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A team of health and nutrition specialists has found that people on a ketogenic diet may experience an increase in LDL cholesterol levels, higher apolipoprotein B levels and reductions in certain gut bacteria. In their study, volunteers went on a ketogenic diet for a month so the researchers could study its impact on their bodies. A ketogenic diet consists of a drastic reduction in consumption of carbohydrates, replacing them with fats. In this new effort, the research team suspected that the diet may also lead to increases in LDL cholesterol levels and possibly other problems. To find out if that...

The traditional lipid panel may not give the full picture of cholesterol-related heart disease risk for many Americans, according to a study. There are different types of cholesterol particles that can cause heart disease, including low-density lipoproteins (LDL), very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL), and intermediate-density lipoproteins (IDL). LDL-C is a measure of the weight of cholesterol in LDL particles and is one of the most common tests people use to measure cholesterol risk. Every LDL, VLDL, and IDL particle has a single protein on its surface called apolipoprotein B (apoB). Prior research has shown that the number of "bad" cholesterol particles,...

Apart from its sadness, Tim Russert’s death this month at 58 was deeply unsettling to many people who, like him, had been earnestly following their doctors’ advice on drugs, diet and exercise in hopes of avoiding a heart attack. Mr. Russert, the moderator of “Meet the Press” on NBC News, took blood pressure and cholesterol pills and aspirin, rode an exercise bike, had yearly stress tests and other exams and was dutifully trying to lose weight. But he died of a heart attack anyway. An article in The New York Times last week about his medical care led to e-mail...