Study: Diet and exercise, not low cholesterol, keep heart happy 

By Dr. John Abramson

Finally some good medical news for the elderly: A study in last month's Journal of the American Geriatrics Society shows that once you hit 65, you can stop worrying about your cholesterol level.

In fact, the results of the study - which measured cholesterol levels and longevity in two northern Italian towns over the past 11 years - should send shivers up the spines of drug companies that make Lipitor and other cholesterol-lowering statins.

The Italian study showed the higher the total or the bad cholesterol level, the longer people lived. (You read that right.) The study did have one caveat: Men whose LDL cholesterol levels were above 160 mg/dL would have benefited from a slightly but not dramatically lower level.

Of course, that research jibes with the results of our own Framingham Heart Study, the granddaddy of them all. It shows that after people reach middle age, their cholesterol level no longer has a significant impact on how long they will live. And once people reach 80, it's the same in Framingham as it is in northern Italy: The higher the cholesterol, the longer people live.

So, seniors, when you see the TV ads with the animated cholesterol particles clogging up arteries, just click to another station. Or better yet, go get a piece of fruit, or take a walk.

To be fair, the drug companies have done their own studies - and they've come to similar conclusions. Bristol-Myers Squibb tested the effectiveness of its cholesterol-lowering drug Pravachol in people ages 70- 82, about half of whom already had heart disease and half of whom were at increased risk of developing it.

The conclusions, published in the Lancet in 2002: Taking Pravachol did not reduce the overall death rate any more than a sugar pill. The seniors taking it who didn't yet have heart disease didn't have a lower risk of developing it than those taking sugar pills.

Does this mean you can cast caution to the wind and eat all the roast beef, custard, ice cream and butter that you want? Absolutely not. On the contrary, most of your health is the result of the choices you make and not what your cholesterol blood test shows.

An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that senior citizens following four simple health habits had only one-third the death rate of people not maintaining these habits. Death from cancer was 69 percent lower, while death from heart attacks was slashed by an astonishing 73 percent.

The most important habit, this study showed, is regular exercise. Another key to a long, healthy life: not smoking, or having quit for at least 15 years. (Note to young smokers: It's not too late to quit.) The JAMA study also showed that those who take a nip of alcohol on most days are also likelier to live longer.

The fourth healthy habit recommended in the JAMA study: a Mediterranean-style diet. In other words, eat like those northern Italians. A simple version of this diet includes more fruits, vegetables, unprocessed grains, olive oil and fish (but watch out for salmon farmed in the North Atlantic - those waters are collecting too many toxic chemicals).

Of course, you should discuss all this with your own doctor. Meantime, ask not what your cholesterol level is. Ask instead how you can best decrease your risk of heart disease and improve your chances of staying healthy.

These questions will lead to much better health than simply getting your cholesterol level checked and starting on drugs.