Is Cholesterol Killing You, Or…?

Welcome to Part Seven in our Cholesterol series where we separate the common myths from reality.

Cholesterol has been given an undeserved bad reputation by the media and in medical circles. Did you know, without cholesterol you wouldn’t stay alive, let alone thrive? Cholesterol is needed in our cell walls. It plays a critical role in cellular communication and is important for energy production (1). It is important both structurally and functionally for our brain. In fact cholesterol is so important, if our dietary intake is low, our body will produce more.

“Cholesterol is the starting material of many essential chemicals including vitamin D, steroid hormones and the bile acids necessary for digestion”(2). It even helps the function of our happy hormone, serotonin, and is important for our immune system. High cholesterol has been linked to heart dis-ease. However, low levels of cholesterol are also harmful to our health(3), and increase ‘all-cause mortality’(4)− that means death from ALL causes.

Even though a‘link’exists, a link is not the same as a cause. An imbalance in the blood lipids is like the petrol light on your dashboard. The petrol light being illuminated is not the cause of the empty tank. It is simply an indicator that something is wrong. If cholesterol was the cause of cardiovascular dis-ease, surely the large numbers of people being treated with cholesterol lowering drugs would have brought about a decrease in the number of people dying from heart dis-ease and stroke. This is not the case.

Food like eggs have been placed incorrectly on the ‘bad for cholesterol’ list, but are fantastic for your body, containing many important nutrients; from protein, to Vitamin A, Vitamin B2 to Vitamin D and E, Iron to Zinc and good fats.

The fats that are harmful for us are those created artificially(5). The altered fats in margarine, and refined foods such as many breads, cakes, fast foods and packaged foods, increase inflammation in the body – the real cause of cardiovascular dis-ease(6, 7). If you want to improve your health, eat as naturally and varied as possible.

Balancing and maintaining healthy cholesterol levels is best, and most safely, done by adopting a healthy lifestyle.

Dr Rebecca Harwin
Nutritionist, Chiropractor And PCOS Expert
Author of the soon-to-be released books
'Conquer Your PCOS Naturally' and 'Conquer Your Back Pain Naturally'
www.facebook.com/ConquerYourPCOS

1 Girão H., Catarino S., Pereir P., “Cell Communication and Signalling” A Research on 7-Ketocholesterol modulates intercellular through gap-junction in bovine lens epithelial cell.
2 Dr Dingle, November 2009 Newsletter.
3 Fonarow G.C., Horwich T.J, 2003, ‘Cholesterol and Mortality in Heart Failure: the Bad Gone Good?,’ Journal of the American College of Cardiology,; 42:1941-1943.
4 Ulmer H., Kelleher C., Diem G., Concin H, January-February 2004, ‘Why Eve is Not Adam: Prospective Follow up in 149,650 Women and Men of Cholesterol and Other Risk Factors Related to Cardiovascular and All-cause Mortality’, Journal of Women’s Health (Larchmt), 13(1):41-53
5 The Regulation toPhase Out Artificial Trans Fat In New York City Food Service Establishments, Section 81.08 of the New York City
Health Code
6 A Collins, “Inflammation vs High Cholesterol – The Real Cause of Arterial Plaque Build Up”, Journal of Article Base, March 26, 2006
7 Graveline D. MD MPH, “Statins, Inflammation and Heart Disease”, Journal of Spacedoc, 2008-20011