Cholesterol How Low Should You Go

8/2/2019 Cholesterol How Low Should You Go

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September 2004 Vol.1 No. 8

CholesterolHow Low Should You Go?

Last month the American Heart Associationand the federal government released newguidelines for acceptable cholesterol levels.Im not surprised. For decades, the numbers theyhave been giving us have been dropping, anddropping consistently.

When I first began my practice 30 years ago,the normal range for total cholesterol was150 to 320. When we began checking HDL orLDL cholesterol levels, the numbers dropped to240 and then to 200. Before this latestrecommendation by the American HeartAssociation, it was felt that you needed to haveyour LDL cholesterol below 130. If you alreadyhad heart disease or were at high risk for heartdisease, your recommended LDL cholesterol was100 or below.

The new guidelines state that individuals who areat the highest risk of suffering a heart attackshould lower their LDL cholesterol below 70.Individuals who have a high or moderately highrisk of developing coronary artery disease shouldlower their LDL cholesterol below 100. Thesenew guidelines will mean that 7 millionAmericans will be added to the 36 millionAmericans who are encouraged to takecholesterol-lowering drugs. 95% of the patients

who come to me have LDL cholesterol levelsgreater than 70. In lieu of these newrecommendations I would need to place over 50%of my patients on cholesterol-lowering drugs!

The cholesterol-lowering Statin Drugs are thenumber one selling class of drugs in the worldtoday. Drugs like Zocor, Lipitor, Mevacor,

Pravachol, etc. earned their makers $26 billioworldwide last year. The pharmaceuticindustry spends billions of dollars in educating(advertising) the public. It also spends billions odollars in research, trying to convince you anyour physicians that you need to be taking thedrugs

The next time you have a checkup, many of yowill be strongly urged by your physicians to begitaking one of these cholesterol-lowering drug

But when they ask, remember this thoughprovoking fact: The average LDL cholesterolevel has dropped significantly over the pasdecade, primarily due to the fact that almoseveryone is taking statin drugs. However, thnumber of heart attacks in this country haNOT dropped during this same time period.

This fact leads us to two critical questions. First, there a conflict of interest in these researcstudies? Second, has our battle against headisease been too narrowly focused ocholesterol?

A careful examination of the evidence gives resounding answer of Yes to both questions.

A Conflict of Interest?

The new guidelines were based on the results o5 drug studies conducted since 2001. In additio

to the authors, about 80 experts reviewed anendorsed them. It is important to realize thaalmost all of these studies were actuallconducted and financed by thpharmaceutical companies who are trying tsell the drugs. Merrill Goozner of the Center foScience in the Public Interest said The peopwho are giving you this advice have their researc


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funded by a party (the pharmaceutical companies)who has a self interest in the outcome of thatresearch.

Many of the authors of these studies havereceived direct financial gain from the

pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Sidney Wolfe,co-founder of Public Citizens Health andResearch Group, stated very boldly that peoplewho are receiving significant payment of moneyfrom pharmaceutical companies should bedisqualified from being the principal authors ofstudies that carry the stamp of approval from ourgovernment. The conflict of interest is obvious.

What is even more concerning is that many of thedrug studies are never even published if they

dont come to a conclusion that the study isbeneficial to the pharmaceutical company that isconducting the research. They are just filed awayand never released to the public. The AmericanMedical Association has urged the creation of acomprehensive, government-run registry for alldrug study results to prevent unfavorable onesfrom being buried.

A Focus that is too Narrow?

If you have read two of my latest books, WhatYour Doctor Doesnt Know about NutritionalMedicine may be Killing You or Death byPrescription, or if you have heard any of mylectures in the last few years, you now know thatheart disease is NOT a disease of cholesterol(Over half of the patients who suffer a heart attackactually have normal cholesterol levels!). Heartdisease is caused by inflammation of the finelining of your arteries. It not only causes plaque

build up, but also causes plaque instability andplaque rupture, which is the initiating event for themost heart attacks.

