Cholesterol health breakthrough: It's the size of the particles not the number that counts!

LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol is a low-density lipoprotein that doctors have long regarded as the more dangerous form of cholesterol (even though our bodies need it for functions like cell membranes formation). High levels of LDL are associated with greater risk for heart disease.

When it comes to cholesterol, size really DOES count

But the reality is, says bottomlinepublications.com, “LDL particle size is a greater concern than either your total cholesterol number or LDL levels.”

The reason? Well, some particles are small and dense, others are large and buoyant.

And it’s the small ones that are especially dangerous because they easily can infiltrate artery walls, where they create plaque buildup in your arteries increasing your risk for stroke and heart attack.

In fact, says bottomlinepublications, “having a predominance of small LDL particles puts you in the category of people with a B (bad) ‘cholesterol pattern’.”

The other type of LDL particle – pattern A – is large and buoyant. These particles are so big they can’t work their way into blood vessel walls and that’s a good thing because having pattern A protects you against heart disease and stroke.

But here’s what’s so important about this new LDL research:

It shows that people with the same overall LDL level can have totally different risks for heart disease, depending on whether small or large LDL particles predominate.

So make sure you get your doctor to do a Vertical Auto Profile (VAP) Cholesterol test next time he tests your cholesterol. That way you’ll know what your Cholesterol LOOKS like and, as you’ve seen, this goes a long way into figuring out if you’re in trouble or not.