What is Cholesterol?
It's the evil yellow sticky stuff that causes heart attacks right?
Wrong.....
- Cholesterol allows us to have a functioning brain and nervous system, your brain contains 25% of the body’s cholesterol highly concentrated in the myelin sheath which encloses axons that transport messages from one side to the other.
- Cholesterol is critical to mitochondria and cell structure, responsible for overall energy and immune function.
- Fat is important! It is a source of energy and critical to brain and nerve function, it cushions and protects vital organs and serves as an insulator to the body and it carries vitamins A, D, E, and K through the bloodstream. In fact 60-80% of the body’s energy needs comes from stored fat and during low to moderate intensity workouts fat is the predominant fuel source to carbohydrates.
Total Cholesterol (the number you get back from the doctor) is comprised of LDL, HDL and Triglycerides. While it is recommnedned that overall cholesterol be lower than 200 mm/dl, knowing your breakdown can better help you improve in the correct areas.
LDL – low density lipoprotein.. or the “bad”
cholesterol. – I always remember it as “L”
for “Lousy”. LDL has a high triglyceride content which allows it to easily
build up on arterial walls. LDL is the main marker for cardiovascular health; ideal
levels of LDL should be lower than 100 mg/dl. Diets high in saturated and trans
fats and cholesterol contribute to higher LDL levels.
HDL – high density lipoprotein.. or the “good”
cholesterol. HDL has higher protein content and lower triglyceride content than
LDL. HDL acts like a broom “sweeping” out cholesterol from the blood stream and
arteries and delivering it to the liver for removal from the body. Because of
this persons with high level of HDL cholesterol (60+ mg/dl) are said to be more
protected against heart disease. Low fat diet and exercise have been shown to
increase HDL levels.
Triglycerides - Quite simply - fat in the blood. An estimated 98% of ingested fats are triglycerides
and are the most common fat found in the human body. If your LDL level is high chances are your triglyceride level will also be high. Optimal triglyceride levels are less than 150 mg/dl.
Not
surprisingly, high fat diets produce fat levels in the blood. So
naturally high cholesterol levels have been shown in most cases of heart
disease or heart attack. Does this mean that cholesterol causes these
ailments or just that it is a contributing factor?
America is clearly obsessed with lowering cholesterol, everywhere you look there is a cereal, power drink or granola bar promising to
lower total cholesterol by a certain number of points.
Simvastatin Medication - Even worse mass-marketed
simvastatin (statin) medications like Lipitor, Crestor and Vytorin are taken by
a whopping 30 million Americans. In my opinion, these drugs give people the
false sense of health and most have absolutely no idea how they work. Stain
medications do NOT clear your body of cholesterol or magically prevent that
bacon double cheeseburger from ending up on your artery walls. They prevent
your liver from producing cholesterol, which will of course lower that magic number on your cholesterol test... but at what cost.
Specifically, HMG co-enzyme A reductase
and Co-enzyme Q10 which are the catalyst enzymes to produce cholesterol;
responsible for mitochondria function in cells and immune function overall. CoQ10 is responsible for cell mitochondria renewing ATP which
is the main energy source for your body. Depletion of this enzyme inhibits
cells from producing enough ATP therefore increasing lactic acid in the body,
causing chronic muscle aches, soreness and fatigue.
As mentioned, cholesterol
allows us to have a functioning brain and nervous system, your brain contains
25% of the body’s cholesterol highly concentrated in the myelin sheath which
encloses axons that transport messages from one side to the other. So it is no surprise that ALS, Lou Gehrig’s
disease, Memory loss and Dementia have been tied to long term statin use.
So, your liver … and organ in your body that is designed
to produce and store this critical lipid to your body’s functions is now being
shut down. The damage to the liver, cells and brain is profound and proven …
but as long as the American public can be sold taking a pill over actual exercise
and diet, the evidence is irrelevant.
My main point about the Statins is to know what your are taking, how it works and what it is really doing to your body. Do not substitute drugs for healthy lifestyle choices, I think we all learned form Jack an the Beanstalk that one should be skeptical of "magic beans".
To share my personal experience with cholesterol – I have bad
family cholesterol genetics, when I was 12 my cholesterol was tested for the first
time at 302 mg/dl. Now 30 years old I have made significant lifestyle changes
over the last 10 years, I eat a mostly plant based diet and I am a distance
runner and triathlete. My last cholesterol test showed an LDL of 101 mg/dl and
an HDL of 89 mg/dl. My doctor was impressed. The numbers speak for themselves.
Thanks for reading, as always I welcome comments, criticisms and opinions!
Pursue!
Michelle
Sources:
Federal Drug Administration. FDA. Simvastatin. Retrieved
from. http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm257884.htm
Fink, H., Burgoon, L., & Mikesky, A,. (2009).
Practical applications in sports nutrition. Chapter 4; Fats, Sudbury, MA: Jones
and Bartlett Publishers
Seneff. S (2011). How Statins Really Work Explains
Why They Don't Really Work. http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/why_statins_dont_really_work.html
Weil. A, (2002). Cholesterol: Can it Get Too Low? Retrieved
from. http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA43423
