Elevated Cholesterol Levels: Cause for Worry?

Fact: Half of all heart related deaths occur in people who have normal cholesterol levels.

In the United States, we have been brainwashed into believing that consuming saturated fat and having elevated cholesterol are synonymous with death from heart disease. This is called the Diet-Heart Hypothesis.

Problem is it's not true. Considering the fact stated above, and all the studies which suggest that higher cholesterol levels are associated with lower rates of mortality from any cause, we should consider the idea that cholesterol may be a substance we want to encourage, not reduce.

In fact, cholesterol is an essential substance, and it provides substantial benefit to body health:

• Cholesterol is essential to life. Every cell in your body requires cholesterol to maintain cell wall integrity. Your brain, which is the seat of your memories, your personality, your very essence, is comprised of about 20% of your body cholesterol.

• Cholesterol is the building material from which your body makes vitamin D, hormones and bile acids for digestion.

• Cholesterol helps the body fight infections and indeed this may be its most important benefit. Current research has suggested that heart disease and atherosclerosis may be caused by infectious organisms and the resulting inflammation they cause. Higher levels of cholesterol protect the body from these inflammatory microorganisms.

• Cholesterol acts as a protective substance against stroke and cancer.

• Cholesterol is used by the body to repair cellular damage.

• People with higher levels of cholesterol live the longest. There are multiple studies which support this fact. This is especially true for the elderly.

• A study in 2003 by Pfreiger revealed that the brain uses cholesterol to build the synaptic connections between its neurons. In fact, the brain has special cells called glial cells which are specifically adapted to make cholesterol for neuronal connections.

• Current research is revealing that lower cholesterol levels are related to the development of Alzheimer's disease. Henry Lorin has written an interesting book on this subject called Alzheimer's Solved: Condensed Edition.

• Cholesterol is so important to your body that it will make it if you don’t eat enough. This self regulation makes it very difficult to use a low fat diet alone to lower your cholesterol. The less cholesterol you eat, the more cholesterol your body makes.

Elevated Cholesterol is Good

There are multiple studies which provide evidence that even cholesterol levels as high as 300 mg/dl are not the dire health problem the government, drug companies and other nutritional experts would have you believe.

The real culprit in heart disease is the elevated insulin and blood sugars brought on by eating highly refined carbs, and too many carbs in general.

Eating a lower carb, higher saturated fat diet will have some seriously positive health effects:

• your insulin and blood sugar levels will stabilize at lower concentrations, which will result in less arterial damage
• if it is higher than normal, your total cholesterol will decrease, while your HDL will go up
• your triglycerides and small LDL numbers will drop
• your blood pressure will normalize
• a low carb diet also reduces your C-Reactive Protein (CRP) levels and HBA1c levels. These are both markers of inflammation and heart disease risk.
• In addition, any pre-diabetes symptoms that you may have should go away as well.

The fact is that chronically high blood sugar and insulin are at the root of heart disease, as well as most autoimmune diseases. Cholesterol levels have never been linked definitively to heart disease in any study.

There are several long term studies that have indicated having a cholesterol level over 200 mg/dl lowers your risk of death from all causes (stroke, cancer, diabetes, CHD, etc.).

MRFIT

The 1986 MRFIT study was widely touted as proof that the rate of mortality increases as cholesterol levels increase.

However, the relationship between high cholesterol levels and heart disease mortality was shown in only one age group - men aged 37-54. Overall mortality rates weren't reported.

When another team of researchers looked at the MRFIT data and compared overall mortality rates for each successive category of cholesterol levels, the results were very different.

Those participants in the lowest cholesterol level category had a greater "all-cause" death rate than participants in the other cholesterol level categories, with an exception for the group with very high cholesterol levels (>300 mg/dl).

The lowest "all-cause" mortality rates were seen in the group whose cholesterol levels were in the 160 - 219 mg/fl range.

Here's a paper and a blog with more information about the inadequacies of the MRFIT data.

Framingham

This result parallels the results from a 30 year analysis of the Framingham Study, a study often quoted as proof of the the hypothesis that high cholesterol causes heart disease.

The results of the Framingham study were published in 1964. At that time, researchers claimed to have found a weak association between mean cholesterol levels and heart disease in people under the age of 50.

However, when you look at the cholesterol levels of those who developed CHD and those who didn’t, the actual data was inconclusive. Some of the participants with low cholesterol developed heart disease, and some with high cholesterol did not.

However, more importantly, the Framingham researchers found NO correlation for high cholesterol and heart disease in those participants who were over 50. Since 95% of all CHD deaths occur in people over the age of 55, this was certainly significant.

But here’s the most important result: In 1987, the Framingham researchers published a 30 year follow up report on the “all cause mortality rates” of the Framingham residents.

They looked not only at coronary heart disease deaths, but deaths from stroke, cancer and other illnesses.

The researchers reported a surprising outcome.

