Low HDL Cholesterol Levels: A Risk Factor for Dementia, Study Shows
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In the medical and health world today we are always so focused on how to eliminate and decrease the levels of bad cholesterol that the good cholesterol levels are often not even acknowledged. A study was recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association stating that if you are currently middle aged and have low levels of good cholesterol (HDL) |
| you are actually increasing your risk of memory loss and dementia in your near future. These researchers took 3,673 patients from the Whitehall II study, which was a study that began in 1985 to examine British Civil servants. | |
Twenty six percent of these patients were women and the researchers found the low levels of HDL to be the indicator of memory loss to occur by age 60 in each of the participants. Memory problems are the key to dementia and when these occur at such an early age, dementia is sure to be around the corner. When the term “low” is used to identify the HDL levels in any given participant this refers to levels lower or equal to 40 mg/dl. The researching team compared blood fat data from several different phases of the Whitehall II study, when the participants all reached their middle age.
After an 8 hour fast, the researcher’s then measured their blood fat and cholesterol levels finding that participants over the age of 55 showed a 27% decrease in memory in association with their low HDL levels in comparison to those with higher levels. As the participants age increases so does their risk of memory loss and therefore, dementia. For participants at age 60 their risk increased to 53%, which is a significant jump for only a 5 year difference. Because middle aged people today are a large part of our population, dementia and memory loss could become somewhat of an epidemic if the proper measures are not taken.
There are many natural and simple ways to increase your HDL or “good” cholesterol levels that include:
- Aerobic exercise on a regular basis (walking, biking, swimming, jogging, etc).Â
- Maintaining a healthy weight for your height and heart.
- Eliminating trans fats and artificial sweeteners from your diet.
- Add soluble fiber to your diet through oats and fruits.
- Stop smoking.
- Drinking cranberry juice has been known to increase your HDL levels as well. I’m not referring to commercially manufactured cranberry juice, which is loaded with refined sugars. Look for natural cranberry juice.
As you can see, simply living a healthier lifestyle and choosing healthy foods and snacks throughout the day can help increase your HDL and therefore reduce your risk of memory loss in your elderly years.
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- Omega-3 Fish Oils Greatly Reduce the Risk of Three Major Diseases, Study Finds
- Statin Drugs Are NO CURE for High Cholesterol…I’m About To Share The REAL CURE With You…
 
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Posted: July 1st, 2008 under cholesterol.
