Comments on: (Some) doctors suggest that lower cholesterol levels may not be better after all

By: Fed-up

Fed-up — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 18:25:37 +0000

This may seem random and unrelated but….I think the problem here is that as with all medical problems in life, people are quick to try to blame cholesterol or other medical problems for their health issue. When you should in fact be blaming yourself. Educate yourself on what your genetic weaknesses are and then adjust your daily life including diet and activity levels to achieve the results you need. Too many fat people have medical issues and try to treat them with drugs, when if they would just get up off their fat bottoms and exercise and cook a healthy meal, many of their issues would melt away with the fat. SO….what I am saying is not that while this article states that lower cholesterol levels are also bad for you and therefore you are buggared, what you should do is you should educate yourself and eat food as medicine for your body. Children particulalry should not be given medicine for cholesterol and ADD and all that stuff, they should be encouraged to play outside and eat right and TURN OFF THE TV AND PUT DOWN THE PLAYSTATION CONTROLLER. Stop listening to the media and listen to your body….Sheesh!

By: Susan

Susan — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 19:49:35 +0000

If you haven’t seen this already, you might be interested in the latest insanity from the US. Recommendations for children that include cutting fat in the diets of children under 2 and prescribing statins to 8-year-olds. (http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/statins/nominees-for-the-reckless-award/)

To my mind some of the greatest contributors to children’s obesity are sugared drinks and cereals. I’m over 50, and in my day soft drinks were a special treat and sweeted cereal was considered too expensive.

By: Mo

Mo — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 23:30:39 +0000

The interesting thing is that according to WHO MONICA figures there is no correlation between high cholesterol and cardiac incidences. There are countries with populations who on average have higher cholesterol values and much less heart disease than the UK. It is of note that those with low cholesterol are just as susceptible, if not more, to heart problems.

Our skins contain a precursor chemical that becomes vitamin D in sunlight, in absence of sunlight the precursor accumulates as - I assume - LDL cholesterol. Since vitamin D is an anti-inflammatory, and indeed a Spanish trial (can’t find link off hand) found that the biggest selling drug in the world Lipitor/atorvastatin raises levels of D to some degree, as well as having other effects that might be of little extra use.
D3 (natural D/cholecalciferol) also does something to the particle size of LDL cholesterol, which is much more important than the quantity. It also reduces trigylcerides.

This is also challenges the mainstream notion. While we have an understanding of HDL, LDL and trigylcerides to a best degree, we see ads for products with tag lines like “lower your cholesterol” which is laughably basic. Low total cholesterol will kill you for sure.

Furthermore, eating a McD’s doesn’t add to a landfill of sludge in your arteries; on examination it makes you laugh. What is the concern is arterial calcification. That is calcium in the arteries.

Humans are the only animals to consume another animal’s milk and then after childhood continue to consume dairy in order to keep our bones healthy. Yet vitamin D is the director, without which D is sloppily pasted to the bones. Most of us don’t get enough D as again we’re the only animals to wear clothes and live indoors - and year round. D not only directs calcium where to go, it also tells it where not to go.

I’m heartened by developments. It’ll take time but the cholesterol myth will go. We’ve had statins in our midst for 20yrs and they didn’t give us the expected revolution. Bring back nature!

By: Hilda

Hilda — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:25:31 +0000

Years ago Adele Davis wrote that just because cholesterol iis found in the blocked arteries this does not mean that it CAUSES the blocking. There may not be an association between the AMOUNT in the BLOOD and the amount in the arteries. If cholesterol rushes to a site in the artery that has been damaged by free radicals then it is not cholesterol per se but the free rad damage that is the problem.

An analogy : Fluid retention means that we are storing too much water but water is the not the CAUSE of fluid retention.

By: helen

helen — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 01:47:42 +0000

Its not the cholesterol that gums up the arteries from all I have read on the subject & there is lots of information out there, simplistically - cholesterol is the substance sent out by the body to repair the damage done to the artery walls by inflamation & cell destruction caused in part to sugar & a lack of various vitamins & minerals in our diets. So how does it cause anything if it is an normal part of our bodies maybe we should be looking at the real causes like smoking, sugar(carbohydrate consumption) etc It is pretty obvious once you begin to investigate the claims of cholesterol causing heart disease to see that this is not the case at all high cholesterol is being caused by a whole lot of things that actually contribute to heart disease it, in itself is not the cause of the heart disease. It would seem that poor nutrition is one of the major causes. It would appear that the cutting out of saturated fat & the consumption of high levels of carbohydrate in the diet is more of the cause of heart disease than cholesterol could ever conceivably be.

By: Sue

Sue — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 00:34:20 +0000

Isn’t it true that most patients that had heart disease or died of heart disease had low cholesterol levels?

By: Vitallywell

Vitallywell — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 21:03:45 +0000

The combo drug not only not effective but has it’s own potential side effects which are not completely studied or known.

My wife just received a letter from our health plan that a particular combination of her meds are KNOWN to cause seizures (from a Harvard computerized database). One doctor prescribed them, another doctor just did a review of her meds and neither was aware of the seizure danger when combining Tramadol and another prescribed med!

My wife used to think I was a conspiracy nut when it came to my view of most pharmaceuticals (not all). She is becoming wary of the pharmaceutical pushing doctors as I am. Do your own research people(in addition to professional advice), it may save your life.

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 20:33:44 +0000

the url for this prog is http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/3681938.stm

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 20:31:31 +0000

Re. the information about statins and the doubtfulness of their benefits Dr Briffa has raised periodically. Todays Radio 4 Investigation prog. about the use of statins in Primary Health Care prevention confirms what you have been saying, and what is of particular concern is that GP’s are financially incentivised / penalised if they “fail” ot “suceed” with individuals in their care and the government cholesterol target. Its medicine by crude target and financial pressure. This applies in many ways, as there is now a discriminatory blanket restriction to 28 days for those of us entitled to free NHS repeat prescriptions. No doubt statins will be made exempt, as is HRT, but not medication for hypthyroidism.

By: Dr John Briffa

Dr John Briffa — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:25:44 +0000

Bob
Generally speaking, risk factors need to be assessed in isolation if we’re going to be able to discern whether something is a true risk factor, or a risk ‘marker’ (something that is associated with a disease but doesn’t ’cause’ it).
You can assert that cholesterol is ’surely’ relevant, but perhaps you could expand on why you take that view. Maybe you might even quote some science too.
Your lay status doesn’t necessarily give you the luxury of making statements and assertions without offering anything to support them whatsoever.

By: bob

bob — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:36:37 +0000

as a lay person why is everyone taking this in isolation surely if you stack up the odds and include cholesterol, with being overwt , high blood pressure, smoking etc then surely it is relevant!