If It's Down, Is It Really Up?

I found this on WebMD's website.  The story posits that if your LDL, the bad cholesterol, is down way low, usually because of taking medication to get it down, and your HDL, the good cholesterol, is not where it should be, it's really OK because the LDL is so low. One really good thing negates a not so good thing.  Statins are one of the drugs that can do this and a statin maker did fund this study.  HDL is considered a predictor of heart disease.  Low is bad. 

So, taking a pill is good thing, right?  Maybe. 

Buried way down at the end of the story is this..."other research has found that even in patients with very low LDL levels, HDL cholesterol was still predictive of heart attack and stroke risk. So why the new findings didn't reach this conclusion is unclear..."

Further up the story a researcher notes this:  "If you are at increased risk [of cardiovascular disease] due to increased LDL, a low HDL, or an elevated high sensitivity C-reactive protein [another marker for heart disease], the real message should be to go to the gym, throw out the cigarettes, and lose some weight. Next, talk to your doctor about statin therapy."

Would you trust you long term health to this sort of information?   I wouldn't.  It is this type of  story that frustrates me so much.  It always goes like this:  Good news, good news, good news, caveat, caveat, contradictory news, muddled conclusion. 

So, where does this leave us?  Doing the old fashioned thing, diet and exercise,  is still the best thing to do.

Today's numbers (Aug. 12, 2010)

• Blood Cholesterol:  125 mg/dl.
• Weight:  187 lbs
• Exercise:  45 minutes riding on my bike
• Mood:  7.00

Menu:

• Breakfast:  Banana, oatmeal with craisins, blueberries
• Lunch:  Leftover country spare rib, mashed sweet potatoes and white potatoes and cole slaw.
• Dinner:  Homemade pizza and a salad.
• Snacks: Hummus