LDL cholesterol is not bad. It only becomesbad once it has been modified or oxidized byexcessive free radicals. Oxidized LDL cholesterol

is a risk factor for heart disease because it causeinflammation. Lowering your LDL cholesterol wlower the relative amount of oxidized LDcholesterol. Studies are now showing that thmajor benefit of most statin drugs is that they hedecrease inflammation in our arteries, an

decreasing inflammation lowers the risk of headisease.

However, oxidized LDL cholesterol is only one oseveral culprits that cause irritation to this finlining of your arteries. According to a majostudy reported in the New England Journal oMedicine (January 14, 1999), the main causeof inflammation of your arteries are excessivfree radicals.

Free radicals are caused by:1. High blood pressure.2. Diabetes.3. Cigarette smoking.4. Central obesityabdominal fat cell

release inflammatory products.5. Elevated homocysteine levels.6. A fatty meal.7. A high-glycemic or high sugar meal.8. Elevated insulin levelsespecially i

individuals who have insulin resistance

9. Excessive emotional stress.10. Oxidized LDL cholesterol.

Many of these causes of inflammation have alsbeen found to be independent risk factors foheart disease because they lead to a vicious cycthat causes a build up of plaque in our arteries. fact, physicians are also now beginning to realizthat when markers for inflammation (highsensitive C-Reactive Proteinshs CRP) arincreased, the risk of having a heart attack

greatly increased. Testing for hs-CRP is a betteindicator of future risk of heart disease than checking your cholesterol levels.


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An Issue of Life and Death

Since World War II, heart disease or coronaryartery disease has become the number one causeof death in the US, Canada, Australia, and thewestern world. In the US alone, there are over

750,000 deaths each and every year due toheart attacks. Over one-third of these deaths arein individuals who are under the age of 65. Onethird of the time, the first sign of heart disease issudden death, killing before the patient can evenget to a hospital.

But before you begin taking drugs as the cure, therisks of these drugs must also be weighed. Statindrugs are not risk free, especially when yourealize the fact that you would have to remain

on these drugs for the rest of your life. Someof the main side effects are liver damage, muscleweakness, muscle damage (rhabdomyolysis), anddeath. Statin drugs work by blocking theproduction of cholesterol, but they also block theproduction of an important antioxidant andnutrient called Coenzyme Q10. Long-term useleads to deficiencies in our bodys CoQ10 levels.Some studies are now linking CoQ10 deficienciesto an increased risk of all cancers, which is nowbeing documented in patients that have been on

statin drugs for more than 8 years.

The Healthy Lifestyle Alternative

Cholesterol is still a concern and cannot beignored. There are hundreds of studies that showthat the higher your cholesterol levels the greateryour risk of heart disease. But the first step foranyone who has an increased risk of heartdisease is to try to decrease or eliminate ALL

of the causes of inflammation caused by freeradicals, not just cholesterol. Three positiveadjustments in your life can make this happen:

1.) Eat a healthy diet that contains the goofats, good proteins, and good carbohydrate(those that do not spike your blood sugar).

2.) Have a consistent, modest exercisprogram.

3.) Take complete and balanced nutritionasupplements at optimal levels.

Its simple and it works. A plan for a healthlifestyle is detailed for all members of my wepages, complete with specifirecommendations and a system to track youprogress. When you combine all three of theselements, you can either eliminate or significantdecrease ALL of the causes of inflammation.

Every patient deserves a trial of these healthlifestyle changes before beginning a lifetimregimen on statin drugs. After a 4 month triahave your cholesterol levels recheckedRemember, drugs should be used as a lasresortnot a first choice. If you must take statdrugs you should also take CoQ10 supplement(200 mg of powder form CoQ10 or 60 mg of geform CoQ10) and you should still engage in healthy lifestyle.

Try to get your LDL cholesterol below 130. If yoalready know you have heart disease, get youLDL cholesterol below 100. This is achievable the overwhelming majority of patients who earight, exercise regularly and take appropriatnutritional supplements. Yes, oxidized LDcholesterol is a culprit but only one of mancauses of inflammation.

Adopting a healthy lifestyle will decrease you

LDL cholesterol levels and decrease all the othecauses of inflammation that lead to heart diseaseIts the natural, drug-free way to a morvibrant and healthy life.

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Cholesterol How Low Should You Go