We know how importance lower cholesterol levels are. It can decrease our risk for heart disease, stroke and heart attack. But can our cholesterol levels be too low? Since our bodies make cholesterol it makes sense our body needs this chemical, but what happens if the body doesn’t have the cholesterol it needs?

First, abnormally low cholesterol levels have been linked with anxiety, depression, suicide, and violent behavior. An article published in the periodical Psychosomatic Medicine in May of 1999 makes a startling revelation.

Total Cholesterol Levels
It refers to a study of healthy young women with total cholesterol levels below 160 mg/dl. It reports these women were more likely to make high scores on tests used to measure levels of depression and anxiety than those with normal cholesterol levels.

Medical data has also shown men with low cholesterol levels are 50-80 percent more likely to be the victim of a homicide, suicide or fatal accident than those with normal cholesterol levels.

Link
Researchers suspect there may be a link between low cholesterol levels and low serotonin level. Serotonin is a “feel good” chemical found in the brain. People with low levels of serotonin are those who have problems with depression and anxiety. So, these lower cholesterol levels can cause depression.

Other studies into the effects of abnormally low cholesterol also show there may be some link between low blood cholesterol and cancer. Researchers are finding the lower the blood cholesterol level the higher the risk for cancer. Seemingly, the lower cholesterol levels may also increase your risk for cancer.

Increase Risk
Perhaps the most surprising result of all is that having abnormally low cholesterol can increase your risk for a stroke. While it is generally reported to be the other way around, there are studies that show abnormally low levels of cholesterol can cause more strokes than high cholesterol.

According to information in an article entitled The Cholesterol Myth posted on the website Second Opinions states studies of the Japanese people have backed up the fact lower cholesterol
than normal may cause more strokes.

The Japanese were an ideal people for the stroke study because they have had a rapid change over the past couple of decades in their eating habits. They have evolved from eating a low cholesterol diet high in rice and vegetables to eating more high fat foods. While it seems the Japanese who ate a higher fat diet would be more likely to have strokes, the number of strokes has decreased among the Japanese as their dietary fat increased.

Further Research
Further studies have shown there are two different types of strokes, those caused from clots and those caused from hemorrhaging. While high cholesterol does increase your risk of clot type strokes, research shows chances for a hemorrhagic stroke is increased by an abnormally low cholesterol level.

As you can see, while it is dangerous for your cholesterol to be too high, it is also dangerous for your levels to be too low. Research has shown that abnormally low cholesterol may be linked to depression and anxiety as well as an increase in strokes. Lower cholesterol may not necessarily be better.

Julia Carmichael
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/lower-cholesterol-can-your-low-cholesterol-level-be-bad-123296.html

My husband has high cholesterol, does anyone have any tips for me to help him eat better? Right now he eats a good amount of fast food, and I want to help him transition into eating better.
Fruits n veggies. Eat lots of fiber. Some of the best soluble fiber rich foods include; oatmeal, barley, lentils, Brussels sprouts, peas, beans (kidney, lima, black, navy, pinto), apples, blackberries, pears, raisins, oranges, grapefruit, dates, figs, prunes, apricots, broccoli, and sweet potato. Avoid oily food. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol/CL00002

I’ve always been curious as to which foods exactly contain good cholesterol. The type of cholesterol (HDL) that will actually lower the cholesterol that is bad for you.
foods contain no good cholesterol,your body makes the good cholesterol.Only animal foods(meat and dairy) contain cholesterol. Eating a low-fat vegan diet may be better at managing type 2 diabetes than traditional diets, according to a new study. Researchers found 43 percent of people with type 2 diabetes who followed a low-fat vegan diet for 22 weeks reduced their need to take medications to manage their disease compared with 26 percent of those who followed the diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA). In addition, participants who followed the vegan diet experienced greater reductions in cholesterol levels and weight loss than those on the other diet. A vegan diet is plant-based and consists of vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes and avoids animal products, such as meat and dairy. People who are on a vegan diet are at risk for vitamin B12 deficiency, and so B12 vitamins were given to the participants on that diet. “The diet appears remarkably effective, and all the side effects are good ones — especially weight loss and lower cholesterol,” says researcher Neal D. Barnard, MD, adjunct associate professor of medicine at the George Washington University, in a news release. “I hope this study will rekindle interest in using diet changes first, rather than prescription drugs.” Barnard is also president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a nonprofit health organization that opposes animal research and advocates a vegan diet. Vegan Vs. ADA Diet For Diabetes In the study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, researchers compared the effects of following a low-fat vegan diet and the ADA diet on reducing the need for drugs to manage diabetes, kidney function, cholesterol levels, and weight loss in 99 adults with type 2 diabetes. Meals were not provided, but participants met a dietitian to come up with a diet plan and then met regularly each week for nutrition and cooking instruction. Forty-nine of the participants followed a low-fat vegan diet consisting of about 10 percent of daily calories from fat, 15 percent protein, and 75 percent carbohydrates. They were asked to avoid animal products and added fats and instead favor foods like beans and green vegetables, but portion sizes and total daily calories or food intake were unrestricted. The other 50 participants followed the dietary guidelines recommended by the ADA, including 15-20 percent protein, 60-70 percent carbohydrates and monosaturated fats (such as olive oil), and less than 7 percent saturated fats (such as animal fats and butter). Total cholesterol was also limited to 200 milligrams or less per day. Overweight participants in the ADA diet group were also advised to reduce daily calorie intake by 500-1,000 calories per day. The results showed that both diets improved diabetes management and reduced unhealthy cholesterol levels, but some improvements were greater with the low-fat vegan diet. For example: 43 percent of those on the vegan diet reduced their need to take drugs to manage their diabetes compared with 26 percent of the ADA diet group. Weight loss averaged more than 14 pounds in the vegan diet group vs. less than 7 pounds in the other group. LDL “bad” cholesterol dropped by an average of 21 percent in the vegan group compared with 11 percent in the ADA diet group who did not change their cholesterol drug use. Measures of blood sugar control also improved more significantly among those who followed the low-fat vegan diet than among those who followed the ADA diet and who did not change their diabetes drug use. Researchers say the vegan diet represents a major change from current diabetes diets because there are no limits on calories, carbohydrates, and portions, which may make it easier for some people to follow. Talk to your doctor about what diet changes you might consider to help with diabetes or other medical conditions. SOURCES:Barnard, N. Diabetes Care, August 2006; vol 29: pp 1777-1783. News release, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. By Jennifer Warner Reviewed by Louise Chang, M.D. © 2006, WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.