tinyshrek
Registered
I want to share my opinion on certain aspects of cholesterol. I am sure there are some who disagree, but that's ok...I'm giving my thoughts anyway.<br />
<br />
So LDL and total cholesterol readings...that is what we should focus on right?<br />
<br />
My answer is hell no, and let me explain why in the simplest way i can.<br />
<br />
- First of all there isn’t good or bad cholesterol at all. It’s all the same initially. The <i>carriers</i> of cholesterol, lipoproteins are where we get HDL and LDL. (It's just the name of the carriers that tote it around our blood).<br />
<br />
Should we be happy when our LDL is in range. My opinion...not necessarily. Do you want to know what really matters?<br />
<br />
Think of a road….cars (or carriers/lipoproteins) are carrying passengers (cholesterol). Does it matter how many people are in the cars? Nope. What causes traffic jams and accidents, are the number of cars on the road. The road is our arteries by the way in my analogy. This is called particle number/concentration. The more cars you have, the more danger there is.<br />
<br />
Now.....key point here...<br />
<br />
The number you get for your LDL is just the amount being carried around in your LDL carriers we'll call them, not the number of carriers/cars on the road - again, that is called particle concentration.<br />
<br />
Now, here is another part I want to drive home.<br />
<br />
Ok so now think about this. Let’s say we have 10 gallons of Karboload, in 10 containers. Now let’s say we have 10 gallons of Karboload in 100 containers. It’s still the SAME amount of karboload (cholesterol), but in the second case, you have 100 gallons so MORE PARTICLES! You could have a traditionally great LDL number. It does NOT matter. What does matter is how many particles are carrying it around. The more you have, the more the risk of crashing on the road (lodging in the lumen in an artery). Typically people with insulin resistance have this problem or people that eat junk carbs frequently.<br />
<br />
Why is this? Because their carriers/lipoprotiens have much more triglycerides in them. So there is less cholesterol due to this in the carrier.....so we need more carriers...again, not good. If you want to increase particle concentration or the number of carriers, just go to 7/11 and drink a load of HFCS laden Big Gulps every day.<br />
<br />
Another factor that is really important is Apo B. If people seem interested in this thread and topic, we can go down that road, cause it's important as well. We can also get into fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, measures that really matter.....not total cholesterol.....<br />
<br />
Moral of this, you want to get a test done that measures LDL concentration (number of carriers) and LDL particle size..as there does seem to be alot of evidence that smaller cars on the road crash easier and aren't as bouyant.<br />
<br />
Sorry if this doesn't make sense...it's later, but all this cholesterol nonsense being perpetuated just annoys me.
<br />
So LDL and total cholesterol readings...that is what we should focus on right?<br />
<br />
My answer is hell no, and let me explain why in the simplest way i can.<br />
<br />
- First of all there isn’t good or bad cholesterol at all. It’s all the same initially. The <i>carriers</i> of cholesterol, lipoproteins are where we get HDL and LDL. (It's just the name of the carriers that tote it around our blood).<br />
<br />
Should we be happy when our LDL is in range. My opinion...not necessarily. Do you want to know what really matters?<br />
<br />
Think of a road….cars (or carriers/lipoproteins) are carrying passengers (cholesterol). Does it matter how many people are in the cars? Nope. What causes traffic jams and accidents, are the number of cars on the road. The road is our arteries by the way in my analogy. This is called particle number/concentration. The more cars you have, the more danger there is.<br />
<br />
Now.....key point here...<br />
<br />
The number you get for your LDL is just the amount being carried around in your LDL carriers we'll call them, not the number of carriers/cars on the road - again, that is called particle concentration.<br />
<br />
Now, here is another part I want to drive home.<br />
<br />
Ok so now think about this. Let’s say we have 10 gallons of Karboload, in 10 containers. Now let’s say we have 10 gallons of Karboload in 100 containers. It’s still the SAME amount of karboload (cholesterol), but in the second case, you have 100 gallons so MORE PARTICLES! You could have a traditionally great LDL number. It does NOT matter. What does matter is how many particles are carrying it around. The more you have, the more the risk of crashing on the road (lodging in the lumen in an artery). Typically people with insulin resistance have this problem or people that eat junk carbs frequently.<br />
<br />
Why is this? Because their carriers/lipoprotiens have much more triglycerides in them. So there is less cholesterol due to this in the carrier.....so we need more carriers...again, not good. If you want to increase particle concentration or the number of carriers, just go to 7/11 and drink a load of HFCS laden Big Gulps every day.<br />
<br />
Another factor that is really important is Apo B. If people seem interested in this thread and topic, we can go down that road, cause it's important as well. We can also get into fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, measures that really matter.....not total cholesterol.....<br />
<br />
Moral of this, you want to get a test done that measures LDL concentration (number of carriers) and LDL particle size..as there does seem to be alot of evidence that smaller cars on the road crash easier and aren't as bouyant.<br />
<br />
Sorry if this doesn't make sense...it's later, but all this cholesterol nonsense being perpetuated just annoys me.