Read Online The Great Cholesterol Myth by Jonny Bowden - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jonny Bowden
Ads: Link
heart!
Okay, we’ve introduced two important concepts here—oxidative damage and inflammation—and one important structure—the endothelium. Now we need to take a look at what cholesterol is and see how it fits into the whole picture. Once we do, we will return to the interaction among oxidation, inflammation, and the arterial walls.
“GOOD” AND “BAD” CHOLESTEROL: A COMPLETELY OUTDATED CONCEPT
Contrary to cholesterol’s negative reputation, your body simply can’t function without it. It’s found in every single cell and is so essential that the lion’s share of the cholesterol in your body is actually
made
by your body, specifically by the liver, which produces this fatty, waxy substance precisely
because
it is so essential to the health of your cells.
The cholesterol you eat has a minimal effect on your blood levels of cholesterol, which is why the admonition to eat less of it and the prominent listing of cholesterol on food nutrition labels are not as significant as we are led to believe they are. If you eat
less
cholesterol,your liver will simply take up the slack and make more. If you eat
more
of it, the liver makes l
ess
. It is primarily, overwhelmingly made in the liver, though small amounts are made in other locations. For all intents and purposes, “manufacturing central” is the liver, and this is what responds to the “eat more/make less, eat less/make more” seesaw. The Framingham Heart Study found that there was virtually
no difference
in the amount of cholesterol consumed on a daily basis by those who went on to develop cardiovascular disease and those who did not. Egg-white omelet eaters, take note!
Cholesterol’s ability to fight toxins may be one reason why it’s found at the site of arterial injuries caused by inflammation. But blaming cholesterol for those injuries is a little like blaming firemen for fire.
As we said earlier, cholesterol is the basic raw material that your body makes into vitamin D; sex hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone; and the bile acids needed for digestion. The emphasis on lowering cholesterol as much as possible is not only misguided but also dangerous. Studies show that those at the lowest end of the cholesterol spectrum have a
significantly
increased risk of death from myriad conditions and situations unrelated to heart disease, including, but not limited to, cancer, suicide, and accidents.
Accidents and suicides? Really? Yes. Here’s the connection: You need cholesterol to make brain cells. A cholesterol level too low (around 160 mg/dL) has, in fact, been linked to depression, aggression, and cerebral hemorrhages. (The connection to sex drive will be discussed later in chapter 6 —it’s a doosey!)
The membranes of your cells contain a ton of cholesterol because it helps maintain their integrity and also facilitates cellular communication. The consistency of the cell membrane has to be just right—hard enough to act as a barrier to all sorts of molecular riff-raff but pliable and soft enough to allow access to the molecules that need to get inside. Essentially, you
need
cholesterol for memory. Lower cholesterol too much and it can easily promote a kind of global amnesia; with too little cholesterol in the cell membranes, nerve transmission can be affected. It’s no surprise to us that Duane Graveline, M.D.—a former flight surgeon and astronaut who received international recognition for his research on zero gravity deconditioning—gave his book about the memory loss he experienced after taking statin drugs the ominous title
Lipitor: Thief of Memory
.
Cholesterol is also one of the important weapons your body uses to fight infections. It helps neutralize toxins produced by bacteria that swarm into thebloodstream from the gut when the immune system is weakened. When you have an infection, the total blood level of cholesterol goes up, but HDL (which we’ll define in a moment) falls because it’s being used up in the fight.
Okay, we’ve introduced two important concepts here—oxidative damage and inflammation—and one important structure—the endothelium. Now we need to take a look at what cholesterol is and see how it fits into the whole picture. Once we do, we will return to the interaction among oxidation, inflammation, and the arterial walls.
“GOOD” AND “BAD” CHOLESTEROL: A COMPLETELY OUTDATED CONCEPT
Contrary to cholesterol’s negative reputation, your body simply can’t function without it. It’s found in every single cell and is so essential that the lion’s share of the cholesterol in your body is actually
made
by your body, specifically by the liver, which produces this fatty, waxy substance precisely
because
it is so essential to the health of your cells.
The cholesterol you eat has a minimal effect on your blood levels of cholesterol, which is why the admonition to eat less of it and the prominent listing of cholesterol on food nutrition labels are not as significant as we are led to believe they are. If you eat
less
cholesterol,your liver will simply take up the slack and make more. If you eat
more
of it, the liver makes l
ess
. It is primarily, overwhelmingly made in the liver, though small amounts are made in other locations. For all intents and purposes, “manufacturing central” is the liver, and this is what responds to the “eat more/make less, eat less/make more” seesaw. The Framingham Heart Study found that there was virtually
no difference
in the amount of cholesterol consumed on a daily basis by those who went on to develop cardiovascular disease and those who did not. Egg-white omelet eaters, take note!
Cholesterol’s ability to fight toxins may be one reason why it’s found at the site of arterial injuries caused by inflammation. But blaming cholesterol for those injuries is a little like blaming firemen for fire.
As we said earlier, cholesterol is the basic raw material that your body makes into vitamin D; sex hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone; and the bile acids needed for digestion. The emphasis on lowering cholesterol as much as possible is not only misguided but also dangerous. Studies show that those at the lowest end of the cholesterol spectrum have a
significantly
increased risk of death from myriad conditions and situations unrelated to heart disease, including, but not limited to, cancer, suicide, and accidents.
Accidents and suicides? Really? Yes. Here’s the connection: You need cholesterol to make brain cells. A cholesterol level too low (around 160 mg/dL) has, in fact, been linked to depression, aggression, and cerebral hemorrhages. (The connection to sex drive will be discussed later in chapter 6 —it’s a doosey!)
The membranes of your cells contain a ton of cholesterol because it helps maintain their integrity and also facilitates cellular communication. The consistency of the cell membrane has to be just right—hard enough to act as a barrier to all sorts of molecular riff-raff but pliable and soft enough to allow access to the molecules that need to get inside. Essentially, you
need
cholesterol for memory. Lower cholesterol too much and it can easily promote a kind of global amnesia; with too little cholesterol in the cell membranes, nerve transmission can be affected. It’s no surprise to us that Duane Graveline, M.D.—a former flight surgeon and astronaut who received international recognition for his research on zero gravity deconditioning—gave his book about the memory loss he experienced after taking statin drugs the ominous title
Lipitor: Thief of Memory
.
Cholesterol is also one of the important weapons your body uses to fight infections. It helps neutralize toxins produced by bacteria that swarm into thebloodstream from the gut when the immune system is weakened. When you have an infection, the total blood level of cholesterol goes up, but HDL (which we’ll define in a moment) falls because it’s being used up in the fight.
Similar Books
