Today’s blog is covering the controversial topic of cholesterol and statins.
Before I get to some cool cholesterol facts, I want to talk about the health & medical information that is passed onto us by those we are told to trust.
How many of you have heard over the years that a high cholesterol count is a predictor of poor health and that you are going to keel over and have a heart attack if you don’t cut out all the fat from your diet straight away?
I’m guessing most of you have heard it sometime, from somewhere that is supposed to be an authority on health.
The message is not new, it comes from our doctors, magazines and health journals, etc., and we trust that the news comes from proper research and people who are qualified to interpret it and subsequently share it.
I spend a great deal of my free time reading studies and journal articles about topics that related to my master’s research and to areas that I am personally interested.
My constant reading of a diverse range of material from differing sources affords me a greater understanding of the topic I am reading. It makes sense.
When I visit my GP, I assume (yes I know, assumption makes an ass out of you and me), that my doctor is well read. I believe that they, in the capacity of a medical professional, will adhere to their charter and continue to incorporate professional development and new science-based medical information into their practice, for the benefit of their patients’ health & wellbeing.
We are all busy, with families, jobs, and commitments and personal problems of our own, and I understand very well that committing to continuous improvement outside of working hours is difficult…
However, it has been drummed into me as a registered nurse, that it is part of my professional qualification that I am to seek out new evidence-based therapies or studies that will assist my patients to get to better health.
I expect my doctor or anyone else in the health game to do the same. It’s part of their job description. You should expect it too.
When you ingest cholesterol from your food, should you be worried?
According to Cholesterol Clarity, only 15 percent of the dietary forms of cholesterol that you eat get utilized by your body, the rest is discarded.
Eggs are the food that most people worry. I eat lots of them, and my cholesterol levels are just fine. Eggs are a great source of protein and are essential in my ketogenic diet. Also I am taking keto protein powder that is also a low in carbs (great review of low-carb keto protein powders)
The best part of the egg is the yolk with a plethora of vitamins and minerals in eggs are a terrific source of dietary cholesterol.
Not that long ago I was informed by a dietician that I should cut out eggs because they raise my risk of heart disease.
Consequently, I didn’t return to the dietician. Just because you were taught certain things at university, doesn’t mean you stop learning when you leave. There is a vast amount of medical information I discovered at University that is entirely wrong. Like the food pyramid, we are told to educate our patients. (That’s another story).
Cholesterol is Not Evil
Why do medical authorities keep insisting that cholesterol is evil?
There is enough fundamental bioscience and research information available to prove time and time again that cholesterol is as vital to our health as oxygen is to our ability to breathe.
Jimmy Moore’s & Dr. Eric Westman’s book Cholesterol Clarity is a perfect example of the availability of information on cholesterol that comes from reliable sources of research data and medical literature.
Cholesterol Clarity has an enormous list of highly respected, well-read medical professionals who have contributed to the content of the book
If you want to read a book on cholesterol that you can trust, you can’t get better than this. You can save yourself all of the time and energy of pouring through medical texts and literature like me and just read Jimmy’s book instead. I was so impressed with it, I bought an extra copy and gave it to the dieticians at work to share.
So cholesterol, what is it?
- It’s a waxy substance that is manufactured mainly in your liver
- It regulates our salt and water balance
- It improves memory and is responsible for boosting serotonin in our brains, so we are happier and more stable in mood
- It helps us digest our fats
- The production of our hormones testosterone and estrogen rely on cholesterol
- Without cholesterol, we couldn’t absorb enough vitamin D from the sun
- Cholesterol protects our cell membranes and so much more.
That is just a tiny example of how cholesterol is highly essential to our health and well-being. Cholesterol is not a disease and shouldn’t be treated as such.
Cholesterol levels
One research study highlighted how having higher levels of HDL helps to keep away memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s.
HDL also protects against the narrowing of arteries to the brain and allowing good blood circulation.
If your levels of HDL are too low, you are more susceptible to memory loss and more likely to have dementia. Hand me another egg, please!
Using statins to lower cholesterol
Why are that medicos are still prescribing statin drugs to reduce cholesterol? If our doctors all as well read as we think they are, then surely they wouldn’t keep prescribing these dangerous drugs in light of all of the evidence against statins.
Statins have been proven to cause severe damage to the body.
The myth that high cholesterol is the primary cause of heart disease has been debunked in numerous studies, yet statin drugs are still being handed out like lollies by medicos. This is despite the significant adverse effects including liver damage, memory loss, and confusion; type two diabetes and muscle weakness.
Listen to this brief audio grab from Brad Brown’s podcast on LCHF and cholesterol. He’s talking to Professor Tim Noakes about how ineffective stain drugs are.
I don’t know how long it will be before enough people in the right places understand and telegraph to others how the foods we eat are so intrinsically linked to good health and also to disease. I’m not saying do away with drugs; I’m assuming they are not the only way to treat disease.
The information is already there, but the barriers to helping more people such as the profits from the manufacturing of processed foods and pharmaceuticals stop common sense in its tracks.
Eat good food, take right keto protein powder and forget the processed junk and start to repair your body.