I just finished my annual physical. Yes, the cholesterol numbers are one of the first areas my doctor, and others, reference when looking at the big picture of health.
Controversial? You bet. I have heard everything from the fear of high cholesterol numbers to those who say driving cholesterol out of the body has caused huge medical problems, so don’t do it.
Interestingly, my doctor was very happy with my numbers but she did break down the numbers to say you have to look a little more closely to understand this. There is LDL, HDL and various markers that have to be considered. All very confusing to me. All I remember is that she said I could put it up on my refrigerator (like getting a gold star on the chore chart, I guess)!
Dr. Joel Wallach, a naturopath I follow, says this in his book Dead Doctors Don’t Lie — elevated cholesterol is considered a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. And he explains there are numerous causes of elevated cholesterol including low fiber diets, elevated vitamin D intake, deficiency of EFA and chromium and vanadium, diets high in refined sugar and flour, liver malfunction, and poor exercise habits.
Interestingly, he says low cholesterol can be equally or more dangerous than elevated cholesterol! Wow, there is a lot to dig into to understand this.
And then there is another naturopath, Peter J. Glidden ND, whom I have also followed, who says in his book Everybody is Sick and I Know Why, the following: “For the last 30 years MDs have been telling us that cholesterol is bad and have been aggressively encouraging us to drive our cholesterol levels into the dirt with fat free diets and statin drugs. In this same time period the rates of heart disease have not changed, and Alzheimer’s disease has burst onto center stage as the 6th most prevalent disease. Think there’s a connection? We do….If you drive cholesterol out of the body with fat free diets and cholesterol lowering drugs, your brain dries up and you can’t remember…. By the way, there are NO DISEASES caused by elevated levels of cholesterol or triglycerides. NONE. Cholesterol is so important to the human body that our livers make it.”
Then a newer addition to the health info I follow is the blog of “Where food meets faith…Isabel D. Price’s New Life Promise” blog. What I have appreciated is she points to core sources and then she makes things simplified and understandable to me.
Her blog was titled “Should We Worry About High Cholesterol?” She pointed to an interview with Dr. Robert Lustig M.D., author of the book Metabolical which she said literally blew her mind. She gave a brief summary of the most important points but encouraged us to search Understand Your CHOLESTEROL PANEL & Metabolic HealthTests – the ULTIMATE Guide Dr. Robert Lustig on YouTube and listen to it.
She, as have I, has known for many years that eating foods high in cholesterol and fat does NOT increase cholesterol levels in the body. There have been countless studies and much more disseminated about this by natural medicine AND traditional medical doctors.
BUT even with this data, so many people are still convinced that foods like eggs, shrimp, red meat, butter, and healthy oils are the culprits. Isabel states emphatically “I am here to tell you that those foods are NOT the cause of high cholesterol. I would scream it from the mountaintops if I could.”
Interestingly, she says the true culprit is SUGAR! And refined carbohydrates come in a close second. It is about metabolic health and how well your body is metabolizing glucose in your body and handling insulin.
Her statements jive with all that I have read and seen on the issue of cholesterol.
Isn’t it interesting how if we hear something enough times, we begin to think it is true – and that can be the case with her statement about the foods we think are the culprits. I have found when I asked people where they learned a certain food was bad for us, etc., they usually can’t remember the source of their information.
Isabel gave several points from Dr. Lustig’s presentation, and you can see them on her blog. But one that stood out to me was ‘Understanding and interpreting cholesterol panel results requires assessing the interrelationships between different markers. The total cholesterol number is often misleading and less significant than knowing the specific types of cholesterol.’
If you are the researcher type, want the details, or want to fully understand it, I encourage you to go to Dr. Lustig’s presentation.
And if you are more like me and just want the “what do I do about it” stuff, I will share in abbreviated fashion what Isabel recommended (because I think she nails it):
- Ignore the total cholesterol number. She says get the ratio of triglycerides to HDL cholesterol and if it is 1.5 or lower, then you are doing great.
- Ask if your fasting insulin levels were measured. This gives greater insight to metabolic health and liver function.
- She highly recommends eliminating all refined sugar and refined carbohydrates from our diet.
- Exercise is a must. If you are not currently doing something, she says to begin by walking and then bring in strength training 3 days a week.
- Last but not least, begin taking an Omega-3 supplement immediately. She quotes the Mayo Clinic website which reports “There’s strong evidence that omega-3 fatty acids can significantly reduce blood triglyceride levels.” Isabel has written extensively on how the quality of Omera-3s you buy is vital so she gives the one she recommends. I agree with her on quality (not buying ‘off the shelf’ items but checking all the quality points first). I use one that I know is 3rd party tested and high quality — you can find it at Omega™ – 120 softgels (youngevity.com)
I will point you to Isabel D. Price’s blog on the variety of insights she has on eliminating the refined sugar from our daily food and lives – and the value of that. She has built much of her program around helping people with preparing the good foods.
And here’s to better health for us all – and “gold stars” to post on our refrigerator!
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