Fats come in two types: good and bad.
Bad cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein or LDL), mainly found in fried foods and butter, can build up in blood vessels and lead to problems like strokes and heart attacks.
On the other hand, good cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein or HDL) was once thought to clear fat from blood vessels and transport it to the liver for removal. However, recent research suggests it's not that simple.
A recent study in the journal "Neurology" found evidence that having very high or very low levels of HDL may increase the risk of dementia in adults. This study highlighted the importance of maintaining a specific range of HDL levels to avoid potential harm.
Erin Ferguson, the study's lead author and a doctoral student in epidemiology at the University of California San Francisco, explained, "The connection between HDL cholesterol and dementia is more complex than we thought. Though the impact of this relationship is relatively small, it's significant."
This extensive study involved 184,000 adults, averaging 70 years old, none of whom had dementia at the start. Over 13 years, 25,000 of them developed the disease. While there's not enough proof to establish a direct cause, a strong link between HDL levels and dementia risk was evident.
Link to study: https://n.neurology.org/content/101/11/e1127
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