Donating blood and it's effect on cholesterol levels....

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dcdbeetlelover
dcdbeetlelover Posts: 11 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
The gal at the local blood bank told me last night that giving blood helps lower cholesterol levels and aids your heart...or general health. Is this really true? My cholesterol levels have been creeping up the older I get...unfortunately this runs in my family genetics. Any data out there?

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  • jenglish712
    jenglish712 Posts: 497 Member
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    Some, but we are talking about maybe four studies in the late 90s early 2000s, It was a pretty modest effect and is not well documented. I wouldn't count on donating blood to manage cholesterol.
  • dcdbeetlelover
    dcdbeetlelover Posts: 11 Member
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    Wasn't counting on it making a difference, but every little bit counts, eh? Reality is losing weight really does the trick. Thanks.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    dcdbeetlelover wrote: »
    Wasn't counting on it making a difference, but every little bit counts, eh? Reality is losing weight really does the trick. Thanks.

    Weight loss and regular exercise can help a lot. Something else you may want to consider (if you're not already doing it) is increasing your fibre intake (oat bran, metamucil etc)

    mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/cholesterol/art-20045192http://

    http://webmd.com/diet/fiber-health-benefits-11/insoluble-soluble-fiber

  • baroquepop
    baroquepop Posts: 34 Member
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    When your body replaces the donated blood with fresh blood it is considered to improve your health. How that might change cholesterol exactly I don't know.
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
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    Exercise helps lower cholesterol.
    Controlling cholesterol intake helps lower cholesterol.
    But removing 1/10 of your blood probably isn't going to do much, or at most will be a temporary change.

    One thing it will help with is people who have a genetic disease where they have too much iron.

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