Health: Seasonal Changes

If your cholesterol levels keep going up no matter what you eat, don't get discouraged--it could be the season, not your diet, that's at fault. A new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that cholesterol levels naturally fluctuate throughout the year. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester tracked 517 healthy people for a year and found that their cholesterol levels tended to rise in the winter and fall in the summer. The biggest changes occurred in those with elevated cholesterol and in women. Their levels fluctuated by as much as 18 points. --By Lisa McLaughlin