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Aren’t You Worried about All that Cholesterol?
You say you’re a health reporter. Aren’t you worried about all that cholesterol?”
I was having breakfast with an old friend last weekend. Carter wanted to know how I could justify my breakfast of over-easy eggs. “Doesn’t that contradict what you write about?” he asked.
Oh, great… here we go again, I thought.
I withheld the explanation of the flawed ‘lipid hypothesis.’ And I didn’t tell him why the ‘cholesterol theory of heart disease’ is bogus. But I did let him know that dietary cholesterol is not a concern of mine.
“Did you know that half of heart attacks occur in people with ‘normal’ cholesterol?” I asked. This was shown in the Women’s Health Study – a study or more than 28,000 women. Researchers discovered that 46 percent of all first-time cardiovascular events occurred in women with cholesterol levels under the ‘desirable’ target set by the National Cholesterol Education Program.
“And did you know that ‘high’ cholesterol levels are associated with longer life in the elderly?” I asked Carter. “And better brain health?”
It is not ‘cholesterol you need worry about. Damaged cholesterol is the problem.
Cholesterol is vital to your health. You can’t live without it…
Cholesterol is integral to your cell membranes. It helps to make up your nerve fibers. And it is vital for the production of sex hormones. Cholesterol is so important that your body does not rely on food sources alone.
For most people, less than 20 percent of our total cholesterol comes from what we eat. The rest is made by the body. That is why trying to reduce your cholesterol by eating less of it can be futile. The less you consume, the more your body will produce.
What you want to avoid is cholesterol that has been damaged by oxidation. This changes its chemical structure. It is damaged cholesterol that has been associated with the risk of heart disease. Animal and human studies have shown that “oxidized LDL” is a far better predictor of risk than overall cholesterol levels.
“Bad” cholesterol is irrelevant…
About 30 years ago, forward-thinking researchers began to understand that LDL cholesterol is not a reliable risk factor for heart disease. This understanding is just now entering the mainstream.
One study of elderly Belgians showed that increased levels of oxidized LDL were associated with a significant increase in the risk of heart attack. However, overall levels of LDL cholesterol were not associated with heart disease risk at all.
Another study consisted of Japanese patients who had surgery to remove plaque from their arteries. The oxidized LDL levels in these patients were much higher than the levels in healthy subjects. The plaques themselves also showed much higher levels of oxidized cholesterol than healthy sections of their arteries.
Keep your cholesterol healthy with antioxidants…
About 10 years ago, researchers in Sweden compared the risk factors of two groups of men – one group from Sweden and another from Lithuania. The men from Lithuania were four times more likely to die from heart disease.
There were very few differences in their risk factors. However, one big difference was that the men from Lithuania had much lower cholesterol levels. According to mainstream theory, this should have put them at a lower risk for heart disease. But they were suffering at a much higher rate.
What the researchers discovered is that even though these men had much lower total cholesterol levels, their oxidized cholesterol was significantly higher. They also found that these men had much lower levels of dietary antioxidants!
What does this tell you?
What this tells me – and leading researchers in the field – is that consuming a diet rich in antioxidants is vital to prevent the oxidation of cholesterol and to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system.
It is also important to consume a low-glycemic diet and reduce omega-6 fats. High-glycemic carbs and unhealthy fats both increase oxidation and inflammation.
It also suggests that those annual “cholesterol screenings” could be a big waste of time. The better indicator of health is your level of oxidized cholesterol and the ratio of oxidized LDL to HDL.
The good news is that there is a test for both of these. The tests are provided by a company called Shiel Medical Laboratory. They might not be covered by insurance, but the out-of-pocket cost is less than $125 – and well worth it, if you ask me.
To Your Great Health,
Jon Herring
Editorial Director
Total Health Breakthroughs
Publisher’s Note: Total Health Breakthroughs has developed a multi-antioxidant blend that we will be releasing in just a few weeks. It is a bright purple powder, brimming with polyphenols, anthocyanins, pterostilbine and resveratrol. Just mix it with a bit of water, and you have a veritable fountain of youth in a glass.
Before we release the product to the public, we are inviting a small number of readers to test it (and receive a significant discount!) If you’re interested, you can put your name on the list here.
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I’ve known for years about the cholesterol scam and that cholesterol is vital for good health, and largely made in your liver. The anti-cholesterol, anti animal fat racket is a money making scheme for companies who make trans-fatty acids.
This scam is similar to the latest scam, Global Warming.
Your article is an excellent explanation.
OK, so we all know that cholesterol is a good thing. My 75 year old dad however has a very low total cholesterol. I’m not sure of his lipids. How can you raise cholesterol when it’s too low?
I can identify with those friends that doubt your diet. I dithced grains a couple of years ago and eat plenty of healthy fats from wild caught salmon, eggs, olive and coconut oil etc. They just can’t wrap their heads around it, and either stay fat or adopt conventional wisdom and start eating low fat and then start running, thinking they’ll get healthy that way. I’ve finally given up. I finally let go, and am letting them dig their graves with their low fat spoon.
This was a better writen article on cholesterol and did make better sense.
Excellent article - one of the clearest explanations I’ve ever read in this area!!
I had a total cholesterol count of 140; 20.7 years ago when my son was born — just before! At that time I weighed 154 pounds, (this was NOT due to: an edema / water problem ‘commonly associated with the last trimester of the pregnancy’), so I was not concerned.
I was 104 pounds when the pregnancy started, had a ravenous appetite the whole 9 months … I went in, had him on a Monday a.m., and lost 30 pounds by Thursday!
On that date 4 DAYS LATER I was 124 pounds, it took a little while: like 3-6 months to lower to less than 120 pounds! He was NOT a formula-fed infant, so it took me a while to lose those extra 8-10 pounds, was eating to keep up milk for him.
I never felt I HAD TO do ‘cholesterol’ check in all the years since. I am 5′4 and have low blood pressure: 120/75 (65 or lower), so I feel pretty good; have deviated ‘little’ (+ or -) over these years, with weight.
I can eat pretty much anything, NOT gain a pound, I am on a low sodium oriented diet as = my blood pressure maintenance for myself; (as that is harder on you as you ‘age’ than other problems that are as EASILY preventable).
THANK YOU, Thank you for exposing ‘this’ and other health-related scams. And for the positive empowering information you give, for the benefit of us all!
OH the low sodium diet mentioned above I do eat ice cream, some dairy, and lots of fruits and vegetables, and especially those HIGH in anti-oxidants. Before I gradually changed my diet over the last 25 years, I felt like crap. Not any longer. So there is truth to an anti-oxidant rich diet, for just feeling all-around BETTER, as well as aformentioned benefits in your article, per longevity, etc.
Dear Dr Jon Herring,
I well understood your simple way of explaining how things work in terms of Cholestrol. Nevertheless, when we finish reading your geat expose . . . . we feel the need to know more. What are in your opinion the “recommended” levels of HDL, LDL, Oxidized LDL and what are the target low and target high concerning the “ratio of oxidized LDL to HDL” ?
Your explanation of “how Cholest. works” is great and I thank you very much for that. But, without your guidance in terms of quantified targets, is like being blind of one eye.
All the best and Thk U, JMD
A great article!! My cholesterol has been high for years.
I just wonder what I should eat then to keep it the right level.
What are anti-oxidant rich foods to eat?
I was told to take tablets to lower my cholesterol by my doctor but have refused to take them.
Thanking you,
I do understand that total cholesterol may not be a thing to be worried of, but what about triglyceride? is it required to be ignored or some measure needs to be taken?