By IANS
Tokyo, Longer workouts that last more than half an hour may boost your good cholesterol, according to a new research review by Japanese researchers.
Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is found in the body tissue and blood of all animals. The liver manufactures about 80 percent of the cholesterol in our bodies. The other 20 percent comes from the food that we eat.
There are two types of cholesterol – good and bad. While too much bad cholesterol can cause heart disease, good cholesterol helps to remove bad cholesterol from the walls of arteries and transports it to the liver for elimination.
Unlike low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol, a rise in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or good cholesterol is considered positive for heart health.
At least two hours per week of aerobic exercise such as walking, biking, or swimming, preferably in sessions lasting for more than half an hour, may boost the good cholesterol, said new research review published in the Japanese Archives of Internal Medicine.
However, the review added that brief bouts of exercise might not be that helpful.
Satoru Kodama and other researchers at the University of Tokyo pooled data from 25 studies on aerobic exercise and HDL cholesterol.
Together, the studies included some 1,400 adults, some of whom were assigned to get aerobic exercise for at least eight weeks. The participants were not asked to diet.
On an average, the participants worked out nearly four times per week, with each workout lasting for about 40 minutes.
Participants who got at least two hours per week of aerobic exercise had a modest rise in their good cholesterol level, reported health portal WebMD.
Based on other research, the reviewers estimate that the gains in HDL cholesterol levels translate to a 5 percent drop in men’s heart disease risk and more than a 7 percent drop in women’s heart disease risk.
“This is potentially of substantial importance in public health,” said the researchers. However, they added that the benefit from exercise might be less than that from drugs that boost HDL cholesterol.