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Many studies associate DHA intake with a reduction in cardiovascular disease, even though DHA is not considered a nutrient that typically lowers cholesterol. A new study in Eskimos proves that DHA intake influences the quality of cholesterol you have, regardless of whether or not you are overweight.
When you get a basic lab test that shows your LDL, HDL, and total cholesterol, it does not show what kind of condition your cholesterol is in. We are learning more and more that quality, both in terms of LDL and HDL, makes a huge difference to the potential for cardiovascular risk. For example, only damaged LDL cholesterol becomes plaque, regardless of the amount of LDL in your blood. Thus, a person with low LDL can readily be making plaque if free radicals or toxins are damaging the LDL they do have.
Cholesterol testing will undoubtedly improve in the next decade or so as we learn more and more about the nature of cholesterol quality, both for LDL and HDL. Some insight into cholesterol quality can be obtained by measuring the size of cholesterol particles. For example, if VLDL (very low density lipoprotein) particles are larger they have a higher tendency to contribute to disease, whereas if HDL particles are larger in size they tend to be of better quality.
In the new study researchers were able to show that DHA intake was linked to healthier cholesterol particles, thus providing novel insights into one way DHA helps reduce cardiovascular disease risk. The intake of this omega-3 essential fatty acid was linked to having fewer VLDL particles, plus the VLDL was smaller in size. DHA contributed to a higher number of HDL (good cholesterol) and the HDL particles were larger.
You need cholesterol, both LDL and HDL, to carry on many important functions in your body. This study means that DHA contributes to having LDL and HDL that is more metabolically fit and less likely to cause health problems.
More...
When you get a basic lab test that shows your LDL, HDL, and total cholesterol, it does not show what kind of condition your cholesterol is in. We are learning more and more that quality, both in terms of LDL and HDL, makes a huge difference to the potential for cardiovascular risk. For example, only damaged LDL cholesterol becomes plaque, regardless of the amount of LDL in your blood. Thus, a person with low LDL can readily be making plaque if free radicals or toxins are damaging the LDL they do have.
Cholesterol testing will undoubtedly improve in the next decade or so as we learn more and more about the nature of cholesterol quality, both for LDL and HDL. Some insight into cholesterol quality can be obtained by measuring the size of cholesterol particles. For example, if VLDL (very low density lipoprotein) particles are larger they have a higher tendency to contribute to disease, whereas if HDL particles are larger in size they tend to be of better quality.
In the new study researchers were able to show that DHA intake was linked to healthier cholesterol particles, thus providing novel insights into one way DHA helps reduce cardiovascular disease risk. The intake of this omega-3 essential fatty acid was linked to having fewer VLDL particles, plus the VLDL was smaller in size. DHA contributed to a higher number of HDL (good cholesterol) and the HDL particles were larger.
You need cholesterol, both LDL and HDL, to carry on many important functions in your body. This study means that DHA contributes to having LDL and HDL that is more metabolically fit and less likely to cause health problems.
More...
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