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Article: SPURN "TOTAL CHOLESTEROL" - by Ira Edwards |
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We've been snookered. Cholesterol has great value in the body in being so totally insoluble that it gives cells stability in a water environment. It is also used to produce steroid hormones and vitamin D. To carry drops of cholesterol in blood, they must be coated with protein. Two forms of this protein-cholesterol glob are HDL and LDL, which are often misnamed good and bad cholesterol. The idea of cholesterol as a medical demon comes from decades of acceptance, but NOT by clear research. Scientists have reviewed the research and found it inadequate. (Read THE CHOLESTEROL MYTHS by Uffe Ravnskov, and www.thincs.org.) Their voice is small, overpowered by the roar of medical propaganda. It doesn't help that the present paradigm provides a basis for billions of dollars in profits for drug and supplement companies, and provides your local health provider with an easy diagnosis and well-known treatments. The total cholesterol figure (TC) became the touchstone of health awareness. NO! That figure is both useless and misleading. "High total cholesterol" detracts attention from such useful figures as triglyceride (TG) and HDL. These indicate greater danger of heart and artery disease: low HDL level, small size HDL and LDL particles, high TG, fibrinogen, oxidation of cholesterol, elevated lipoprotein-a (LPa) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Most doctors would wrongly add "high LDL level." However, there is more evidence of problems with low LDL than high. Low LDL links with depression. Cholesterol-lowering drugs and supplements can be healthful for other reasons, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. fish oil, for example, lowers TC as it lowers TG, prevents blood clots, reduces inflammation in blood vessels, and supplies much needed nutrients for nerve and heart function. Statin drugs have no benefit that is not better and more safely produced by fish oil, resveratrol, B vitamins and other heart-healthful supplements. Dr. William Davis (Life Extension Sept. 2006) cites a case of a woman with a TG test of 2893 mg/dl and TC of 594 mg/dl. Because those values were so high, levels of LDL and HDL could not be determined. After treatment with fish oil and a low-carb diet, her HDL level was 70. TG fell to 144, still slightly high. TC would add no useful information. An HDL level of 70 is so good that even high TG becomes not much of a threat. Because HDL is part of TC, and high HDL is good, then high TC can be good. Since TC can be good or bad depending of TG and HDL levels, why not spurn this total cholesterol test as useless? Cholesterol is useful as a material for production of steroid hormones. A shortage of such hormones might be a cause of elevated cholesterol, as the body tries to compensate by producing more of the precursor material. But what doctor pays any attention to that? So, omit distracting TC and LDL figures. Test for meaningful HDL and TG for lipid levels, and add other tests for oxidation and inflammation. A challenge: What vendor of cholesterol-lowering products will be truthful about what these products do, and what is their real value, if any? |
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Ira Edwards is author of a 2006 book HONEST NUTRITION, which is an attempt bring some understanding out of the ocean of nutritional prattle. It is an integration of alternative and standard understanding. See details at www.trafford.com/06-1866. |
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