The following article is largely based on the books “Fat and Cholesterol are Good for You” by Ulfe Ravnskov, MD, PhD, and “Cholesterol Clarity” by Jimmy Moore. I highly recommend that you read these books for further insights on the controversial topic of cholesterol. Furthermore, deciding whether to be under statin or not, should be thoroughly discussed with your trust-worthy health professionals before making any decisions. 

 

It is widely accepted today that raised cholesterol levels increase the risks of cardiovascular diseases. But did you know that cholesterol is not a deadly poison, but rather a superhero in our bodies? They help us absorb vitamin D, digest fat, regulate salt and water levels, produce steroid hormones and so much more. Read on to find out more about cholesterol and maybe even shift your accustomed pessimistic views on cholesterol. 

 

CHOLESTEROL LOWERING DRUGS: STATINS

The biggest reason why medical doctors and the general population are afraid of high cholesterol levels is that it is known to directly predispose individuals to heart diseases and atherosclerosis. Once diagnosed with a form of cardiovascular disease or high cholesterol levels, the most common treatment modality is lifelong administration of statin drugs.

There’s mounting research that statins raise the possibilities of diabetes, coronary calcification, cancer and other countless adverse reactions (Atherosclerosis, Diabetes). Furthermore, it is true that the cholesterol campaign brings vast prosperity for researchers, doctors, medical journals and pharmaceutical companies. A good example is the new NHS guideline, where statins are normally prescribed to people with 20% risk of CVD, but the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says that should be reduced to 10%. This basically suggests that healthy individuals should take statins, and to some extent, enforces the medical doctors to prescribe statins rather than focusing on the root causes of heart diseases. Such proposition puts at a risk of creating a culture of negligence towards the importance of educating the public to make healthier lifestyle choices. The most important thing to understand is that, it’s not lowering cholesterol that solves everything; it is avoiding the inflammatory processes in your system and thus atherosclerosis by practicing a natural and proactive approach to health and wellness.  

 

 

IS HIGH CHOLESTEROL REALLY THAT BAD?

In certain aspects, high cholesterol is actually better than low cholesterol.15 years ago, American researchers have found that low cholesterol predisposes to an increased risk of mortality from infectious diseases of the stomach, intestines and the lungs.

LDLs (Low Density Lipoproteins) are normally known as the “bad cholesterol”, as it is assumed to contribute in the development of heart diseases. But did you know that LDLs have a function of taking care of microorganisms and their toxic products?

In the book, “Fat and Cholesterol are Good for You” by Ulfe Ravnskov, the author cites a study performed by Dr. Willy Flegel and his co-workers at Heidelberg University in Germany where they confirmed that LDL cholesterol function to neutralize bacterial toxins. To add, another study performed by Professor Kenneth Feingold and his group at the University of California performed studies in a controlled environment on rats, which confirmed the above hypothesis. Furthermore, high cholesterol is known to protect us against allergy and that people with high cholesterol actually lives the longest!

Which makes us ponder on the question, whether it’s the cholesterol levels alone that predispose individuals to heart diseases, or is inflammation and cholesterol levels two separate things? Would it be really wise to artificially lower our cholesterol levels with drugs which has been proven to cause a myriad of other health problems? Or to lower the level of inflammation through healthy diet and lifestyle choices? 

 

THE VERDICT

There are prominent health professionals today that claim that -- the cholesterol theory of heart disease is nonsense, and that the condition of “high cholesterol” is a disease invented by man. But in contrast, there’s a lot of research and medical doctors who suggest that suffering from high cholesterol and doing nothing about it (not taking statins) is essentially waiting for something to go bad. Such conflicting ideas and evidences confuse the general public as to what to believe. So what should you do if you are diagnosed with high cholesterol?

Before you decide to take action about your cholesterol levels, you should do your own research and question your go-to doctor and make enquiries about the latest scientific evidence on statins and high cholesterol on its associations to heart diseases and general health. But my best advice is to fight and correct the underlying cause of “inflammation” and not to artificially lower your cholesterol levels with statins. There are many ways you can achieve this, but most obvious methods are undertaking healthier lifestyle choices on a daily basis, such as developing healthier habits in diet, lowering alcohol consumption and exercises. 

Statins are medications that you take lifelong and there's no coming back. There are many people who successfully control their cholesterol levels (if they see the need to) in so many natural ways. Health is something you adapt and adopt to, not something you buy in a form of a pill.