Can too much 'good cholesterol' be harmful to health?

For ages, we've been told that good cholesterol works wonders for the heart. However, a recent study has found that too much of anything isn't really good. And the same goes for the good cholesterol as well. “Cholesterol is essential to life,” Henry J. Pownall, PhD says. He further explains that cholesterol “is a functional component of cell membranes and plasma lipoproteins, and a precursor to steroid hormones, which regulate body function, and to bile acids, which are required for normal digestion and regulate many cell activities.”



However, the study revealed that up to a certain level of 41–60 mg/dl (milligrams per decilitre), good cholesterol worked efficiently to reduce the risk of heart disease. But people whose levels rose higher than that were associated with an increased risk of heart disease. They had an almost 50% greater chance of dying from a cardiovascular related disease. “The study used unambiguous end points of heart attacks or death due to other cardiovascular causes. It involved a large number of participants, which gave the study good statistical power, and enough female participants were involved so that the findings applied to men and women alike,” said Pownall.



“Lose weight, exercise more, stop smoking, and take your cholesterol and high blood pressure medication,” concludes Pownall.