Cholesterol Confusion

Many doctors will measure total cholesterol levels only but it is not the total cholesterol number that is important, it is the ratio of the types of cholesterol bound lipoprotein that is important.

HDL is beneficial as it mops up cholesterol from the body.  LDL cholesterol although required by the body is prone to oxidative damage.  LDL cholesterol can exist in two forms too- larger fluffier LDL cholesterol which is less prone to oxidising or smaller denser LDL which is highly prone to oxidation.  Things like an inflammatory diet high in sugar or refined carbohydrates causes our body to produce more free radicals which can oxidise this LDL.  Also a diet high in omega 6 fatty acids from vegetable fats such as canola is extremely inflammatory for our body and causes oxidative damage to our cell membranes and cholesterol molecules.  Trans fats are a type of harmful fat for our body.  They are also highly inflammatory to our body and found in processed foods such as hydrogenated vegetable oils and baked goods.

When LDL cholesterol becomes oxidised it is more susceptible to sticking to our artery walls.  This becomes an even bigger problem when our body and the walls of our blood vessels are already damaged due to chronic inflammation in our body.  This is when our arteries become clogged with hardened deposits, called atherosclerosis- when oxidised LDL meets inflammed blood vessel walls amd sticks to the surface.  These arterial plaques get bigger over time and can eventually clog the coronary arteries or other small arteries completely resulting in a heart attack or stroke.

So what happens when we eat a high intake of fat in our diet?  With saturated fats such as coconut oil or butter then our LDL cholesterol levels will rise as we have more fat in our diet.  However our HDL cholesterol also increases for the same reason.  This will affect our total cholesterol level but as both LDL and HDL cholesterol tend to rise by the same proportion the ratio of LDL to total cholesterol is unaffected.  In addition saturated fat actually increases the quality and size of our LDL cholesterol to the fluffier harmless form of LDL, making it less likely to cause heart disease.

If we eat a diet high in omega 6 fatty acids both our HDL and LDL cholesterol levels will increase.  However, omega 6 fatty acids cause our LDL molecules to become smaller, denser and more prone to becoming oxidised.  It is these small oxidised particles that are the biggest health risk