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Poor old cholesterol that fine upstanding blood fat has been taking major knocks with some experts saying it doesn't count as much against heart disease as we think. We all love to hear from myth-breakers - people who explode received wisdom in our faces - or better still, the faces of smug experts. And so it is at the moment. Poor old cholesterol that fine upstanding blood fat has been taking major knocks with some experts saying it doesn't count as much against heart disease as we think. What does contribute to heart diesease then? Well, it's something I've mentioned before - inflammation - a trendy topic at the moment. Inflammation is where white blood cells are activated and immune processes go into action and there's no doubt it's important in the development of atherosclerosis - cholesterol related damage to arteries. But we're in a chicken and egg, horse and cart, hamburger and aspirin dilemma here. Which is more important? A study in Iceland which has been following the health of over 18,000 people, measured chemicals in the blood which are markers of inflammation. It found that inflammation isn't as strong a predictor of heart disease as cholesterol. Whereas smoking and high cholesterol approximately doubled the chances of developing heart disease, high levels of C reactive protein, one of these inflammatory markers, raised the risk by less than half. So good old cholesterol survives another day.
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