Replies to post #119484 on Biotech Values

[hptaxis]

And there is this finding by the same author:

Riechman SE, Andrews RD, MacLean DA, Sheather S. Statins and Dietary and Serum Cholesterol Are Associated With Increased Lean Mass Following Resistance Training. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 2007;62(10):1164-71. http://biomedgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/content/62/10/1164.abstract

Background. Age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia) is a prevalent condition associated with disability and mortality. Exercise and optimal nutrition are interventions to prevent and treat sarcopenia, yet little is known, outside of protein, of the effect of common nutrition recommendations and medication use on exercise-related muscle gain.

Methods. Forty-nine community-dwelling, 60- to 69-year-old men and women completed 2 weeks of nutrition education (American Dietetic Association recommendations) followed by 12 weeks of high intensity resistance exercise training (RET) with postexercise protein supplementation and 3X/wk dietary logs.

Results. We observed a dose-response relationship between dietary cholesterol (from food logs) and gains in lean mass that was not affected by variability in protein intake. Serum cholesterol and the serum cholesterol lowering agent statin were also independently associated with greater increases in lean mass. Dietary cholesterol was not associated with serum cholesterol or the significant reduction in blood pressure observed, but trends were observed for altered plasma C-reactive protein.

Conclusion. These data suggest that dietary and serum cholesterol contribute to the skeletal muscles' response to RET in this generally healthy older population and that some statins may improve this response.

[ilpapa]

If HDL's job is to clean up the detritus left behind by LDL as it goes about its job of providing energy, it's plausible that it could be interfering with LDL's useful function. Hence muscle weakness.