Posted on 01/10/2008 3:27:15 PM PST by blam
Surprise -- Cholesterol May Actually Pose Benefits, Study Shows
ScienceDaily (Jan. 10, 2008) — If you’re worried about high cholesterol levels and keeping heart-healthy as you get older, don’t push aside bacon and eggs just yet. A new study says they might actually provide a benefit.
Researchers at Texas A&M University have discovered that lower cholesterol levels can actually reduce muscle gain with exercising. Lead investigator Steven Riechman, assistant professor of health and kinesiology, and Simon Sheather, head of the Department of Statistics, along with colleagues from The Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, have recently had their findings published in the Journal of Gerontology.
Bottom line: Before you have that second helping of oatmeal, it’s very possible that cholesterol may not be the mean Mr. Evil thing we tend to believe it is.
“We were not expecting to get these kind of results,” Riechman explains.
“We need further research in this area, but what we found could really make us look differently at cholesterol, especially as it relates to a vigorous workout.”
The team studied 55 men and women, ages 60-69, who were healthy non-smokers and were able to perform exercise testing and training.
Three days a week for 12 weeks, participants performed several exercises, including stretching, stationary bike riding and vigorous weight lifting. Those who had to miss one or more sessions all conducted make-up sessions so that by the study’s end, the entire group had engaged in uniform activities. Also, all participants consumed similar meals.
At the conclusion of the study, the researchers found that there was a significant association of dietary cholesterol and change in strength. In general, those with higher cholesterol intake also had the highest muscle strength gain.
Cholesterol circulating in the blood also appeared to have contributed to greater muscle gain in the participants, Riechman said.
“One possible explanation is through cholesterol’s important role in the inflammation process,” he noted.
“As you exercise, your muscles can become sore because they are rebuilding muscle mass. More cholesterol may result in a more robust inflammatory response. We know that inflammation in some areas, such as near the heart, is not good, but for building muscles it may be beneficial, and cholesterol appears to aid in this process.”
Riechman said that subjects who were taking cholesterol-lowering drugs while participating in the study showed lower muscle gain totals than those who were not.
“Needless to say, these findings caught us totally off guard,” he explains.
“From here, we need to look at a number of questions, such as what exactly happens to cholesterol while you are exercising? What role does protein intake have in all of this? What we really need to do is to trace cholesterol the moment it goes into the muscles.”
Combined with exercise, cholesterol appears to play a role in contributing to muscle gain, Riechman says. The key here is working out – it doesn’t mean sitting in front of a television all day thinking you don’t have to worry about cholesterol levels.
“Our findings show that the restricting of cholesterol – while in the process of exercising – appears to affect building muscle mass in a negative manner. If it’s true, as our findings suggest, that cholesterol may play a key role in muscle repair, we need to know exactly how that happens. And because cholesterol is negatively associated with cardiovascular health, we need further study in this area. It shows that there is still a lot about cholesterol that we don’t know.”
Adapted from materials provided by Texas A&M University.
Don’t be pedantic.
“I give up.”
Pork fat rules!!! Eat more bacon!!!! I have been waiting a very long time for this one!!! Whahoo!!!
Sounds like this needs a Dr. Weston A. Price ping!
I use Red Yeast Rice in place of man made Statins with COQ-10
Cholesterol Must Reads!
Cholesterol and Heart Disease- A Phony Issue
By Mary Enig, PhD
http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/fats_phony.html
The Benefits of High Cholesterol
By Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PhD
http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/benefits_cholest.html
Weston Price Ping!
A Nutrition Ping List
For Those Interested in the Research
of Dr. Weston A. Price
ping
you are now wasting your money because the FDA made the vitamin makers take out the drug in the yeast that was lowering the cholesterol.
What was the name of the drug?
Yes, as a representative that sold a statin drug for years, I am quite aware of the negative effects of statins on CoQ10 levels. There is a doctor in my town who is published in medical journals on the topic of these reductions on CoQ10 levels and has insisted ever since this effect was discovered that any of his patients on statins take CoQ10 tablets.
BTW, most statins are fat soluble drugs, which means they can cross the blood/brain barrier and exert their effect in the brain. This MAY have positive effects in prevention of Alzheimers, but as previously posted, cholesterol is necessary for cell wall integrity. Many doctors feel you can’t get LDL too low, but I fear that, particularly in elderly patients, cholesterol levels are being driven too low. While very low cholesterol levels may reduce the risk of thrombotic stroke, by weakening the cell wall integrity, the risk of hemmorrhagic stroke may increased.
Interestingly, I was recently prescribed a statin myself. I asked for and received the one that is water soluble and is known for having possibly the least side effects. But after I took it for some time, it seemed like my darn knees were getting weak when I would try to stand from a sitting postion. And I take CoQ10 most every day. I plan to soon start taking it again for a period of time and see if I get the same effect in my knees.
i think it was mevacor or lovastatin.
Bodybuilders have known for years that dietary cholesterol does not impact body cholesterol nearly as much as saturated fat does.
"don’t push aside bacon and eggs just yet. A new study says they might actually provide a benefit."
I always have at least two eggs for breakfast. (who would want to live 200 years blind?)
Yes we have, and both are necessary. Arnold and I were having a conversation about that just last week. Go ahead and try to maintain healthy testosterone levels with a diet low in cholesterol and saturated fat -it doesnt work.
Your Gramps was absolutely correct.
But your bod doesn't deposit them in your blood stream.
btt
I just stocked up my fridge/freezer on butter, eggs, and some little pork sausages. I also eat seafood when I can afford it. I also eat some of the skin on my chicken and turkey. Next time London Broil is on sale, I will stock up on that too. Yeah, we eat veggies here too... dressed in butter.
Every time I type up a report for a heart patient who is then told to go home and eat the standard "heart healthy" diet and take his statin drugs, I cringe. There is a lot out there regarding how misguided this approach really is... but doctors have mostly bought into this hook, line, and sinker.
There's also a book out there called "Lipitor: Thief of Memory." Turns out that our brains are made of fat, and we need good-quality fat to keep it running in good condition. Memory loss would be a hellacious side effect even if statins really did what they are claimed to do.
Check here for more info on the great SCAM.
Zetia, a non-statin cholesterol-lowering drug, can have the same effect on joints and muscles. Doctors overlook it because they think only the statin drugs have this effect. It can also cause depression and anxiety.
My father went through all kinds of tests looking for things like RA and Lyme’s, and no one clued in that it might be the Zetia he was taking. Fortunately we figured it out, and he’s now doing much better OFF the drug.
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