High Cholesterol

[Nicku22]

I have high Cholesterol should I be worried or is it okay

[AlMorr]

You can get a check up at your doctors, he may subscribe low dosage cholesterol tablets for you, they will not in any way affect your running.

[sos007 Ambassador]

Your statement is vague. You must provide blood work details such as:

LDL-C

HDL-C

Triglycerides

non-HDL-C

ApoB; ApoA-1

HbA1C

ALT (liver enzyme)

CRP

Homocysteine

Fibrinogen

Ferritin

Uric Acid or urea

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What is your height, your weight, your waist circumference, what is your gender and age?

A total cholesterol number on it own tells you very little, and it certainly doesn't tell you whether you should be worried.

In general terms, elevated cholesterol implies a sub-optimal diet and lack of exercise. These behaviours lead to potential health problems.

However, without the additional information I noted above you cannot draw any definitive conclusions.

[Nicku22]

Total Chol: 7.1 mmol/L

Triglyceride: 1.0

HDL C: 2.0

LDL C: 4.6

Non HDL C: 5.2

Chol/HDL Ratio: 3.5

Does this help

[Tibblington]

I am repeating this post because it contains a lot of information which will help you understand the mechanism of cholesterol and, may be, help you to make a decision.

Cholesterol is in every cell of the body and so much is needed for proper body function that it would be impossible to eat enough of it in your diet to satisfy your daily cholesterol needs. To meet this gap the liver manufactures four or five times as much cholesterol as you ingest. The liver adjusts the level in relation to the amount of cholesterol that you eat, so if you ingest high levels of cholesterol then the liver produces less to compensate.

Cholesterol is needed in the body for:

Brain synapses. The vital connections between nerve cells in the brain, and elsewhere, are made almost entirely of cholesterol. It is essential for proper neurological function and plays a key role in the formation of memory and the uptake of hormones in the brain, including serotonin, the body’s ‘feel-good’ chemical.

Vitamin D. A very important vitamin, not only needed to create healthy bones, but now known to be protective against a number of cancers. Vitamin D is synthesized from cholesterol by the action of sunlight on the skin.

Cell membranes. All cells in the body need cholesterol in their cell membranes. Without it they would disintegrate, as cholesterol provides structural integrity.

Sex hormones. Cholesterol is a building block for most sex hormones.

Bile. Cholesterol is a key component of bile salts, which are released from the gall bladder to help with food digestion, especially fats.

Repair. Cholesterol is the body’s repair substance: scar tissue contains high levels of cholesterol.

Extract from ‘The Great Cholesterol Con’ by Dr.Malcolm Kendrick.

Cholesterol is one of the most important substances in the body. We cannot live without it, let alone function well. The pernicious diet-heart hypothesis has vilified this essential substance. Unfortunately, this hypothesis has served many commercial and political interests far too well, so they ensure its long survival. However, the life of the diet-heart hypothesis is coming to an end as we become aware that cholesterol has been mistakenly blamed for the crime just because it was found at the scene.

Extract from the Weston Price Foundation.

So you can see that a low level of cholesterol is not ideal for good health, no matter what your GP may tell you. Remember we are all customers now, not patients. Treatment, whether you need it or not, generates profit and there is no profit in good health.