I've been reading, with great interest, Dr Davis' discussion on the effects of carbs on heart disease. Reducing carb intakes has been extremely difficult for me. Almost everytime I put a piece of bread in my mouth I begin to feel guilty, but yet it doesn't stop me completely. I crave carbs!! Oh, and i suffer from elevated levels of LP(a). Help!
How do VLDL particles interact with LDLs in order to shrink the LDL particles' size?
I was tought that VLDLs would turn into IDLs and LDLs by either interacting with HDLs exchanging TAGs with cholesterylester (CE) or unloading their TAG cargo in peripheral tissues such as adipose tissue or muscle and then transforming some cholesterol and phospholipids into CE and lysophospholipids.
If the VLDL cores are already filled up with TAGs, how can VLDLs possibly take up more lipids from LDLs?, and which lipids, CEs or those TAGs previously transferred from HDLs to LDLs?
Extension: How do VLDL particles interact with LDLs in order to shrink the LDL particles' size? I was tought that VLDLs would turn into IDLs and LDLs by either interacting with HDLs exchanging TAGs with cholesterylester (CE) through the Apo A-I / LCAT / CETP complex or unloading their TAG cargo in peripheral tissues such as adipose tissue or muscle and then transforming some cholesterol and phospholipids into CE and lysophospholipids. If the VLDL cores are already filled up with TAGs, how can VLDLs possibly take up more lipids from LDLs?, and which lipids, CEs or those TAGs previously transferred from HDLs to LDLs? And how?, neither VLDL nor LDL do have Apo A-I then, how does the transfer from the LDL particle core take place? To underestimate the LDL cholesterol fraction the VLDL cholesterol should be lower than TAG / 5. How can this occur, by VLDL gaining the few remaining TAGs from LDLs, losing cholesterol via transfer to LDLs, or both? If so, 1) how can the core particles go from one side to the other without Apo A-I and therefore, without LCAT nor CETP complex? or 2) how can cholesterol be transferred to LDL to become smaller in size? What are LDLs losing to become smaller? Are there more Apo B100 circulating and then also more LDL particles of smaller size being the overall effect a smaller fraction of cholesterol in the VLDL surface being captured by the LDLs? Perhaps cholesterol is being exchanged between VLDLs and LDLs by phospholipids?
To say that carbs make you fat is an irresponsible oversimplification. Refined carbs and potatoes are linked to weight gain, but intake of whole grains, fresh fruits, and vegetables is directly correlated with weight loss. The more servings of these "good" carbs people ate, the more weight they lost. Intake of "good" carbs will also improve blood pressure and cholesterol, and reduce insulin resistance.
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Dear Dr.Davis - Thanks for clarifying so precisely about the harmful effect of carbohydrates for persons trying to cope with high cholesterol. What, however, would have also helped is your clarifying: * would it be necessary to follow a totally carbohydrate-free diet and if so, how and
* doesn't our body need certain amount of carbohydrates and if yes, how much should it be and how does one go about complying with this requirement? Thanks. GK - Pune, India