The pharmaceutical industry has propagated one of the greatest lies in the history of medicine. The belief that tweaking a symptom this way or that, by shutting off a signaling molecule, enzyme or hormone actually fixes the problem. Sadly, the underlying issue is often exacerbated by these pharmaceuticals. The medical industry has followed along, prescribing dangerous drugs instead of diet and exercise interventions. It probably has something to do with money.
A classic example is statins, which are the most prescribed drugs in the United States. There are a half dozen different types of these “HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors,” which are lipid-lowering medications prescribed for the prevention of coronary heart disease, i.e. reducing cholesterol. Here’s a statement from the AHA about cholesterol levels, for what it’s worth:
“For some people, lifestyle changes, such as a healthier diet and more exercise, may prevent or treat unhealthy cholesterol levels. For others with high cholesterol, medication may also be needed. Work with your doctor to develop a treatment plan that’s right for you. If medication is required, be sure to take it as prescribed. The potential benefit to your health is worth making these medications part of your normal routine.“
“For some people.” Do the rest of the people just sit around with a can of Pringle’s, watching Netflix and popping their “HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors?” What about making exercise and a healthy diet, a prescription for everyone? Statins work in the liver to prevent cholesterol from forming, which reduces the amount of cholesterol circulating in the blood, but is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Fact or Fiction
The cholesterol, (lipid) “hypothesis” has been treated as fact since the “Seven Countries Study” by Ancel Keys, even though it has been comprehensively discredited for decades.
hy·poth·e·sis
/hīˈpäTHəsəs/
noun
a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.
They’ve actually removed dietary limits for cholesterol from the “Dietary Guidelines for Americans,” as there is no supporting evidence that proves a low cholesterol diet improves cardiovascular health. But far too many folks are still trapped in the eggs are bad, meat is bad, butter is bad, cholesterol is bad, “echo chamber.”
The pharmaceutical solution to the hypothesis that saturated fat and cholesterol cause cardiovascular dysfunction has created the health epidemic that it was supposed to fix. Your cardiovascular system requires saturated fat and cholesterol to maintain homeostasis, not to mention it being a precursor to many hormones, and a structural component in your cells. The idea that polyunsaturated fats are heart healthy and saturated fats are dangerous is completely backasswards.
Cholesterol Does NOT Cause Heart Disease
A Vital Nutrient
Cholesterol provides the structure for many hormones and enzymes and has numerous functions in the body. Your body is filled with it, especially your brain and nervous system. Cholesterol is not some dangerous toxic substance that destroys health and causes heart disease, it’s a vital nutrient that’s necessary for all aspects of your health. A lack of cholesterol results in impaired cognitive function and depression. Your brain contains about 25% of the cholesterol in your body and is vital to brain function.
You use roughly 1,000 and 2,000 mg of cholesterol per day. When you reduce the amount of cholesterol you eat, your body just makes more. Not only does the cholesterol level in your blood not cause heart disease, eating foods with cholesterol doesn’t increase levels anyway. They are influenced by numerous variables, but the largest effect is probably metabolism. The metabolism – cholesterol connection has been known about for decades but is largely ignored by present day doctors.
When your metabolism is high, you produce plenty of cholesterol and use more to produce hormones, which reduces the amount of cholesterol in your blood. When your metabolism is low, you produce less cholesterol and use less, leaving more in your blood. High blood cholesterol is representative of a low metabolism and heart disease. Cholesterol is the symptom, low metabolism is the problem that needs to be addressed.
Statins may reduce the possibility of a fatal heart attack in the “at risk” population but at what cost? Like many pharmaceuticals, you need to evaluate the significant number of side effects and whether the tradeoff is worth it. Statins cause muscle damage, dementia, neural degenerative problems, diabetes, liver injury and kidney failure. You might prevent a fatal heart attack but still die of diabetes or live with devastating pain.
Turbo Charged
Cholesterol is an important nutrient for your immune system as well and while it’s found in atherosclerotic plaques, it’s there in a protective and defensive role, not the cause of heart disease. Polyunsaturated fats, on the other hand, are found in these plaques too and are a much larger contributing factor to heart disease. Cholesterol is one of the most important nutrients in your body. It’s essential for brain function and immune function.
You need cholesterol and you don’t need to fear eggs, meat or any other food that contains it or that increases your bodies production of it, like saturated fat. These foods are exactly what you need to support your metabolism and your health. If you have high cholesterol, a low metabolism is the likely culprit, not the foods you eat, and a magic pill from a pharmaceutical company is not the answer.
The best way to fix your metabolism is through diet and exercise. For seniors, growing new muscle is difficult but that’s exactly what fixing your metabolism looks like. Protein is essential, along with plenty of quality carbohydrates and saturated fatty acids. Restricting calories slows metabolism and most seniors are already deficient in both macro and micro nutrients.
The aging process can become a vicious cycle of progressive loss of muscle mass, leading to reduced strength and physical endurance; culminating in sarcopenia. Sarcopenia, has become quite common in sedentary seniors. A program of aerobic and resistance exercise will counteract sarcopenia. Good nutrition is the other key, together they will turbo charge your metabolism.
“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” ~ Jim Rohn