Health & Fitness Articles

Want to Live to 100? Get Your Good Cholesterol Level Up

While diet and exercise are key to most people's health, there have always been those lucky few who can do whatever they want and still live to 100. Now genetics research is showing why. A new study suggests that centenarians retain a naturally heart-healthy cholesterol level throughout their lives -- and they pass the gift on to their children.

In general, high blood levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol are believed to protect the heart from disease. But to date no one has shown it's important to longevity.

This study of 27 centenarians and their elderly children suggests that these long-lived individuals have a genetic mutation that keeps their HDL levels high, regardless of fatty diets, inactivity and smoking.

The study also revealed a difference between the sexes: In order to live to a ripe old age, men may need high HDL levels and low levels of LDL ("bad") cholesterol. Women, on the other hand, just need to have high HDL. This could help explain why women are more likely to make it to 100 -- even in families in which longevity is par for the course.

The study looked at a group of Ashkenazi Jews, a population that has been widely studied due to individuals' genetic similarity. The investigators measured blood cholesterol levels in 27 centenarians, 33 of their children, and 26 of their children's spouses. The researchers also compared these cholesterol levels with those from a "control" group of nearly 400 people in their 60s.

The study revealed that the centenarians' children had significantly better cholesterol levels than either their spouses or the control group. Among female children, only HDL levels were superior, while male children also had better LDL levels than controls did.

What's more, the centenarians themselves had cholesterol levels comparable to those of the decades-younger controls.

Source: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society January 12, 2001;49