Apparently there is a lot we don't know about cholesterol. There is a
correlation with heart disease, but it doesn't work well as a predictor.
You know, lots of people with high cholesterol and healthy hearts. Low
cholesterol people with bad hearts. Then they discovered high density and
low density. That helps, but it doesn't complete the picture.
I read they added another piece. Another two kinds of cholesterol; small
dense particles, and larger fluffy particles. Regular exercise does not
affect the total cholesterol at all, but people who exercise have healthier
hearts. Exercise promotes larger fluffier particles. Larger fluffier
particles don't accumulate as much as the smaller dense particles.
The discoveries are coming fast and furious. I'll bet in another fifty or a
hundred years we'll really understand a lot about how cholesterol affects
cardiac health.
