Cholesterol
*** Dr. Orman's Optimal Health eNewsletter
***
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Publisher: Dr. David Orman
http://www.hghplus.net
(c) 2003 DMI
Vol.2, No.12 March 22, 2004 _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
Greetings and Welcome to the Optimal
Health eNewsletter!
Today's area of focus is arguably
the most misunderstood aspect of blood tests - cholesterol.
According to the American Heart Association, cholesterol
is a soft, fat-like, waxy substance found in the
bloodstream and in all your body's cells. It's an
important part of a healthy body because it's used
for producing cell membranes and some hormones,
and serves other needed bodily functions. But too
high a level of cholesterol in the blood is said
to be a major risk for coronary heart disease, which
leads to heart attack. It's also a risk factor for
stroke. You get cholesterol in two ways. Your body
makes some of it, and the rest comes from cholesterol
in animal products that you eat, such as meats,
poultry, fish, eggs, butter, cheese and whole milk.
Some foods that don't contain animal products may
contain trans-fats, which cause your body to make
more cholesterol.
Foods with saturated fats also cause
the body to make more cholesterol. Cholesterol and
other fats can't dissolve in the blood. They have
to be transported to and from the cells by special
carriers called lipoproteins. There are two kinds
that you need to know about. Low-density lipoprotein,
or LDL, is known as the "bad" cholesterol. Too much
LDL cholesterol can clog your arteries, increasing
your risk of heart attack and stroke. High-density
lipoprotein, or HDL, is known as the "good" cholesterol.
Your body makes HDL cholesterol for your protection.
It carries cholesterol away from your arteries.
Studies suggest that high levels of HDL cholesterol
reduce your risk of heart attack. ============================================
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A closer look at some of the recent, cutting edge
data suggests a much different picture. Here are
some of the examples: - Cholesterol is not a deadly
poison, but a substance vital to the cells of all
mammals. There are no such things as "good" or "bad"
cholesterol, but mental stress, physical activity
and change of body weight may influence the level
of blood cholesterol. A high cholesterol is not
dangerous by itself, but may reflect an unhealthy
condition, or it may be totally innocent. Look for
a pattern, not an individual marker alone. - A high
blood cholesterol is said to promote atherosclerosis
and thus also coronary heart disease. But many studies
have shown that people whose blood cholesterol is
low become just as atherosclerotic as people whose
cholesterol is high. It has been my experience that
low levels are MORE dangerous than high levels.
- Your body produces three to four times more cholesterol
than you eat. The production of cholesterol increases
when you eat little cholesterol and decreases when
you eat much. This explains why the "prudent" diet
cannot lower cholesterol more than on average a
few per cent. - There is no evidence that too much
animal fat and cholesterol in the diet promotes
atherosclerosis or heart attacks. For instance,
more than twenty studies have shown that people
who have had a heart attack haven't eaten more fat
of any kind than other people, and degree of atherosclerosis
at autopsy is unrelated with the diet. - One effective
way to lower cholesterol is with drugs, but neither
heart mortality or total mortality have been improved
with drugs the effect of which is cholesterol-lowering
only. On the contrary, these drugs are dangerous
to your health and may shorten your life. - The
new cholesterol-lowering drugs, the statins, do
prevent cardio-vascular disease, but this is due
to other mechanisms than cholesterol-lowering. Unfortunately,
they also stimulate cancer in rodents. - Many of
these facts have been presented in scientific journals
and books for decades but are rarely told to the
public by the proponents of the diet-heart idea.
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Treatment
Tip: Canker sores are common, painful ulcerations
in the mouth caused by a combination of a virus
and/or a term called Hypervitaminosis D (too much
Vitamin D in your system). They can be easily and
quickly treated with L-Lysine and Flaxseed Oil.
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When analyzing blood tests, here is
the important guideline I use: -- a level above
240 correlates with cardiovascular disease only
in men between the ages of 35 and 55. The risk of
stroke and potentially cancer increases below 150.
If you want a blood test that will accurately predict
the risk of heart disease, consider Homocysteine
testing. We will cover this topic next newsletter.
To your health,
Dr. David Orman
P.S. Order you Hgh Plus™ today
at www.hghplus.net!
For reprints, please contact hghplus@yahoo.com.
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