High Density Lipoprotein

Wine good for your heart only if you exercise

If you think moderate wine drinking can protect against cardio-vascular diseases (CVDs), you are probably right: Just mix daily exercise to it. Earlier studies have found that red and white wine increases levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the “good” cholesterol.

Wine good for your heart only if you exercise

“We found that moderate wine drinking was only protective in people who exercised. Red and white wine produced the same results,” professor Milos Taborsky from the Czech Republic told the gathering at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2014 in Barcelona, Spain.

The study included 146 people with mild to moderate risk of cardio-vascular disease. Participants were randomised to one year of moderate consumption of red wine (Pinot Noir) or white wine (Chardonnay-Pinot). The researchers found that there was no difference between HDL cholesterol levels at the beginning of the study.

After one year, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)- “bad cholesterol” – cholesterol was lower in both groups while total cholesterol was lower only in the red wine group. “A rise in HDL cholesterol is the main indication of a protective effect against CVD. Therefore, we can conclude that neither red or white wine had any impact on the participants as a whole,” professor Taborsky noted.

The only positive and continuous result was in the sub-group of patients who performed regular exercise at least twice a week plus the wine consumption, he stressed. In this group, HDL cholesterol increased and LDL and total cholesterol decreased both in the red and white wine groups.

“Combination of moderate wine drinking plus regular exercise improves markers of atherosclerosis, suggesting that this combination is protective against cardio-vascular disease,” professor Taborsky concluded.

Source: business standard

Intake of fish can boost good cholesterol levels

Increasing the intake of fatty fish increases the number of large HDL particles, according to a recent study completed at the University of Eastern Finland. People who increased their intake of fish to a minimum of 3-4 weekly meals had more large HDL particles in their blood than people who are less frequent eaters of fish. Large HDL particles are believed to protect against cardiovascular diseases.

The consumption of fish has long been known to be beneficial for health; however, the mechanisms by which fats and other useful nutrients found in fish work in the human body are not fully known. This new study carried out at the UEF provides new information on how the consumption of fish affects the size and lipid concentrations of lipoproteins which transport lipids in the blood. The study participants increased their intake of fatty fish in particular.

It was observed that a higher intake of fish increased the number of large HDL particles and lipids contained in them. Population-based studies have shown that HDL cholesterol — also known as good cholesterol — and large HDL particles are efficient in sweeping extra cholesterol off artery walls. Large HDL particles have been associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases, whereas small HDL particles may even have opposite effects.
Positive changes in lipid metabolism were observed in persons who increased their intake of fish most, i.e. in persons who ate at least 3-4 fish meals per week.

The study participants ate fatty fish such as salmon, rainbow trout, herring and vendace. No added butter or cream was used in the preparation of fish. The study doesn’t give answers to whether a similar effect would have been observed had the study participants mainly eaten low-fat fish such as zander and perch. Low-fat fish may have other health benefits such as lowering of blood pressure, which was observed in an earlier study carried out at the UEF.

State-of-the-art metabolomics was used in the study, enabling for instance a very detailed analysis of lipoprotein particles. The analyses were carried out by the university’s NMR Metabolomics Laboratory. Traditionally, cholesterol is divided into “bad” LDL cholesterol and “good” HDL cholesterol, but this method allows the investigation of a total of 14 different particle classes. “People shouldn’t fool themselves into thinking that if their standard lipid levels are OK, there’s no need to think about the diet, as things are a lot more complicated than that. Soft vegetable fats and fish are something to prefer in any case,” Postdoctoral Researcher Maria Lankinen says.

However, the researchers emphasize that a dietary approach to the treatment of increased overall and LDL cholesterol levels is important. The findings are well in line with the Finnish nutrition recommendations encouraging people to reduce the consumption of red meat and to increase the consumption of fish and other sea foods. Further information on the health effects of fish will become available in the near future as results from the Alfakala project carried out at the UEF Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition become available. The study takes a more detailed approach into the health effects of fish- and plant-derived omega-3 fatty acids, and it studies the health effects of fatty and low-fat fish.

Source; Science daily