Sigh.... It will probably be at least a decade before there's any effective treatment based on the gene described in the article. But it may eventually make life a lot more enjoyable for thousands of people. As a heart transplant patient I have to limit my diet in terms of the three biggest sources of flavor: fat, salt & sugar. Ah well. It's like old age ... consider the alternative.

It's often hard to get one's doctors to order a "full lipid profile" rather than just a cholesterol count. I have to remind them every darned time. Total cholesterol is a rough indicator of how you stand, but the amount of HDL, LDL and triglycerides is pretty important too.

My HDL and LDL have both gone up since I started taking fish oil for other reasons 3 years ago. My triglycerides (the other thing they measure in cholesterol) have dropped dramatically and are below the "normal" range. This seems to be good news as long as they don't go too low.

The Berkeley Wellness Center on-line says "It's well known that omega-3s help lower triglycerides." At the same time, some sites say fish oil can raise LDL. Taking garlic oil may counteract that. I've tried it. Who knows if it helped or not? My LDL is still higher than it used to be.

It's all a complex subject and there are an awful lot of factors. You have to be your own medical researcher to some extent.

For those of you who are taking statins: research indicates that statins lower the amount of "Co-Enzyme Q-10" your body produces. It's an important enzyme for the heart and for all muscle tissue. Some doctors now recommend Q-10 supplements to patients who take statins. Others "don't believe in" Co-Enzyme Q-10. I'm not sure whether they think it doesn't really exist in people's bodies, or just that supplementation never makes a difference. It can and (sometimes) does. If you start feeling tired after being on statins a while, you might want to look into it.

Rita F