Is yogurt bad for cholesterol?

ANSWER: Hi there,

It is very good that you are trying to make yourself a diet which is containing small amount of cholesterol. I would encourage to include yogurt too.

Why?

All scientists and doctors agree that yogurt is affecting in a good way the cholesterol status of the organism.

Besides this, yogurt contains a lot of vitamins, which are improving the whole metabolism by neutralizing the free radicals, formed in the organism.

With the regards to LDL cholesterol, the daily consumption of 100g of yogurt is significantly reducing the LDL cholesterol level.

You have to pay attention to the fact that vitamins like B2, B5 and B12 are preventing the oxidation of LDL molecules. This oxidation is caused by the free radicals, formed in the organism, during the metabolic processes.

In addition, yogurt is increasing the HDL cholesterol level in the organism. This is very important, because HDL is molecules, which is collecting the cholesterol accumulated in the wall of the blood vessel.

Because of this function, the HDL, also known as “good” cholesterol, is reducing the size of the atherosclerotic plaque and it is diminishing the risk for cardio-vascular diseases’ development.

My advice for you is to eat 100g of yogurt every morning with your breakfast. By implementing yogurt in your low-cholesterol diet will not only solve your high cholesterol problems, but you will even improve the whole metabolism.

Hope it helped!

Dr.Alba

Does salt give you bad cholesterol?

QUESTION: I know excessive salt is very bad for our body. Does salt give you bad cholesterol? Or what other effects it has in the lipid profile?


ANSWER: Hi,

No, salt does not provide any cholesterol at all. For your information, salt is called sodium chloride (NaCl), while the cholesterol is an organic combination. That means that the cholesterol is made of Carbon atom(C) and hydrogen atom.

Regarding the chemical point of view, sodium chloride can’t be transformed in something organic. With regards to the effects on the cardiovascular system, the way salt affect it is different from that of the cholesterol.

Salt is an osmotic substance and that means that the excessive amount of salt lead to the impediment of water in the organism.

The increased amount of water in the organism leads to elevation in the blood pressure. The elevated blood pressure damages the blood vessel’s wall.

This injury on the wall of the blood vessel is the factor that leads to the precipitation of cholesterol on the wall of the blood vessel.

This mechanism leads to the development of atherosclerosis, which is a particular condition in case you suffer of high amount of cholesterol in your organism.

When you eat lots of salt, you may also develop atherosclerosis without having elevation in the cholesterol levels. For that reason you have to reduce the amount of salt in your diet, because it may lead to cardiovascular diseases too.

Dr.Alba

Will protandim improve bad cholesterol?

by Jay

QUESTION: My friend recommended me to take Protandim as he has lowered his cholesterol levels. My recent lab results showed high LDL levels. Will Protandim improve my bad cholesterol? Thank you.


ANSWER: Hi Jay,

First of all, you have to know that Protandim is registered as dietary supplements. That mean that this product is not a cholesterol medicine and you can take it with your food in purpose to improve your metabolism.

However, there are some data about the probable mechanism of reaction of this substance. Some of the sources are talking about an inhibition of superoxide dismutase and catalase enzymes.

According to this information, we can say that this produc will definitely work on the lowering process of the bad cholesterol, because these two enzymes are included in the metabolic chain which is producing the LDL and HDL.

On the other hand, there comes the legalization process of this supplement. There is no data on the market providing the information that this is patented as drug.

That means that this substance hasn’t been tested as something that really can help people, with the lowering of the cholesterol. This supplement hasn’t passed the drug trials, which are showing if there are some side effects.

Even the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn’t approved the qualifications of this as cure or like a medicine which can prevent the development of any disease.

As a conclusion, I could only say that there exist only some "flying" opinions about the great effect of this supplement, where none of them is not approved as true, so I cannot tell you to cherish the hope that this will work.

You can try, but at your own risk.

Dr.Alba