Cholesterol – Friend Or Foe?

Cholesterol, whether high or low, is one of the most controversial medical subjects of the decade. There is a wealth of conflicting information, in the form of research studies, about cholesterol, and many doctors still disagree about its so called connection with heart disease.

Cholesterol is actually a high molecular weight alcohol that is manufactured in the liver and other cells. It performs a number of functions.

• Cholesterol gives the cells integrity and stability.
• It is a precursor to corticosteroids, or hormones that enable us to deal with stress, as well as the sex hormones testosterone, androgen, estrogen and progesterone.
• It is a precursor to Vitamin D, a fat soluble vitamin needed to maintain a healthy nervous system and healthy bones, muscle tone, insulin production, metabolism of minerals, and immune system function.
• Bile salts, which break down and digest fats, are made from cholesterol.
• It is required by serotonin receptors in the brain for proper function.
• Breast milk contains a high proportion of cholesterol, with over 50% of its calories as saturated fat. Cholesterol and saturated fat are known to be vitally important for growth in babies and children, particularly for brain development.

The main reason cholesterol has drawn so much attention, is its supposed correlation to coronary heart disease. While some research studies exist claiming to link high cholesterol with an increased risk of heart disease, there are just as many reports claiming that the evidence does not exist.

For example, recent recommendations are that individuals’ cholesterol levels be as low as possible, (low enough that it cannot be achieved through diet, exercise and lifestyle modification alone). Therefore, cholesterol lowering, in particular statin, drugs are now recommended to anyone considered at high risk. As heart disease has one of the highest mortality rates in western cultures, a significant proportion of people would be prescribed this type of drug.

Dr Rory Collins, a researcher from the University Of Oxford, UK was instrumental in conducting a study of the effects of statin drugs. 20,536 people between the ages of 40 and 80, and considered high risk for heart attack or stroke, participated in the study, and were followed over a period of five years. Each was given either a statin drug, Zocor, or a placebo, and the study recorded any incidence of heart attack, stroke, or death from any cause, as well as vascular procedures like angioplasty or bypass surgery.

Results confirmed that cholesterol lowering therapy benefited all groups of high risk individuals, irrespective of their cholesterol levels. If an individual’s cholesterol level was low, the same reduction in risk was seen as those who had the highest levels. Critics of this study however, point out that those with low cholesterol should not be considered “high risk”, therefore what could the drug be addressing, if not a cholesterol induced risk of heart disease?

There is also a group of healthy cynics who believe that the inevitable increase in sales of cholesterol lowering drugs, and therefore profit, are quite possibly driving the recommendations. Dr Ron Rosedale MD stated that major scientific organizations have rebuked certain medical journals for enabling the pharmaceutical industry to publish deliberately misleading medical information.

Dr Rosedale goes on to confirm that he does not believe cholesterol to be the major culprit in heart disease. Rather, he sees the major cause, which results in plaque, inflammation, and damage to arterial linings, as an excess of sugars such as glucose and fructose. In fact, many scientific articles have linked insulin resistance to cardiovascular disease, as it precipitates a greater number of "small dense" LDL particles.

More recently, it has become evident that cholesterol can be damaged by exposure to heat and oxygen. In this oxidized form, it may lead to damaged arterial cells and a buildup of plaque in arteries. Oxidized cholesterol can be found in powdered eggs and powdered milk, and fats and meats that have been heated to very high temperatures when frying. Cholesterol is transported to tissues as part of an inflammatory response in order to repair damage. Therefore, oxidized cholesterol and other oxidized fatty acids should be avoided.

Cholesterol is only one of a number of markers for heart disease, and it is now known that normal or low cholesterol levels will not eliminate a person’s risk of suffering from a heart attack or a stroke. In fact, Dr Christie Ballantyne, a Baylor College of Medicine cardiologist, stated that the majority of her heart disease patients who had heart attacks or strokes did not have high cholesterol.

Many different cultures worldwide show rates of coronary heart disease that are not positively correlated to serum cholesterol levels. For example, individuals from northern India eat 17 times more animal fat that those from southern India, however the incidence of coronary heart disease is 7 times lower.

The French eat a diet rich in saturated fats, including butter, eggs, cheese, cream, liver and pate. Yet, in the region where duck and goose liver is regularly consumed, heart attack rates are 80 per 100,000 compared to 315 per 100,000 in the US.

So, despite the conflicting reports, mainstream doctors are likely to continue linking cholesterol with heart disease, and prescribing statin, or other cholesterol lowering drugs. While you may very well need these types of drugs, it is very important to understand exactly why you need them, and the difference between your LDL (bad) and your HDL (good) cholesterol. Some doctors will prescribe drugs readily, and others, who employ a more holistic approach, may offer ongoing tests as part of an overall health measurement system. This type of system, such as that offered by I-M Health, can provide you with valuable and detailed information, enabling you to take a certain amount of responsibility for your own health.