For those participants who were over age 50, lower cholesterol rates were associated with a higher risk of death from CHD and all causes. In fact, for every 1 mg/dl drop in cholesterol levels, there was a 14% increase in heart related death, and an 11% increase in overall mortality.

In other words, declining levels of cholesterol increased the risk of death from all causes, not just CHD.

This newer information from the Framingham study, and indeed most study results which don’t support the low fat hypothesis, have been largely ignored by the National Institutes of Health, the AHA, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and the mainstream media. You won't find mention of this 30 year follow up paper on the Framingham website. And you certainly won't find it on the American Heart Association's website either.

Evidentially, after 30 years of scaring people into believing that elevated cholesterol levels are deadly, advising physicians to prescribe dangerous statin drugs which override the body's natural mechanisms to maintain cholesterol as a protective mechanism, and building huge financial structures on this advice, these groups can’t confess to having been wrong.

The Protective Nature of Cholesterol

If we consider the supposition that cholesterol is a necessary and protective substance, it's not a big leap to suppose that forcibly lowering it with drugs might cause injury to your body.

Unfortunately, that is just what is happening to people taking statin drugs to lower their high cholesterol levels.

Dr. Duane Graveline writes:

"There is no doubt that the present notoriety of cholesterol has all but obscured its physiological importance and necessity in our bodies. Cholesterol is not only the most common organic molecule in the brain, it is also distributed intimately throughout the entire body.

It is an essential constituent of the membrane surrounding every cell. The presence of cholesterol in this fatty double layer of the cell wall adjusts the fluid level and rigidity of this membrane to the proper value for both cell stability and function.

Additionally, cholesterol is metabolized into other essential body steroids known as the steroid hormones and is therefore the sole source for the formation of the very powerful chemicals in our body that determine our sexuality, control the reproductive process and make possible our very existence.

In its misguided war on cholesterol as the primary cause of atherosclerosis, the pharmaceutical industry would lead us to believe that a rapid bottoming out of our natural cholesterol levels through the use of statin drugs is a relatively innocuous process of definite benefit to society. But as we learn more each day of this ubiquitous and unique cholesterol substance, we must question the veracity of this advice. Cholesterol is perhaps the most important substance in our lives."

Here's some science to back that up.. This recent study highlighted the "paradox" of why patients with higher cholesterol levels survive hospital stays more often. (Paradox, in this case, is short for "hmm, this result doesn't fit our belief that cholesterol is a killer.")

Cholesterol Lowering is Big Business

Given all the evidence which confirms that cholesterol is protective and necessary for good health, I find it bizarre that the US government and most physicians work very hard to get people to lower their cholesterol levels as much as possible. The message that cholesterol is harmful is embedded deeply in the American psyche, and so the public doesn't question this misguided and harmful agenda.

But make no mistake, the drive to lower cholesterol is very big business. Billions of dollars, thousands of jobs, and a multitude of agencies are involved in the overall goal of lowering American cholesterol levels. Huge amounts of money are spent to educate patients on the false benefits of a low fat, low cholesterol diet. Big pharmaceutical companies spend millions on developing and marketing drugs that lower cholesterol, often with injurious or lethal consequences.

For example, statin drugs, which cause serious nerve, muscle and kidney damage, are being prescribed in mind boggling numbers. Between 2000 and 2005, the total prescriptions for statin drugs nearly doubled, bringing the 2005 yearly total to 174 million.

And there are individual perks for physicians who participate in this cholesterol lowering business too. Pharmaceutical companies pay doctors huge amounts of money to "educate" other doctors about the benefits of drugs. In a story from New York Magazine, one doctor speaks of the addictiveness of the $750 he was paid each time he briefly mentioned a particular drug to colleagues during a lunch break.

That's a great deal of money and effort being spent on a goal that in the end, is extremely harmful to the patient.

And here's the real kicker: the original "healthy" cholesterol levels weren't set by doctors using scientific trials and medical results. In classic American political style, it was chosen by three men trying to get funding from Congress to continue cholesterol trials at the NHLBI. (National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute). They reasoned that a cutoff of 200 mg/dl would provide the largest population for use in future studies.

Mary Enig, PhD was there and heard the whole conversation. She writes about it here.

The New Cholesterol Guidelines

The new cholesterol guidelines have turned tens of thousands or healthy people into patients, "eligible" for cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.

Most disturbing is that the development of these new health standards are shrouded in mystery. No one thinks to ask who is involved or how the guidelines are set.

When a correspondent asked the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) why there were no open meetings required for the development of the new standards, and why the New Guidelines were not published in the Federal Register, he received the following amazing reply:

". . . the guidelines for cholesterol management released on May 15, 2001 were developed by a panel of experts--the Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III [ATP III])--convened by the National Cholesterol Education Program, an educational program coordinated by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

The ATP III panel is not an advisory committee to the NHLBI but rather a group of recognized experts providing their scientific judgment about cholesterol management to clinicians.

