Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Cholesterol - the plot thickens!

All is not as simple as it may seem! First we knew that heart disease was more common in people who were overweight and who smoked, so we encouraged fat people to lose weight and stop smoking, and hey presto, the problems with heart disease started to decrease. Then we discovered that the circulating fat - Cholesterol - in the blood stream was the culprit and drugs were developed to target the problem and hey presto, low cholesterol resulted in lower rates of heart disease. Then we discovered that there were "good and bad" cholesterol - LDL being the bad guy, and HDL being the good guy. So now we're developing drugs that lower the LDL and attempt to rise the HDL.

But apparently the story doesn't stop there (will it ever?).

Scientists in Vienna have reported that HDL can also be subdivided into "Good guys and useless guys"! They have discovered the fact having a high HDL does not necessarily mean that it will be cardio-protective as sometimes HDL can be worse then useless! So more does not necessarily equate with better, and what we now need is a test to work out that if a patient has a high HDL, is it made up of the "right stuff"!

In the meantime, stay lean, stay fit, don't smoke and live to the best of oyour ability each and every day.
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3 comments:

Clare Dunn said...

Clearly, one of the reasons people are fed up with modern medicine.

Got a problem? Take a pill. Which leads to more problems, thank you.

Doctor Jefferson, I read this blog because I feel that of all the Doctors I have known, you have it most together. But this particular post did nothing but raise my blood pressure. No help here, and obviously no hope, either. When are you guys gonna tell us something that you won't rescind in a few months?

Milk is good for you! Uh, nope, sorry, we were wrong. Eggs are good protein! OOps! Retract that...Eggs will kill you with unkindly cholesterol.

My Doc says "Lose weight! Stay slender!" Then gives me a medication that causes weight gain. It is so totally frustrating.

My Doc says "Don't Smoke!" Then gives me an anti-smoking pill that causes severe depression.

My Doc says "Exercise!" So I walk for 30-60 mins a day, but my shins begin to hurt. I tell him it hurts when I walk. He says "Don't walk".

Yeah, it's comical, isn't it?

But I am not seeing the humor anymore. At 60 years old, all my joints are shot - including my funny bone.

The "Right Stuff" will happen when the 'truths' the medical professionals tell us today last past tomorrow.

Sincerely,
Clare

Julie said...

So what makes these HDL useless or worse than useless? What I know about HDL is that it removes cholesterol from cells and returns it to the liver. What do these other HDLs do?

Anonymous said...

AND TRUST THE LORD FOR ALL THINGS...NOT MANKIND!