Originally published December 7 2005
London research team links high cholesterol to stress
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Health Psychology reports on a study done by a team from University College London that establishes a link between stress and high cholesterol levels.
Stress may raise cholesterol blood levels, potentially increasing the risk of heart disease, research suggests.
Now a team from University College London has found stress also appears to raise cholesterol levels over the long-term in some people.
The team gave people 199 people stress tests and cholesterol tests three years apart, Health Psychology reports.
Lead researcher Professor Andrew Steptoe said: "Some of the participants show large increases even in the short-term, while others show very little response.
"The cholesterol responses that we measured in the lab probably reflect the way people react to challenges in everyday life as well.
"So the larger responders to stress tasks will be large responders to emotional situations in their lives and will have a greater chance of raised cholesterol - a major risk factor for heart and circulatory disease."
Levels of LDL, or "bad" cholesterol were three times as likely to be at potentially harmful levels in this group compared with those who registered the smallest cholesterol rise after the initial tests.
The researchers said it might be possible that stress encourages the body to produce more energy in the form of fatty acids and glucose.
These substances require the liver to produce and secrete more LDL cholesterol so that they can be transported to the other tissues of the body.
Another possibility is that stress interferes with the body's ability to rid itself of excess cholesterol.
Thirdly, it could be that stress triggers a number of inflammatory processes which also increase cholesterol production.
"It does give us an opportunity to know whose cholesterol may rise in response to stress and give us warning for those who may be more at risk for coronary heart disease."
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