A person's cholesterol levels may depend not only on what he or she eats, but also how often. The Researchers found that middle-aged and older adults who ate frequently throughout the day had lower "bad" LDL cholesterol levels compared with those who tended to down one or two large meals per day. This was despite the fact that the frequent eaters, on average, had a higher calorie and fat intake.
The researchers looked at data on more than 14,600 men and women aged 45 to 75. Participants were asked about their current eating habits and activity levels, and had their cholesterol levels, blood pressure and weight recorded. Frequent eaters did not, however, have higher levels of "good" HDL cholesterol, which is believed to help protect the heart from disease.The explanation could rest in the different metabolic responses to these eating patterns. It could also be that frequent eaters metabolize what they eat rather differently than infrequent eaters.
