[사진 출처 = 게티이미지뱅크]Cholesterol is an essential component of cells and cell membranes. But just a few years ago, it was thought that ‘cholesterol’ should be lowered because it harms health. Recently, as the types and roles of cholesterol, such as HDL and LDL, are known, the perception that it is necessary to increase the level of HDL, which is called good cholesterol, has been established.
HDL (High Density Lipoprotein) is known to play a role in preventing arteriosclerosis by transporting cholesterol accumulated on the walls of blood vessels to the liver. It is also called ‘good cholesterol’ because it plays an important role such as maintaining the antioxidant function and anti-inflammatory function of vascular endothelial cells.
If the HDL level is 35~65㎎/㎗, it is considered to be in the normal range. No matter how high the number, if the quality is low, it is difficult to exert its function.
Cho Kyung-hyeon, director of the Korea Lipoprotein Research Institute, said, “If HDL is healthy, it can maintain vascular health and suppress the occurrence of diseases through infection control, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory functions.”
Smoking, drinking alcohol, pollutants, trans fats, and stress all work to transform healthy HDL into bad HDL in a diseased state. This HDL modification is a cause of accelerated aging and can cause high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, and the like. So, how healthy you have HDL is just as important as the amount.
Director Cho explained, “The bigger and more particles, the better the HDL is, and the shape may change depending on health and aging, such as distorted or reduced in size.”
In order to maximize antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functions, it is important to make healthy and high-quality HDL. For this, exercise is considered one of the important habits.
According to the results of one study, the HDL antioxidant capacity of national athletes was significantly superior to that of the control group who did moderate exercise for less than one hour per week.
HDL antioxidant capacity can be confirmed by PON (paraoxonase, paraoxonase). As a result of the study, the PON activity of the athletes was significantly higher, and the HDL particle size was also large. These results suggest that exercise can improve HDL function and quality, which is associated with increased anti-atherosclerosis potential, the researchers analyzed.
Smoking also lowers HDL quality. According to the results of a study published in 2014, it was confirmed that the HDL shape of smokers in their 20s was not a definite circle, but a transformation similar to that occurring in the serum of the elderly in their 70s. Even in their early 20s, the size of HDL decreased, and ApoA-1, a major protein constituting HDL, was broken and altered.
Although there is an opinion that drinking small amounts is good for health, long-term drinking for more than 10 years has been shown to impair the quality of HDL. According to the results of a related study published this year, the HDL of non-drinkers was large in size and had a clear particle shape, but in the group who drank less than one drink a week, the shape became blurred and the size decreased. In addition, the group who drank more than 3 cups a week showed agglomeration as well as a decrease in particle size.
The importance of HDL function for disease prediction and prevention is emerging not only in Korea but also worldwide. Experts emphasize that efforts such as exercise, dietary changes, and smoking cessation are necessary to not only increase the quantity but also improve the quality.
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