Can ‘good’ cholesterol lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease?

Alzheimer’s Disease and Good Cholesterol

A very interesting study from Columbia University suggests a correlation between the presence of “good cholesterol” and a lower risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. The study is not conclusive or prescriptive. While the health gurus and marketers will be quick to suggest that this means you should bulk up on foods high in HDL, and while that seems to make sense for a healthy heart, please don’t equate HDL as a magic bullet that will prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

Here’s a brief abstract of the press release … of course it’s best to read the paper before jumping to conclusions.

High levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), also known as “good” cholesterol, appear to be associated with a reduced risk for Alzheimer’s disease in older adults, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

“In this study, higher levels of HDL cholesterol were associated with a decreased risk of both probable and possible Alzheimer’s disease,” the authors conclude. “An important consideration in the interpretation of the results is that it was conducted in an urban multiethnic elderly community with a high prevalence of risk factors for mortality and dementia. Thus, our results may not be generalizeable to cohorts with younger individuals or to cohorts with participants with a lower morbidity [disease] burden.”

High levels of ‘good’ cholesterol may be associated with lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

To lower your bad cholesterol … do what you already know you have to do! Stop smoking, lose weight, exercise and eat less crap.

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