Monday, September 9, 1985/The Battalion/Page 3
Egg lovers get good news
Truth told on cholesterol
By MANDY MIKULENCAK
Reporter
There may be good news on the
horizon for people who have given
up eggs to control high blood choles
terol levels, one Texas A&M re
search scientist says.
Dr. Barbara O’Brien, a research
scientist in the Department of Bio
chemistry and Biophysics, says some
people may be modifying their diets
and giving up foods they enjoy, such
as eggs, for no reason.
“About 15 to 20 percent of the
population, if they eat a high c holes
terol diet or a diet high in animal fat,
their blood cholesterol levels will in
crease," O’Brien says. “But for the
majority of the people, it doesn't
make any dif ference.
"What needs to be considered is
how an individual responds to cho
lesterol.”
O’Brien explains that each per
son’s body produces a certain
amount of cholesterol required as a
component of the cell membranes,
but that a mechanism in the body
normally blocks absorption of any
excess obtained by eating foods high
in cholesterol.
“This mechanism works as long as
a person isn’t consuming more than
the body needs,” O’Brien says. “But
the diets people eat contain things
like fibers that will prevent or inter
fere with the absorption of choles
terol. So if you have something in
the diet that will prevent that ab
sorption, the blood cholesterol level
will not change.”
O’Brien says her research deals
with learning how dif ferent foods in
the diet influence cholesterol metab
olism.
Much of the concern about cho
lesterol comes from the fact that the
American Heart Association recom
mends that people limit their intake
of f oods high in cholesterol, such as
O’Brien says the recommenda
tions stem from the results of experi
ments conducted in the 1950s in
volving controlled, purified diets
that showed when tne amount of
cholesterol in the diet was increased,
the blood cholesterol levels in
creased.
Further research in the 1960s
showed a link between the average
blood cholesterol level of a group of
people and the incidence of heart
disease in that group.
“The problem with this is that
people don’t eat controlled, purified
diets," she says. “They eat meat and
potatoes, rice, and f ruits and vegeta
bles. So there are other things in the
diet that affect the control of the
cholesterol in the blood.”
O’Brien’s research included an
experiment in which 29 men ate
three eggs a day in addition to their
regular diets.
Only two of the subjects showed
an increase in blood cholesterol lev
els after the experimental period
was over, confirming O’Brien’s be
lief that the body has a way of stop
ping the absorption of excess choles
terol.
She says, though, that there are
people who cannot control the cho
lesterol levels because their shut-off
mechanisms don’t work properly,
probably due to a genetic problem.
“I’m not encouraging people to
eat more eggs,” O’Brien says. “I’m
trying to encourage people to realize
that, if they like eggs, they can find
out if there’s any reason to deprive
themselves.
“They can find out if they are in
dtat fraction of the population that
are susceptible to high blood choles
terol levels.”
O'Brien says that for some people,
cutting down on foods high in cho
lesterol could make a difference in
their blood cholesterol levels, but
that there is no evidence that mod
ifying the diet will in any way reduce
the risk of heart attacks.
“It’s a terrible shame to have that
correlation — e gg s > cholesterol,
heart disease,” O’Brien says. “That
correlation is so strong in the minds
of some people. Eat eggs, have a
heart attack.”
“Eggs are such a nutritious food,”
O’Brien says. “Especially for young
people. You cannot find a more
complete food. And at the price, you
just can’t beat ’em.”
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H-
Accounts sound at insolvent bank
Associated Press
HOUSTON — Customers lined
up at Heights Savings Association
branches found their accounts in or
der even though federal regulators
declared the thrift insolvent, officials
said.
Federal authorities declared
Heights insolvent Friday, recapita
lized it at an undisclosed amount
above its S9 million negative net
worth and put it under new manage
ment of San Antonio Savings.
As customers reached the front of
the lines, Heights employees told
them that the association was sound
and that it would continue to oper
ate as before.
Heights, the ninth largest thrift in
Houston, did not experience a sig
nificant number of withdrawls, said
Russ Cobbler, senior vice president
and director of marketing for San
Antonio Savings.
“You’ve got to expect some with
what everyone has heard about sav
ings and loan failures in Maryland
and Ohio.”
Thrifts in those states did not
have federal insurance as Heights
did, he said.
Some people who remained con
cerned closed out their accounts.
Others took the portion of their de
posit exceeding tbe SI00,000 limit of
Federal Sav ings and Loan Insurance
Corp. protection.
"Tm not sure what I’m going to
do,” said Henry Roberts as he waited
for his turn to talk to a teller. “I’ve
been a Heights customer ever since
it opened up. I almost flipped when
I heard it had problems.”
“I put money in,” said Raymond
Goehring, his deposit slip in hand.
“Tm not worried. I’ve done business
with these people for years.”
But Jim Lyon, a lifetime Heights
customer, said he removed “damn
near $100,000. I want to get it while
I can.”
Federal regulators blamed the
problems on millions of dollars in
real estate loan losses.
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