Johns Hopkins Health Alert
Living Longer Through HDL Cholesterol
- Now there is intriguing evidence that having a high HDL level can even boost a person’s overall longevity.
You’ve heard how important it is to maintain a high level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or “good”) cholesterol to protect yourself against heart disease and stroke. And recent research suggests that a healthy HDL level may also be key to warding off Alzheimer’s disease. Now there is intriguing evidence that having a high HDL level can even boost a person’s overall longevity.
The very protective HDL cholesterol is one component of the lipid profile—a group of tests that is often ordered to determine a person’s risk of coronary heart disease. Other components include total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or “bad”) cholesterol, and triglycerides. HDL exerts its good effects on the heart by removing dangerous fats from the blood vessel walls, thereby reducing the risk of atherosclerosis.
Research recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association determined that many people who live exceptionally long, healthy lives—average age of study participants was 98 years—share a particular gene mutation that leads to higher levels of HDL cholesterol as well as larger particles of HDL and LDL cholesterol than those seen in the general population.
It has been suggested that larger LDL particles may be protective against cardiovascular disease because such particles cannot readily penetrate the walls of arteries and contribute to atherosclerosis. The gene mutation responsible for high HDL levels and bigger HDL and LDL particles appears to protect against many chronic diseases associated with aging, such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
Although we are not all lucky enough to inherit the “longevity gene,” there is much that you can do to raise your HDL level on our own—and perhaps increase your odds for a longer and healthier life. The American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association currently recommend HDL levels of above 40 mg/dL for men, and HDL levels of above 50 mg/dL for women. However, the greatest benefits seem to come when a person’s HDL level is over 60 mg/dL regardless of gender.
If your HDL is below these levels, there are numerous lifestyle changes you can make to help raise it. These include quitting smoking, exercising regularly, losing excess weight, and, in your diet, replacing trans fatty acids (found in margarines and many baked goods) with healthier monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil and canola oil, because they can help preserve HDL levels. If lifestyle changes alone are insufficient to raise your HDL level, there are several medications you can add to help improve your HDL level.
Posted in Healthy Living on April 17, 2006
Medical Disclaimer: This information is not intended to substitute for the advice of a physician. Click here for additional information: Johns Hopkins Health Alerts Disclaimer
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LOW HDL
Friends,
Need help to raise my HDL. It has been 24 for past 2 years even though I have been taking 40 mg Zocor daily during that period. Am 76 years with no heart disease. Both parents lived to 90 years. Am not obese.
STILL, I am most concerned about my low HDDL. See "Healthy Living" (J.H. Med Letter) posting 4/17/06.
Many Thanks.
Posted by: Kitty Babakian | May 21, 2006 10:34 AM
If you have LOW HDL, you will want to read more about cholesterol generally, and HDL in particular, and guidelines on how to RAISE HDL cholesterol through natural means, not just through medication.
Adding certain foods to your diet are supposed to help in this instance--oat bran and walnuts being two that have scientific evidence to back up the assertion. My step-father's cholesterol went down 50 points in one month, down with the bad, up with the good, he is 76, in good health, not on any medications at all, just by eating oatmeal in the morning, and also 8 walnuts once a day each day. The doctor was thrilled, and stunned, that any patient of his could have made such a radical change in so short a time. Step-dad was thrilled too! I am not saying it was only these foods-maybe adding them made him feel more full, so he did not eat 'junk' as a result. But he has kept it up, and the blood tests have been consistently good ever since. Cholesterol is a huge area of heart health concern, so I would suggest you also look in the Heart Health section of this site, and I bet nutrition will have some good advice and guidelines too.Posted by: Jo | May 26, 2006 4:29 PM
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Was looking for an article with focus on LOW HDLlevel.
Posted by: Kitty Babakian | May 17, 2006 6:11 PM