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The Great Cholesterol Myth

Say the word “cholesterol” and watch people start to squirm. Why? Because it seems that there is no other health metric that attracts as much negative attention as the one attached to your cholesterol level, which is supposedly a good predictor of future heart disease.

So each year, or maybe even several times a year, your doctor orders a battery of blood tests that includes your total cholesterol level, along with levels of “good” (HDL) and “bad” (LDL) cholesterol. When these measurements are outside certain averages, expect a big red mark in your chart – and a “dressing down” to warn you that you have three months to bring it down on your own or it’s cholesterol reduction medication time!

Would it come as a shock to you to know that your body actually manufactures cholesterol? Or that your body needs cholesterol to digest fats? Do you know that cholesterol is necessary to every cell in your body? Or… that “low” cholesterol is associated with adverse physical conditions that include asthma, allergies, low sex drive, infertility and other reproductive organ disorders, problems with blood sugar, cancer, depression, risk of stroke and aggression?

And maybe you didn’t know that your body, particularly your liver and small intestine, produces about 75% of the cholesterol your body needs. The rest comes from foods you eat. Your body is a wonderful self-regulator, all on its own. If you eat too much cholesterol or cholesterol-producing foods, the liver slows down its production. If you don’t eat enough, the liver produces more.

As to claims that high cholesterol is a marker for coronary heart disease, there is a growing list of medical professionals who have taken a stand at debunking this myth, along with routinely prescribed cholesterol-reducing medications, known as statins. Their findings? That there seems to be little correlation between high cholesterol levels and heart disease. Are prescriptions for statins to control cholesterol just a pharmaceutical company marketing ploy to sell drugs?

What about those statins that people take to lower cholesterol? Some doctors who prescribe them seem totally uninformed about their side effects, which include increased risk for breast cancer, gastrointestinal pain, abdominal bloating, constipation, vomiting and nausea.

Caution! It makes sense to conduct your own research before you take any drug that is designed to reduce the levels of something your body produces naturally.