High Cholesterol and Diabetes

[Guest guest]

Greetings:

 

Little known facts taken from Dr. Gabe Mirkin's e-zine.

 

Dear Dr. Mirkin: Is high cholesterol hereditary?

 

Fathers with high blood cholesterol have sons with high

cholesterol, but the same does not apply to triglycerides,

according to a study from Gothenburg, Sweden (Journal of

Internal Medicine, Volume 254, Issue 2, 2003). In 1963, 50-year

old men had their cholesterol and triglycerides checked. Thirty

years later, their sons were tested. The sons had lower blood

cholesterols than their fathers, but were fatter and had higher

blood triglyceride levels.

 

The most logical explanation for the lower cholesterol in

the sons is that they ate less saturated fat. But since the sons

were fatter and had higher blood triglyceride levels, they did not

get the message to eat fewer refined carbohydrates and fewer

calories.

 

When blood sugar levels rise too high, the pancreas releases

large amounts of insulin that converts blood sugar to triglycerides.

If you take in more calories than you burn, these blood fats will be

deposited in fat cells to make you fat. So this study may only show

that eating patterns change from one generation to the next, not that

high cholesterol is inherited.

 

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Dear Dr. Mirkin: Does diabetes cause baldness in women?

 

Many studies show that men susceptible to diabetes are at

increased risk for male pattern baldness, and now a study from

Finland shows that this applies to women also (Journal of

Cardiovascular Risk, Volume 10, Issue 3, 2003). Signs of increased

risk for diabetes include: storing fat primarily in the belly,

rather than the hips; having high blood levels of triglycerides,

having low blood levels of the good HDL cholesterol, having a blood

level of Hemoglobin A1C over 6, having microalbumin in the urine, or

having a fatty liver.

 

Male-pattern baldness is seen in women who with polycystic

ovary syndrome (PCOS), or any condition that raises testosterone

blood levels. Women who are susceptible to diabetes often have

very high levels of insulin, that cause the ovaries to produce

large amounts of testosterone that causes male pattern baldness.

Any woman who is showing signs of male pattern baldness should be

checked for diabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome. See

 

http://www.drmirkin.com/women/8124.htm and

http://www.drmirkin.com/diabetes/D222.html