The panel's recommendations for clinicians are based on a thorough review of the scientific evidence by the panel. The guidelines developed by the ATP III are not regulations and health professionals are not required to follow them."

The "recognized experts" include Drs. Grundy, Hunninghake, McBride, Pasternak, Stone and Schwartz, all of whom have received consultant fees from the producers of statin drugs. (source: Weston Price Foundation).

Why is the Truth Hidden

The truth about heart disease and healthy cholesterol levels is obscured by the American government, the mainstream media, national medical associations and the drug companies for reasons of financial income and prestige.

These organizations have major financial and credibility issues at stake in making sure the public believes in the importance of lowering blood cholesterol levels.

They ignore the contradictory evidence and research about the true causes of heart disease to keep the "elevated cholesterol causes heart disease" myth alive, because they depend on it for financial gain and credibility with American public.

If these organizations were to suddenly reverse position on this issue, all of that money and prestige would disappear.

Have no doubt that these organizations are choosing to put your life and the life of every American citizen at risk, every day, so they can stick to their lucrative, but mythical story about heart disease.

The fact is heart disease is NOT caused by elevated cholesterol levels and saturated fat intake. This fact is supported by a multitude of controlled scientific studies commissioned and funded by some of these mainstream organizations trying to tell you otherwise.

Elevated cholesterol levels have been wrongly accused as the cause of heart disease for the past 40 years to the detriment of our national health. Our nutritional "experts" have given us advice based not on science, but on financial gain and plain old pride.

Alternatively, recent studies point to a strong correlation between heart disease and high blood sugar and insulin levels. Yet, organizations like the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, and the National Institutes of Health are still recommending that people eat a high carbohydrate, low fat diet.

Low fat diets have the end result of raising blood sugar levels for most people. Given the facts about cholesterol and the dangers of high blood sugar, this "eat low fat foods–lower your cholesterol" recommendation is tantamount to fraud, and unbelievably shameful in the light that so many physicians and consumers depend on these nutritional authorities for drug and health advice.

A Final Note on High Cholesterol and Drugs

If your cholesterol levels are elevated, and your doctor has mentioned drugs, please, please at least read the following resources, so you can make an informed decision. Doing so could save your health or even your life.

• Whole Health Source: List of Studies Which Do NOT support the Diet Heart Hypothesis
• Health Policy on Blood Cholesterol -Time to Change Directions paper published in Circulation 1992 86:3:1026-1029
• A Doctor Discusses the Dangers of Low Cholesterol
• The Statin Effects Study website
• THINCS: The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics
• Spacedoc.net, a website by Duane Graveline, M.D.
• The Benefits of High Cholesterol by Uffe Ravnskov
• Medical Consumers website.
• Cholesterol and Health
• What's Cholesterol Got To Do With It? - article by Gary Taubes
• Dr. Drug Rep: article in New York Times magazine
• Spacedoc.net Forums: Read anecdotal evidence about the damage statins cause to individual health.
• The Great Cholesterol Con: The Truth About What Really Causes Heart Disease and How to Avoid It by Dr. Malcolm McKendrick
• The Great Cholesterol Con by Anthony Colpo
• Alzheimer's Solved: Condensed Edition by Henry Lorin, DMD.
• Fat and Cholesterol are Good for You by Uffe Ravnskov, MD PhD
• The Cholesterol Myths: Exposing the Fallacy That Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Cause Heart Disease by Uffe Ravnskov, MD PhD. This book is out of print, but you may be able to find copies on the web.
• Lack of Association Between Cholesterol and Coronary Heart Disease Mortality and Morbidity and All-Cause Mortality in Persons Older Than 70 Years A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association

Large volumes of evidence support the fact that in addition to having no link to heart disease, borderline high cholesterol levels actually lower your risk of having a stroke or succumbing to an early death from cancer, digestive or respiratory diseases.

In addition, there are many documented cases of statin drugs causing serious injury and death to otherwise healthy people. Educate yourself!

What to Say to Your Physician

Get your physician involved in a discussion about cholesterol levels and the study results which contradict the mainstream lipid hypothesis:

• Ask him or her to look at the studies which prove there is no relationship between high cholesterol blood levels and arteriosclerosis.
• Ask why many long term study reassessments like Framingham and MRFIT have shown that people with "elevated" cholesterol levels have the lowest rates of “all cause mortality”.
• Ask about natural treatments such as Pantethine for lowering cholesterol, and CoQ10 and L-Carnitine for increased heart health.

• Point out that current research models are suggesting that low cholesterol levels are associated with Alzheimer's Disease.

If you get the answer that this contradictory information is bunk, maybe you need a new physician.

Disclaimer:

I am not a physician or a clinical nutritionist. The advice on this website is not intended to replace the advice of your physician.

My intention is to provide the alternative facts, so that you have all the information you need to make informed decisions about your health care.

Done with Cholesterol Levels, take me Home