High Cholesterol and Type-2 Diabetes

blood type cholesterol clotting factors coronary artery disease fatty acids fatty liver fructose glycogen hdl heart attack heart disease high-fructose corn syrup insulin resistance ldl red meat stroke type-2 diabetes May 04, 2024

Hands holding a red heart-shaped object next to a blood glucose meter

Heart disease is all too common. It’s the top killer disease for men and women across most racial groups in the U.S. In fact, it’s behind 1 in every 5 deaths in the country.¹

It puts a huge drain on the economy too. It costs around 250 billion U.S. dollars per year — including medicines, health-care services, and lost productivity.¹

And often, when people talk about this condition, they may bring up two other topics: cholesterol and type-2 diabetes (T2D).

In this article, we’ll see how heart disease, cholesterol, and T2D intertwine as we cover:

What is cholesterol?
Relation between high cholesterol and heart disease
Role of blood type
Causes of high cholesterol
Fructose overconsumption and T2D

Healthwise, you’ve probably heard of cholesterol as one of the bad guys. Read on to see why this claim isn’t completely true though.

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a waxy substance that resembles fat, and it’s found throughout your body. You need cholesterol to build cells and make vitamins and hormones.²

Your liver makes all the cholesterol your body needs. But you can also get a small amount of cholesterol from certain foods, such as meat, eggs, and dairy products.³

Cholesterol travels through your blood attached to proteins known as HDL and LDL.²

HDL means “high-density lipoprotein.” This protein absorbs cholesterol in your blood and transports it back to your liver. Your liver then removes the cholesterol from your body. For this reason, HDL cholesterol is sometimes known as “good” cholesterol.²

Meanwhile, LDL — short for “low-density lipoprotein” — carries most of your body’s cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is sometimes called “bad” cholesterol. That’s because high levels of it have been associated with an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.^2,4

Relation between high cholesterol and heart disease

Heart disease is an umbrella term for various conditions affecting the structure and function of the heart. But when people say “heart disease,” they usually mean coronary artery disease (CAD).⁵

CAD happens when plaque builds up in the walls of your coronary arteries. These blood vessels supply blood to your heart and other body parts. Over time, the plaque buildup narrows your arteries, partially or even completely blocking the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your heart.^5,6

Plaque forms from deposits of substances — including fat, calcium, and LDL cholesterol — in your blood. It’s thought that having too much LDL cholesterol makes you more prone to plaque buildup — and eventually, heart disease.^4,5

Role of blood type

You can have heart disease no matter what your blood type is. But you’re more likely to get it if you’re Type A or AB — types that carry the A antigen. Antigens are proteins on the surface of your red blood cells. They’re part of your immune system, and which antigens you have or don’t carry can have a big impact on whether and how you get sick.^7,8

Having blood type A or AB means you have lower levels of an enzyme called intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP), because IAP gets bound and deactivated by the A antigen.^9,10

IAP plays a critical role in your digestion of red meats. The enzyme helps you break down cholesterol from the meats by splitting it into smaller parts. Also, IAP promotes the transport of fats from your intestine to various tissues. At these sites, the fats get broken down into their building blocks called fatty acids.^7,10,11

If you’re type A or AB, IAP doesn’t work as well as it should in your gut. In effect, you’re less able to digest meat and absorb fatty acids. This explains why a high intake of red meats has been linked to heart disease, especially in people with blood type A or AB.^7,9

What’s more, blood types A and AB have higher levels of some clotting factors. These proteins make your blood solidify, contributing to the formation of blood clots — and therefore, heart attacks and strokes.^9,12

Causes of high cholesterol

Your genes, age, and lifestyle can all contribute to high cholesterol.

Some gene changes that your parents pass down to you, can make it harder for your body to remove LDL cholesterol from your blood. Other genetic changes can hinder your liver from breaking down LDL cholesterol. So, if your family members have high cholesterol, you’re more likely to have it too.¹³

In terms of ethnicity, being Asian American makes you more prone to high levels of LDL. Meanwhile, if you’re Hispanic American, chances are you’ll have lower levels of HDL compared to other groups.¹³

As for age, high cholesterol can affect people of all ages. But you’re more likely to get diagnosed if you’re between 40 and 59. That’s because your liver’s ability to eliminate LDL declines as you age.¹³

Medical conditions associated with high cholesterol include chronic kidney disease, diabetes, HIV infection or AIDS, hypothyroidism, and lupus.¹³

Some medications can raise your LDL or lower your HDL levels. Examples are drugs used to treat arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), angina (chest pain), high blood pressure, and cancer. Steroids and other anti-inflammatory medicines can also raise your cholesterol.¹³

When it comes to lifestyle, smoking, stress, high alcohol intake, and lack of physical activity can all lead to high cholesterol. And so can your diet.¹³

Specifically, overconsumption of fructose has been found to raise LDL and total cholesterol levels. Fructose is a naturally occurring simple sugar in fruits. At the same time, it’s the main ingredient in a sweetener called high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Since the 1980s, HFCS has been used in soda, juice products, processed snacks, and fast food. As a result, people have been consuming way too much fructose in the past decades. It’s been shown that more than 10 percent of Americans’ daily calories come from this sugar, especially HFCS.^14,15

Fructose overconsumption and T2D

Most of the fructose you consume goes through your liver. There, fructose is broken down into glucose, lactose, and glycogen (the stored form of glucose).¹⁶

Your liver has a limited capacity to store glycogen though. Once its glycogen stores are full, any excess, unmetabolized fructose turns into liver fat. This conversion is another problem, for a fatty liver directly leads to insulin resistance. Insulin resistance, in turn, is a well-known precursor to T2D.^16,17,18

Conclusion

Too much LDL cholesterol in your body increases your risk of heart disease. Your LDL cholesterol can go up for different reasons. One of them is a diet high in fructose.

But consuming too much fructose doesn’t just raise your cholesterol levels. It also causes a fatty liver, which drives insulin resistance and ultimately, T2D. This is why high cholesterol, heart disease, and T2D often go hand in hand.

Maybe you have one or more of the above health conditions. Or perhaps you want to lower your risk of having them. Whichever your situation, you’ll surely benefit from reducing your fructose intake. But with HFCS present in virtually all processed foods today, where do you start? Find out more with the Diabetes Diet Solution.