Cholesterol is a symptom, not the disease

Welcome to Part One of our Cholesterol series where we separate the common myths from reality around what your Doctors tell you and why.

High cholesterol is a symptom of an underlying health problem. It predicts less than 35% of cardiovascular disease. In fact, most heart attack and stroke events occur in individuals without elevated cholesterol. At least half of all cardiac arrests occur in people with normal cholesterol levels and 20% occur in people without any traditional risk factors. Cholesterol is the messenger telling us that there is stress on the liver; cholesterol is not the killer it is made out to be.

Why aren’t we told everything?
A significantly better (than cholesterol) predictor of the risk of heart attack or stroke is the concentration of omega 3 oils in the blood. The higher the concentrations, the lower the risks. , , , , , , , Omega 3 concentrations predict up to 90% of CVD compared to a 35% prediction rate from cholesterol readings. But there is no money to be made in prescribing omega 3 oils. Omega 3 oils also reduce triglycerides and other risk factors for CVD, as well as reducing the risk of many other forms of chronic illness—from Alzheimer’s to arthritis and cancer. This is due to the anti-inflammatory effect of fish oils. F ish oils have only positive side effects and far outweigh any benefit from statin drugs.

There are many more indicators in addition to cholesterol
Another marker of inflammation in the body is C-reactive protein (CRP). C-reactive protein is a better predictor of CVD than cholesterol. People with elevated CRP run twice the risk of dying from cardiovascular-related problems compared to those who have elevated cholesterol levels. However, CRP is just a marker and, like cholesterol, it is not the cause. We want to get CRP lower but not by a drug that lowers CRP only; we want to lower it by lowering inflammation. When inflammation is reduced, one result is CRP comes down.

C-reactive protein is produced in the liver and other tissues in response to inflammation anywhere in the body. It is manufactured as part of the body’s immune response against infection and injury, but this response can cause damage if it produces excess and chronic inflammation. CRP levels are improved by the same factors that improve cardiovascular health: exercise, good diet, maintaining a healthy weight and not smoking. One study demonstrated that supplementing with 500 milligrams (mg) of vitamin C reduced CRP by 25%, while numerous other studies have shown that supplementing with vitamins and minerals also reduces CRP and the inflammatory process.

Article by Dr Dingle