Did you know there are two kinds of cholesterol "particles?" No longer are doctors going to be looking at just your numbers. You can have a slightly elevated cholesterol of 205. However, if it's pattern A, or large particles, it's not so bad. Pattern B, or small particles, can lead to a stroke or heart attack. Say it ain't so! Just when we thought we had it all figured out, someone discovers something new about fats in our blood.
I will try to explain it from a layman's point of view. Hang on to your hat, here we go. So, you find out you have the small particles. That doesn't sound bad, but evidently it can be. Small particles (lipids) are thought to pose a greater risk for developing atherosclerosis, once called hardening of the arteries, and heart attacks. Why? It appears that these tiny little particles (smaller than the head of a straight pin) can more easily squeeze through the tiny gaps between the cells in the endothelium and snuggle up inside the artery walls. Sounds like ants on a picnic to me. Let me explain further. The endothelium is a thin layer of cells which covers the inner wall of the arteries. The cells making up the endothelium have tiny spaces between them. Some scientists believe that the smaller cholesterol particles can easily oxidize. One way to explain what oxidize means is to think of the cholesterol as being "rusty" which changes the consistency of the cholesterol. Oxidized cholesterol can form cholesterol plaques, and if you watch any television at all, you've probably heard about plaque. This is the sticky stuff that attaches to your artery walls and narrows them. Picture a straw in a drink that gets clogged. That's pretty much what happens when you develop a blockage. I'm no expert, but this sounds dangerous to me from the get go.
Now, what if you have Pattern A particles? These are the large, "puffy" particles that can't slip through the artery walls. Picture a glob of Crisco in a plastic bag filled with water. It floats around and pretty much keeps its shape. The theory is - if a tiny pin hole develops in the bag, the water will escape, but the oil will stay put. Hence, the glob of "fat" is too large to head through the blood stream to the heart and cause a heart attack or to the brain and cause a stroke. Makes sense to me.
If you have small particles (B), can you turn them into large particles? The theory is yes you can. Although cholesterol particle size is mainly genetically inherited, people who have small particles can increase their particle size through diet, exercise, and sometimes medications.
First you need to have a blood test called "polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis" which can measure and determine if you have pattern A or B. Not all doctors are performing this test yet. Find one who does. Most cardiologists do, and some alternative medicine physicians do. Find a health and wellness clinic that offers not only medical care, but chiropractic, detoxification, diet, exercise and massage therapy. This type of clinic wants to help you get well without medication. This would include changing your lifestyle and eating healthy. Sometimes a medication is used temporarily to get your cholesterol numbers into normal range while at the same time you're exercising and eating healthy. Then, you can slowly wean off the medication and have follow-up blood work done. If you are following healthy guidelines, your cholesterol numbers should return to normal, and if all goes as planned, your particle size will increase.
Diets that are low in saturated fat (namely animal fats), regular aerobic exercise, and loss of excess body fat all help to decrease the number of small particles and increase the number of large particles in the blood. In other words, lifestyle modifications can change pattern B to pattern A.
When lifestyle changes alone are unsuccessful, medications can be used. Statin medications can help lower your LDL cholesterol, but they appear to have a limited amount of influence on cholesterol particle size. Statins also have side effects including muscle pain and liver damage. It's always best to avoid long-term use of statin medications. So, if you must use statins, make sure you take niacin, Co-enzyme Q10 and fish oil supplements at the same time. One baby aspirin per day can also help. Your doctor can help you make the right decision. And always remember, diet and exercise are a very important part of your total health picture.
So, there you go. Hopefully this has helped. When your clinician tells you that your cholesterol is high, you'll want to ask about your particles. And, no matter what size your particles are, diet and exercise can keep you up and running well into your 80s and beyond. There is a lot more to cholesterol than what I've written here. I just wanted to explain in layman's terms what is meant by particle size. An easy way to remember is A stands for Awesome large particles and B stands for Bad small particles (Bummer)!
Here's to your health!
Beverly J. Krause is a freelance writer. She works as a social media coordinator and health and wellness writer. She enjoys helping people understand how they can change their lives by changing the way they eat and making exercise an important part of a healthy lifestyle.
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