How much for how long, and to what effect?
From Nutrition Express My cholesterol combined is 180 Keeps my MD confused but happy. I'm 68 and had had high cholesterol I use 600 mg daily of
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.
Carolyn
Yes, another known occasional effect of statins is something called Transient Global Amnesia, which is just what it sounds like:
Sroll down to about the middle of the page.
Sorry, TGA is a bit different from what is discussed in the link, but you get the idea.
Fine. So eliminate the 2nd sentence - too much of something is generally no good, even if the body makes it, and this certainly applies to cholesterol. Of course, too little is also no good. What is "too much" or "too little" depends on each person's unique physical characteristics.
How much for how long, and to what effect?
High cholesterol foods tend to also be high in protein, so that probably explains the higher muscle gain.
Good grief I hope not. I've been lifting & running 10-15 miles/week for 25 years yet both my LDL & HDL levels remain at the very top end of the normal zone.
Its just as well, my goal is not so much longevity as it is quality of health for the time I do have.
How much for how long, and to what effect?
From Nutrition Express My cholesterol combined is 180 Keeps my MD confused but happy. I'm 68 and had had high cholesterol I use 600 mg daily of
Is that affiliated with Dirk Pearson or vis-a versa?
Read his book of similar name way back in the 80's.
The book was way ahead of his time.
Sorry I didn't keep up with his regimen.
Thank you SO much for that link. I will, of course, have to do a lot of reading, but it appears that - once again - the Conventional Wisdom is full of crap.
Worse, the CV appears to be most heavily promoted by those with an interest in the steps taken to comply with the standards they’ve set up. Nothing like an inherent conflict of interest, is there?
Good grief I hope not.
Me, too. Actually, my statement was simply making fun of the study by driving the conclusion to an absurd point. I surely wouldn't expect someone like you to just drop dead from high cholesterol. I happen to have high cholesterol (fluctuating between 220 and 270, depending on when I've taken the test - and one was over 300 a few years back), but at age 46 and after having exercised moderately for only about 2 months I can do 2 miles on my treadmill with a 6% incline in 17:30. Not bad for an overweight geezer (though I'll hopefully drop about 15 or so pounds over the next several months - that's why I'm exercising).
Is that affiliated with Dirk Pearson or vis-a versa?
They sell some of the "Dirk & Sandy" products (of which I've bought exactly none), but I'm not aware of any formal affiliation.
Most of LEF's products are bottled with their label, and are obtained from whichever source can provide the material of their high standard at the lowest price. The D & S products are all sold under that label.
Please see post 28.
XS> I use Red Yeast Rice in place of man made Statins with COQ-10 >>>
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.
28 posted on 01/10/2008 6:09:31 PM MST by Coleus
The FDA has permitted Red Rice Yeast, a natural statin. The pharma-industrial complex has tried their best to ban the natural product.
Okay then the ingredient was not removed?
Is it only okay to take this vitamin if one’s cholesterol is high?
The doctor that I had at the time believed in nature first before Drugs. He recommended the Red Rice Yeast and it lowered my numbers. Red Rice Yeast is not a vitamin ; it is a naturally occurring statin. I also use time release Niacin at bedtime for lowering blood pressure.All I know is my Cholesterol was high.
Thanks Xenia!
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