Cholesterol Conspiracy

So after going to the doctor today and finding out I had high cholesterol he recommend I go on some medication for it. Being who I am I of course started researching the facts and I came across this.

Study after study shows no link between a low fat diet and lowered risk of heart disease. Study after study shows that lowering cholesterol does not lower the risk of heart disease. But it sells a lot of pills! If cholesterol was bad for you, why does your body make it? New studies are showing serious risks with the extremely low cholestrol levers due to statins. Low cholesterol used to mean under 400.

www.blogitude.com...

Now it's not too high and i'm not worried since I'm sure if I lay off my diet of popcorn with a stick of butter i'm sure it'll drop but nevertheless I picked up the medication, zocor or something like that and was wondering if anyone has looked into this or has experience with it.

reply to post by kro32


As a medical student, I can tell you that the body makes several types of cholesterol. We have LDL cholesterol which is commonly known as the bad cholesterol, whereas HDLs are considered the good cholesterol. LDLs can increase with a diet rich in fat and carbs, whereas HDL levels increase usually in response to exercise and even a little bit of alcohol. Some alcohol, such as a cup of red wine a day is good for the heart. To lower LDLs, you definitely would want to cut back on a lot of carbs and fats. Hope this helps!

The products used to lower cholesterol are steroids. I tried Lipitor, and it began to make my muscles rigid, as in catatonic. I stopped it, and did some research. As you found out, there have never been any studies that show that higher cholesterol is linked to heart disease or stroke. In fact, the opposite is true. Lowering cholesterol increases your risk of infection. More people die from an increase in infection due to lowering their cholesterol than die from having heart attacks and strokes.

My brother managed to use the statins for over 15 years. I suppose by now he has liver damage and doesn't know it. He stays away from smoking and drinking, so he may have a chance. However, he lacks energy.

Cholesterol is the food for the white blood cells, and it is produced by the liver. You may even have genetically high cholesterol, with nothing to do with food or exercise. My Mom died at 97 with high cholesterol.

Not gonna worry about it. It's just for selling more pharmaceuticals.

Find out if it is big or small cholesterol platlets the big ones are not bad even if high because they allow steady flow. The small collect and build up and thats what can cause the blockage. Please exuse my lack of knowledge of the word 'platlet' not sure what its called but ask your doctor he will know what you are talking about.

A study found that statin drugs are associated with decreased myocardial (heart muscle) function. Statin use is known to be associated with myopathy, muscle weakness and rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of muscle fibers resulting in the release of muscle fiber contents into the bloodstream. For the study, myocardial function was evaluated in 28 patients. According to Green Med Info: “There was significantly better function noted ... in the control group vs the statin group”.

articles.mercola.com...

CoQ10 decreases from statins but it's never really mentioned.

Niacin will effectively lower your cholesterol, and it's good for you.

Watch out for big pharma.

They want your $$$$$$$$$.

Here's some food for thought. Went to my doctor for something unrelated told me I had high cholesterol. Told me I HAD to take medicine. I told him I don't HAVE to do anything and then he informed me that if I didn't he would "recommend" to my insurance company that they should not cover any costs related to high cholesterol. So I told him to pack sand up his a$$ and he could get his copay from the insurance company seems how he works for them and not me. A day later the medical group called and apologized for the doctor and hoped I'd be back for my medical services. (Fat Chance). Haven't heard dick from my Insurance company, other than a bill for my monthly premium

Why do we keep looking for the conspiracies everywhere?
Cholesterol is only a cholesterol.

Taking facts from a blog is not wise thing to do. Actually study after study showed that high levels of LDL (protein that carries cholesterol toward the body) raises significantly chances of clogged blood vessels, heart attacks and strokes.
High levels of HDL (protein that carries cholesterol back to liver where it is produced even if we do not consume it in large quantities) are known from numerous studies to function as protection against heart attacks/strokes.
Cholesterol by itself is needed by the body for numerous functions.
So the problem is high LDL (mainly vLDL actually) . Physical exercise (such as simple walking for acceptable distances every day) and diet (rich in fibers) can raise HDL and lower LDL pretty well. The problem is that majority of people have problems with doing this due to time issues and simple lazieness.
Thus enter statins. Statins lower production of cholesterol in the liver pretty efficiently, thus solving part of the problem. LDL has less cholesterol it can take to the rest of the body. But since cholesterol is needed by the body , there can be side effects. Muscle pain is most common but still pretty rare.

reply to post by Nikola014


So you're saying current medical understanding should never be questioned? We'd still be draining blood among other things if we didn't question medical understanding.

