cholesterol -good and bad

[Ramirez]

My doctor told me my HDL cholesterol is sky high, and my LDL is low, which I guess is a result of my diet which is high in seafood and vegetables and low in red meat etc.


As far as I can tell HDL is good because it can remove the bad cholesterol from the arteries and transport it back to the liver...is that correct?


As an aside he also said my diet meant I was low in vitamin B12 so I should take supplements...so I assume B12 is found in read meat....is that also correct?

Thanks

[Jay Bell]

Meat, dairy, eggs. Algae, seaweed and spirulina have good amounts of B12 as well.

Seafood is especially high in B12...which leads me to wonder maybe you have another issue happening?

The human physiology of vitamin B-12 is complex, and therefore is prone to mishaps leading to vitamin B-12 deficiency. The vitamin as it occurs in foods enters the digestive tract bound to proteins, known as salivary R-binders. Stomach proteolysis of these proteins requires an acid pH, and also requires proper pancreatic release of proteolytic enzymes referred to as pepsin. (Even small amounts of B-12 taken in supplements bypasses these steps and thus any need for gastric acid, which may be blocked by antacid drugs).

The free B-12 then attaches to gastric intrinsic factor, which is generated by the gastric parietal cells in response to histamine, gastrin and pentagastrin, as well as the presence of food. The generation of this intrinsic factor-B12 complex will allow absorption of the vitamin as well as protect the vitamin from catabolism by intestinal bacteria. If this step fails due to gastric parietal cell atrophy (the problem in pernicious anemia), sufficient B-12 is not absorbed later on, unless administered orally in relatively massive doses (500 to 1000 mcg/day). Due to the complexity of B-12 absorption, geriatric patients, many of whom are hypoacidic due to reduced parietal cell function, have an increased risk of B-12 deficiency.

The conjugated vitamin B-12-intrinsic factor complex (IF/B-12) is then normally absorbed by the terminal ileum of the small bowel. Absorption of food vitamin B-12 therefore requires an intact and functioning stomach, exocrine pancreas, intrinsic factor, and small bowel. Problems with any one of these organs makes a vitamin B-12 deficiency possible.

-Combs,G. F. Jr. The vitamins: Fundamental Aspects in Nutrition and Health. 3rd Edition. Ithaca, NY: Elsevier Academic Press; 2008

[Ramirez]

Meat, dairy, eggs. Algae, seaweed and spirulina have good amounts of B12 as well.

Seafood is especially high in B12...which leads me to wonder maybe you have another issue happening?



-Combs,G. F. Jr. The vitamins: Fundamental Aspects in Nutrition and Health. 3rd Edition. Ithaca, NY: Elsevier Academic Press; 2008

Well he said I was in the officially normal range but his opinion is that the official range is too low, he said he himself has to take B12 supplements.

Thanks for the tip though, I'll keep it in mind.

[Rasputin]

Yes, one of HDL's jobs is to remove the oxidized and/or glycated cholesterol from the bloodstream and transport it to the liver for recycling.

Studies are pointing to Triglycerides and their relationship to your HDL/LDL proportion as a primary indicator of heart disease. It is also possible to have an elevated LDL count but have the particles be of a large, "fluffy" type which does not promote atherosclerotic plaque and is relatively benign.

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Choleste...8954029&sr=8-1


Oh, and red meat is good for you. Millenia of hunter-gathers swear by it.