Oxidized Cholesterol and Alzheimer’s Disease

The researchers found that if you have too much oxidized cholesterol in your bloodstream, it can end up in your brain. This is a problem, because research shows the accumulation of oxysterols can be “cytotoxic, mutagenic, atherogenic and possibly carcinogenic”—in

What if the brain has too much cholesterol and needs to get rid of some? As a safety valve, an enzyme in the brain can oxidize cholesterol. So, in that form, it can exit the brain and eventually the body. There’s a catch, though.

Cholesterol oxidation products may be up to a hundred times more pathological, more toxic, than unoxidized cholesterol, contributing not only to heart disease, but potentially also to a variety of different major chronic diseases, including Alzheimer’s,

Oxidized cholesterol is found in “milk powders, meat and meat products (including fish), cheese, eggs and egg products.”

Ghee, clarified or boiled butter, is commonly used in Indian cooking. Its method of preparation appears to multiply oxidized cholesterol levels tenfold. This dietary exposure to oxidized cholesterol may help explain why the subcontinent of India is ravaged by such heart disease, even though a significant proportion of the population stays away from meat and eggs.

Cholesterol gets oxidized when animal products are exposed to heat.