Cholesterol Archive

Experts still advise getting regular blood lipid tests.

In late 2013, when the new national guidelines on managing cholesterol were released, many people wondered how the change would affect blood cholesterol testing. Also known as a lipid profile or lipid panel, the cholesterol test measures several different types of fats (lipids) in your bloodstream.

Adding an avocado a day to a healthy diet may lower harmful LDL cholesterol levels, according to a study in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Forty-five overweight or obese volunteers followed three different cholesterol-lowering diets, each for five weeks. One diet had 24% of calories from fat; the other two were 34% fat, one of which included an avocado per day. While participants were on the avocado diet, their LDL levels dropped an average of 13.5 points—nearly twice as much as when they were on the other two diets.

Hass avocados (the type used in the study) have bumpy, greenish-black skin. The creamy flesh is rich in monounsaturated fats, which help lower LDL cholesterol when swapped for saturated fat. But other compounds in avocados, such as fiber and plant sterols, may also contribute to their healthful benefits, say the authors. Avocados can be sliced into salads, spread on sandwiches, or mashed to make guacamole. Just be sure to go easy on the high-calorie, salty corn chips often served with the latter.

For most people, there is no advantage to tests that measure cholesterol and triglyceride particle size.

Every so often, a medical advance comes along that rewrites the script for treating a disease or condition. After today’s announcement of impressive results of a new type of cholesterol-lowering drug, that scenario just might happen in the next few years. The results of three clinical trials presented today at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology, and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggest that a class of new drugs called PCSK9 inhibitors can dramatically reduce the amount of harmful LDL cholesterol circulating in the bloodstream and prevent heart attacks, strokes, and other problems related to cholesterol-clogged arteries. The drawbacks are that PCSK9 inhibitors must be given by injection every 2 to 4 weeks, may cause mental confusion or trouble paying attention, and, if approved, will likely be expensive.

Exercise, eat a healthy diet, and manage blood pressure and cholesterol to lower your odds.

Warnings against eating foods high in cholesterol, like eggs or shrimp, have been a mainstay of dietary recommendations for decades. That could change if the scientific advisory panel for the 2015 iteration of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans has its say. A summary of the committee’s December 2014 meeting says “Cholesterol is not considered a nutrient of concern for overconsumption.” Translation: You don’t need to worry about cholesterol in your food. Why not? There’s a growing consensus among nutrition scientists that cholesterol in food has little effect on the amount of cholesterol in the bloodstream. And that’s the cholesterol that matters. Doing away with the beware-cholesterol-in-food warning would simplify the art of choosing healthy foods. And it would let people enjoy foods that contain higher amounts of cholesterol, such as eggs, shrimp, and lobster, without worrying about it. A better focus is on reducing saturated fat and trans fat in the diet, which play greater roles in damaging blood vessels than dietary cholesterol.

Don't let misconceptions about these medications prevent you from taking them.