Recently, we discussed heart health, and another important factor in heart health is cholesterol.
I frequently have inquisitive conversations about cholesterol with people and enjoyed one of those conversations just last week. So, let’s dive in:
Myth #1 – Cholesterol is bad.
You’ve probably heard about ‘good cholesterol’ and ‘bad cholesterol’. Your body naturally makes cholesterol and it’s a really important factor for brain health, hormone manufacturing, and blood vessel healing! Your body wouldn’t make a molecule that’s inherently bad for you. Cholesterol is part of the fat that protects your brain, the base molecule for hormones (such as cortisol, testosterone, estrogen, etc), and it’s a response to inflammation in the body (especially blood vessels).
Myth #2 – The lower your cholesterol the better.
Unfortunately, this myth is incredibly pervasive in our modern society. Over the past few decades, the “normal” blood lab range for cholesterol has been consistently lowered from 220 to below 200. Looking at our species from an evolutionary perspective, a few decades is a blink in our existence. It’s highly unlikely our bodies’ needs changed in this short span of time (see Myth #1 for why cholesterol is essential to live). Perhaps Big Pharma saw an easy opportunity to sell more statins by simply changing the number?
Myth #3 – If your cholesterol is high, you should lower your “cholesterol.”
Well – this is only partially busted. Yes, if you have high cholesterol, it absolutely should be addressed. But here’s the bust: high cholesterol is often a response to inflammation in the body (since this is one of it’s primary functions). So rather than just targeting cholesterol to lower it (with a drug or nutraceutical), a better approach is to dive deeper and discover the root of the inflammation causing the increase in cholesterol. If the root cause is addressed, the inflammation will decrease and subsequently the cholesterol will decrease.
Myth #4 - HDL and LDL are cholesterol.
Cholesterol is a fatty molecule that plays important roles in your body’s hormones, brain, and blood vessel health. HDL and LDL are transport proteins for cholesterol. HDL is high-density lipoprotein. LDL is low-density lipoprotein. Note how these are both proteins. Hmmm….
So – why the big fuss about HDL and LDL??
Cholesterol is made in the liver and HDL and LDL transport the cholesterol around the body to the areas it’s needed. The easiest way to remember what these transport proteins do is to use their acronyms to describe their function:
LDL: Leave da Liver.
LDL transports cholesterol molecules away from the liver to the areas they’re needed.
HDL: Home to da Liver.
HDL transports cholesterol molecules back home to the liver for processing and/or elimination.
There should always be transportation of cholesterol happening, as we mentioned it’s a normal, healthy process of your body. However, when LDL is high, this means there are lots of cholesterol molecules Leaving da Liver, often in response to increased inflammation. THIS is the moment to dive deep and look for the root cause of the inflammation and increased LDL.
HDL is a measurement of how much cholesterol is being transported Home to da Liver. When HDL is high, this indicates inflammation has decreased and the body is grabbing all those cholesterol molecules no longer needed to fight inflammation and bringing them back to the liver for processing.
Here’s the thing, I’m not suggesting you drop your meds right now. They are helping to manage your cholesterol. However, most people I know taking meds really wish they could get off them someday.
So, what I am suggesting is maybe it’s time to take a deeper look at what’s going on with your body. We’re all unique and each person’s body responds differently to it’s environment (what you eat, how much you move, your emotional state/stress level, etc).
What you can do:
If this conversation has caused the wheels in your brain to start turning, consider diving into the reason for your high cholesterol.
Often times, cholesterol itself isn’t the culprit. So to make changes, it’s often the things you’ve heard are good for you: decrease junk food/drinks, increase veggies and healthy foods, regular movement/exercise, better sleep, daily meditation/prayer.