of these packages are potentially harmful. The 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...
Diet was a first step. To begin with, such cholesterol-rich foods as eggs and organ meats and most cheeses can directly add to the level of potentially harmful LDL. Fat has an even bigger impact, although the reasons are not well understood. Saturated fat tends to raise LDL levels. Butter, bacon, beef, whole milk, virtually any food of animal origin is high in saturated fat; so are two vegetable oils: coconut and palm. Polyunsaturated fats, which are typically of vegetable origin, have the opposite effect; thus corn, safflower, soybean and sesame oils tend to lower the level of potentially...
...amount of fiber in the diet also seems to influence cholesterol levels. "LDL cholesterol can be reduced 20% in people with high levels just by consuming a cup of oat bran a day," says Dr. Jon Story of Purdue University. However, Story adds, "that does not mean you can go and eat whatever else you want...
...eggs and fat is not the whole story, of course. Cholesterol levels are influenced by a number of factors, from age to genes, some of which cannot be controlled at all. The first is simply being an adult. Almost everybody has very low levels of cholesterol at birth, with LDL measuring around 50 mg per deciliter of blood. But by the time most people reach adulthood, they have at least twice that amount. "One of our problems as a species," says Virgil Brown, a cardiologist at New York City's Mount Sinai Medical Center, "is that...
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...