Arterial Fat

Julie27318

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I read that if u have a lot of fat around waist it means u have a lot of fat in your Arteries but i am about 40+ inches around my waist and i haven't got cholestrol!!!
 

lucylocket61

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I read that if u have a lot of fat around waist it means u have a lot of fat in your Arteries but i am about 40+ inches around my waist and i haven't got cholestrol!!!
my waist is much bigger than that, and i have good cholesterol levels.

Can you post a link of where you read it?

and, as a general point, it pays to read article both for and against an idea, and then weight up the points they make and whether they are scientific, reasonable and accurate.
 

Mr_Pot

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Very basically, LDL carries cholesterol from your liver around your body to where it is needed, HDL collects up the unused cholesterol and takes it back to the liver. To stop cholesterol accumulating and clogging arteries there needs to be the right balance. They are not really good and bad but having a lot of LDL is a "bad" thing and having a lot of HDL is a "good" thing.
 

bulkbiker

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To stop cholesterol accumulating and clogging arteries
I'm not even convinced that is correct.. if cholesterol is the repair mechanism for inter arterial wall problems then far from "clogging" the arteries it may be preventing ruptures.
 

Resurgam

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The arterial clogging argument is rather like stopping ambulances leaving their garages because every time you see a traffic accident there is an ambulance or two in attendance - obviously they must be the reason for them.
It is the same with fire engines - find out where they go rushing off to and you'll find a fire (shades of Fahrenheit 451)
 

Mr_Pot

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I'm not even convinced that is correct.. if cholesterol is the repair mechanism for inter arterial wall problems then far from "clogging" the arteries it may be preventing ruptures.
The mechanism is no doubt much more complex than just clogging, which is why I said "very basically".
 

bulkbiker

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The mechanism is no doubt much more complex than just clogging, which is why I said "very basically".
Indeed and the "clogging" could well be a complete misnomer hence my introducing an alternative view.
 

Mr_Pot

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The arterial clogging argument is rather like stopping ambulances leaving their garages because every time you see a traffic accident there is an ambulance or two in attendance - obviously they must be the reason for them.
It is the same with fire engines - find out where they go rushing off to and you'll find a fire (shades of Fahrenheit 451)
You have lost me with that analogy.
 

Mbaker

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If you have a lot of LDL, low trigs and high HDL this is indicative that the LDL vessels have dealt with essential cargo efficiently. The problem with the low fat movement view of LDL on which "our" dietary guidelines and those for diabetics (Alison Tedstone, Public Health England) is that there is no consistent evidence that low LDL tracks with heart disease, whilst there is evidence that women in particular benefit from higher levels of LDL (The Big Fat Surprise) and have worse outcomes on lower LDL.

When CAC scans are performed, again high LDL does not equate to evidenced calcification of the arteries, in the linear manner you would expect (if you believe LDL is a root cause of heart disease). Even those with FH have not been shown to have reduced life expectancy (Dave Fieldman).
 
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Guzzler

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In my opinion there is no such thing as good and bad cholesterol. Every size and density of lipid has a role to play. With every system sometimes things go awry. It is my understanding that sdLDL gets caught up in the already inflamed arterial wall and can add to a problem but in and of itself is not a particular cause of inflammation. What can be the cause of that inflammation in the first place? A high carb diet with its sometimes high insulin response along with other baddies such as smoking and stress.
 

lucylocket61

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You have lost me with that analogy.
the wrong cause and effect is being drawn with cholesterol (of any types) and clogged arteries.

just like saying that ambulances cause accidents because they are found at the site of accidents.
 

Nexus6

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One of the biggest misconceptions is that cholesterol "clogs" your arteries which causes less blood flow. Arteries thin because of cellular damage in the tissue of the artery walls, which causes the bodies own repair functions to rush in protect and repair the area, which then thickens/hardens the arteries, which in turn reduces blood flow. (That is probably a really bad description...but generally close I think).

A lot of the damage that causes the "thinning" is actually caused by high glucose levels and byproducts, and not due to cholesterol. Though, I think the entire topic is very arguable.

Put it this way...there is NOT big clumps of cholesterol lining your arteries like a clogged sink pipe. If so, they could just go in a scrape it away.

There is a good description in this video...right around the 10:40 mark.

 
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Mr_Pot

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I am not disputing any of this, but @Julie27318 needed a very simplified understanding of the function of cholesterol. I don't think it helps her to go into the wider argument at this stage.
To answer her original question, high cholesterol is not known to cause high body fat or vice versa, so you can have one without the other.
 

Terrytiddy

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:wacky:My latest blood tests showed that I had total cholesterol of 5.6 I told Dn that they would go up as I'm on Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) way of eating (WOE) Surgery wanted to change my statins (which I have not taken for month) Totals are HDL 1.0 Good, LDL 4 less than recommended 5.2 or less. Triglycerides 1.3 less again. So why the change the statins?:wacky: