cholesterol tagged posts

Simple test could better predict your risk of heart disease

Hands covered in gloves holding a test tube with a blood sample.
Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology and Harvard University have shown comprehensively that a combination of two lipoprotein markers, measured in a simple blood test, can give more accurate information about individual risk of heart disease than the current blood cholesterol test, potentially saving lives. Photo: Marco J Haenssgen, Unsplash

For almost 60 years, measuring cholesterol levels in the blood has been the best way to identify individuals at high risk of cardiovascular disease...

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Diet, Microbes and Fat: A new pathway controlling levels of body fat and cholesterol

Diet, microbes and fat: A new pathway controlling levels of body fat and cholesterol
Lipid accumulation in a murine model of fatty liver disease, visualized by color-enhanced lipid droplets (pink) in liver tissue (green). Superimposed chemical structure of a newly discovered bile acid conjugate. Credit: Dr. Mohammad Arifuzzaman, Dr. Christopher Parkhurst, Dr. Frank Schroeder, and Dr. David Artis.

Beneficial gut microbes and the body work together to fine-tune fat metabolism and cholesterol levels, according to a new preclinical study by investigators from Weill Cornell Medicine and the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University’s Ithaca campus.

The research is published in the journal Nature.

The human body has co-evolved with the beneficial microbes that live in the gut (termed the microbiota), resulting in mutually favorable relationships that aid in the d...

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Cholesterol may Not be the Only Lipid involved in Trans Fat-driven Cardiovascular Disease

Cholesterol is not the only lipid involved in trans fat-driven cardiovascular disease
Graphical abstract. Credit: Cell Metabolism (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2024.10.016

Excess cholesterol is known to form artery-clogging plaques that can lead to stroke, arterial disease, heart attack, and more, making it the focus of many heart health campaigns. Fortunately, this attention to cholesterol has prompted the development of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins and lifestyle interventions like dietary and exercise regimens. But what if there’s more to the picture than just cholesterol?

New research from Salk Institute scientists describes how another class of lipids, called sphingolipids, contributes to arterial plaques and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD)...

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Swap Red Meat for Quorn Protein to Improve Heart Health and Reduce Waist Circumference, study finds

Swap red meat for Quorn protein to improve heart health and reduce waist circumference, study finds

People looking to reduce their cholesterol and trim fat from around their waist could try swapping meat for Quorn protein, according to the findings from a new study by Northumbria University, Newcastle, published in the European Journal of Nutrition, which saw positive effects in both areas in just two weeks.

Researchers from the University found that participants who ate Quorn products — the popular mycoprotein-based meat substitute — over just a two-week period, saw a significant 12% drop in ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol and a 7% fall in total cholesterol, compared to those who ate similar products made from red and processed meat. In addition, they also reduced their waist circumference by close to 1cm (0.95cm) on average over the 14 days.

Such a drop in total cholesterol levels cou...

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