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Why is your HDL higher than your LDL?

Cholesterol: Why is LDL considered bad, when it is just as important as HDL?

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    In 1920 the amount of coronary heart disease increased exponentially. By 1940 it was a leading cause of premature death. In 1950 John Gofman hypothesized that blood cholesterol was to blame. Based on pathologists finding evidence of heart disease in dead soldier out in Korea. This was unexpected because the soldiers were all middle aged.  So they continued their study by dissecting and inspecting the hearts of the next 300 dead soldiers. Three quarters of all men should signs of coronary heart disease. The discovered that cholesterol was in the substance that clogged the arteries. And those suffering from hereditary high blood cholesterol also suffered higher incidences of coronary heart disease. Naturally the doctors put two and two together and blamed LDL as the culprit. However, they over looked a few things. For example, people with hereditary high blood cholesterol have different build up that doesn't match the build up of those with coronary heart disease.  Also people with myxoedema or nephrosis have raised cholesterol levels, but there is no sign of plague build up in them. Here are the links where I got my info http://www.easyhomeexercises.com/uncategorized/forget-what-you-heard-about-cholesterol/ and http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/cholesterol_myth_1.html

Thomas Valadez at Quora Visit the source

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Because a certain variant of LDL, "pattern B" is unhealthy. From the total LDL count you cannot see what ratio you have between pattern A & B. But in aggregate statistics (large population research) people with higher LDL would also have more "pattern B" LDL (on average). So the conclusions from previous population studies show an increased average risk for people with high LDL. Nowadays you can use NMR based measurements, which does show the different LDL particle types. See more here: http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/the-straight-dope-on-cholesterol-part-v

Henk Poley

It's important to clarify what you're referring to when you say LDL. A typical blood test that measures LDL and HDL levels refers to the total amount of cholesterol stored in each type of these lipoproteins. Of greater concern is the number of low density lipoprotein particles, not how much cholesterol they carry. The latest research suggests a correlation between a high number of low density particles and atherosclerosis progression. See this 2013 paper: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3584097/ If you'd like a lengthier, more detailed understanding of cholesterol I've covered it here: http://leanprotocol.com/cholesterol.html

John King

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