Dr. Mercola who I linked has some different ideas on cholesterol and he's an MD...not really a conspiracy. Even the popular "avoid all saturated fat" isn't all that good of advice.

reply to post by Turq1


I have a friend, who is super-fit, and he suffers from high-cholesterol. He is a fire-man and takes part in cycle-racing, rides about 30km a day, he is a diver for the local police, once a year he takes part in an extreme event, like cycling over the country (about 3200km) etc, etc, etc. He doesn't eat red meat, his whole diet is very controlled and still he has it. Maybe it all comes down to genetics in the end.

First, read Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes. It is quite affordable at Amazon.com. The only bad fats are the polyunsaturated vegetable fats. Eliminate corn oil, soybean oil. Good oils - olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil. I am 59, eat a gluten free high animal fat diet, and my total cholesterol just tested at 149. A glass of wine a day helps also.
I eat the recommended 60g of protein a day, and make up most of the difference in calories with animal fats such as butter and cheese, bacon, and so on.
Animal fats are not just not bad, they are very good for you.

If you get the chance you should watch the documentary "Fat Head." He goes over this topic and a few others that you might be interested in.

reply to post by kro32


if you eat a lot of eggs then cut down how many
you have as they are full of cholesterol
hope that maybe of help

Garlic used by many has been proven to reduce cholesterol.

Large scientific boards make several recommendations about garlic dosage. The Mayo Clinic cites the European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy's recommendation for prevention of atherosclerosis as 3 milligrams to 5 milligrams allicin (3,000 micrograms to 5,000 micrograms allicin) or one clove or 0.5 gram to 1 gram of dried powder. The World Health Organization recommends 2 grams to 5 grams of fresh garlic, 0.4 gram to 1.2 grams of dried garlic powder, 2 milligrams to 5 milligrams of garlic oil, 300 milligrams to 1,000 milligrams of garlic extract, or some other formulation that yields the equivalent of 2 milligrams to 5 milligrams (2,000 to 5,000 micrograms) of allicin daily.

home.howstuffworks.com...

Heart - hawthorn berries, cayenne pepper, etc etc
www.herballegacy.com...

Also CoQ10
en.wikipedia.org...

Happy health.....

I believe the issue with the majority of medical knowledge is that those practicing in the field appear to always want to take the 'one treatment fits all' approach, whereas I believe that in many cases there may be individual treatment options for one's individual health concerns. What can be perfectly healthy for one person may kill the person sitting next to you, and it would appear the more we find out about genetics this might be correct.

Now I'm not saying that I think most of modern Western medicine is wrong and I am hardly in any position to challenge or be critical of any current medicinal practices, but throughout my life I have personally witnessed several examples of vastly different outcomes from medical issues and treatment among my friends and family. My great-grandmother smoked a pack of filterless cigarettes from the age of 12 and lived to be 94; my aunt started smoking half a pack of cigarettes a day at 30 and died of lung cancer at 39. My grandfather's diet was primarily potatoes, stew and red meat - he even enjoyed eating fat! - and lived to be 90; my brother's best friend was a vegetarian and died of a heart attack last year at the age of 29.

And I'm sure there are countless others who post here and could provide similar examples of people who seem to fly in the face of current accepted medical knowledge, living or dead. I wish to reiterate that I'm not saying I disbelieve or wish to discredit any current practices or accepted knowledge. I'm certainly not a qualified medical professional and most of what I say is just how I feel and think about the issue at hand, however I can't help but just naturally assume that medical science still has alot to learn about the human body and can't, with absolute certainty, predict how different people would benefit most out of an established course of treatment.

In the end, I believe it's always up to the individual to decide what's best for themselves. Go to the doctor and get advice, but also ask questions and educate yourself concerning your well being and possible alternative treatments.

Originally posted by philware
reply to post by kro32

 

if you eat a lot of eggs then cut down how many
you have as they are full of cholesterol
hope that maybe of help

Actually though eggs are high in cholesterol, eating them will not raise your cholesterol significantly.

reply to post by kro32

I was shocked when I read the snip from that blog. Talk about irresponsible reporting!
Lets use some of that writer's illogical logic. The body makes cancer cells, so since the body makes it it can't be bad.
What an idiot! I'm not sure that he even did any research at all.

From what I understand, it is not the cholesterol that is the problem
It is a regular absorption of chlorine, a water additive that is used to kill
bacteria's in city waters, aside from a daily consumption from drinking and eating
it it is also absorbed by taking showers and baths in it.
Chlorine apparently causes tiny tears in the artery walls and the cholesterol sticks
to the tears causing the restrictions in blood flow.

reply to post by Unvarnished


This. Tou took the words right out of my keyboard