This was copied from an email I got so don’t go shooting the messenger if you don’t agree :).
“I have been trying for years, decades actually, to raise my cholesterol. Finally after a more significant (call it strict if you like) change in diet, it’s happening and that’s a good thing. You see, low cholesterol is often much more dangerous than high cholesterol even though we’re led to believe that cholesterol is evil. A cholesterol level below 160 mg/dl is said to increase one’s risk of many cancers, stroke, neurological problems such as memory loss and dementia, and many other health problems ranging from digestive to hormonal. I often tell a patient that if they had to pick one, high cholesterol is better than low. People with high cholesterol live the longest. This statement seems so incredible that it takes a long time to clear one´s brainwashed mind to fully understand its importance. Yet the fact that people with high cholesterol live the longest emerges clearly from many scientific papers.
Consider the finding of Dr. Harlan Krumholz of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Yale University, who reported in 1994 that old people with low cholesterol died twice as often from a heart attack as did old people with a high cholesterol.1 Supporters of the cholesterol campaign consistently ignore his observation, or consider it as a rare exception, produced by chance among a huge number of studies finding the opposite.
Some notable cholesterol functions:
It acts as a precursor to vitamin D – low cholesterol means it will be more difficult to absorb this vitamin necessary for a healthy immune system, bones, and DNA. More on vitamin D here.
It is the precursor to all steroid hormones such as glucocorticoids which control blood sugar, mineralcorticoids which regulate electrolyte balance and blood pressure, and sex hormones such as progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone.
It is used to synthesize bile acids in the liver, which are important for the digestion of fats. These bile salts are then stored in the gallbladder.
Cholesterol is found in every cell of your body and is a necessary component of a healthy brain that needs to store and recall memory, process ideas, and function at its highest level.
Your Diet is the Key to Your Health
Free radical damage is often the result of lack of antioxidants in the body, such as vitamins A, C, and E but perhaps more importantly are all the healthy antioxidants found in fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Vitamin D is also a very important antioxidant – and one that won’t be well utilized by a low cholesterol body.
Coenzyme Q10 is a very an important antioxidant needed by the heart and for the body to make energy. Statins (cholesterol meds) block CoQ10 from being made naturally in the body, therefore increasing free radical damage and further oxidizing LDLs. The more stress one is under – physical, nutritional, and emotional – the more free radical damage your body will succumb to.
Unhealthy fats mean partially hydrogenated “trans” fats as well as all polyunsaturated vegetable oils – corn, soy, sunflower, safflower, peanut, cottonseed, and yes definitely canola.
And yes high carbohydrates (refined sugar especially) will lead to oxidized LDLs.
Take Moringa to Improve Your Health
The data obtained in the present study suggests that the extracts of Moringa oleifera both mature and tender leaves have potent antioxidant activity against free radicals, prevent oxidative damage to major biomolecules and afford significant protection against oxidative damage.
Its high antioxidant levels can help fight free radicals, potentially slowing down the ageing process and promoting longevity.
It is thought to be able to regulate blood pressure, due to the high levels of niacin and vitamins B3 and B10.
A serving of 100g of this tree gives:
over 8g protein
over 400mg potassium
nearly 450mg calcium
164mg vitamin C
738 ¼g of vitamin A”
I shall add that my aunt has been taking statins for years and me and my mum have see how she has degraded.
I once heard that low cholesterol leads to your body basically falling apart and have also heard that it could lead to diabetes. My aunt is now pre-diabetic.
I want her to come off them really as there doing more harm than good but she is brainwashed just like most other people. She won’t listen. She’ll carry on taking them because she thinks they are helping….. yeah, helping you die quicker.
Written by
Matt2584
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Hi Matt, the majority of people with a cholesterol problem is high cholesterol which is a very significant health risk which’s why cholesterol levels are important to be within guidelines as low cholesterol is harmful as is high cholesterol.
We encourage reputable sources for info and here’s the NHS cholesterol advice:
Low cholesterol can cause: hopelessness, nervousness, confusion, agitation. Which shows the importance of keeping our cholesterol levels within a healthy range.
If a Dr prescribes statins then it’s not our place to undermine this, we cannot give medical advice and just because you were sent this as an email does not give it any credence in my opinion and you have to understand that many people die because of high cholesterol.
I urge members to listen to their GP and keep their cholesterol levels within in guidelines and under no circumstances stop taking statins without medical guidance. As you could have a stroke or a heart attack.
So it’s about a balanced healthy diet with a healthy weight and healthy stats.
You’ve even strayed into here say with you’ve heard low cholesterol causes diabetes this is conjecture so please use credible sources.
Certainly most would agree high cholesterol can be a health problem at least under certain conditions eg depending on LDL particle size.
However, surely it makes sense to investigate the cause of any increase rather than just reduce it to within guidelines. Sorry I know it appears wrong to even question the NHS (!).
But if a smoke alarm goes off in surgery, surely the doctors wouldn't just remove its battery?
Hello userotc I agree that we should treat our ailments holistically and if people ate a healthy diet they wouldn’t need meds to counteract the problems that poor eating habits have caused, so prevention is far better than a cure.
I don’t think a Dr taking the battery out of a smoke detector is a good analogy I’m afraid.
The NHS is not perfect but we are very lucky as the NHS is envied around the world.
You missed a vital point that we are responsible for our bodies and it’s needs hence obesity diabetes high cholesterol and the unhappiness poor eating habits really create. So it’s the self destructive relationship that some have with food that needs changing and the subsequent suffering and unhappiness this causes and only we can change that.
Not sure why you think I missed a point re our eating habits in terms of my response. As a pending naturopathic nutritionist, I fully agree with that.
I know you don't want anyone to question the NHS but there's actually another point re it and obesity. The majority of nurses we encounter should note their own obesity before advising others (as they often do). And imo the NHS should address it as it sends out the wrong message.
Yes we should absolutely follow healthy eating ourselves (and I/we personally do). But NHS has a key role.
So I suggest we agree to disagree on the NHS. And I think the smoke alarm analogy to drugs which just suppress symptoms is apt.
The NHS is not perfect and I said this but deriding it is not the answer as we would miss our NHS off we had to have private health care.
If my car runs low on petrol I fill it up rather than take the fuse out of the petrol gauge and this is as irresponsible as a Dr taking the battery out of the smoke alarm so yes I will agree to disagree.
From your petrol indicator analogy, it seems we agree on Dr irresponsibility which is good.In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with private healthcare if it's better than NHS.
Nowadays we pay for the majority of tests we have to prevent disease. We feel health shouldn't be about money. My dad agrees and I dread to think how much NI he paid over 45yrs mainly as a high rate taxpayer!
My GP was pleased that the statins reduced my cholesterol readings within weeks - but I hadn't changed anything about my lifestyle at that point, which was basically thinking I was eating as healthily as I could manage, everything low fat, baked potatoes, dry toast. I was still very much overweight. It was when I changed my diet to low carb and lost a lot of weight that I decided to stop taking statins and see how my blood tests fared. GP still happy with results and never questioned why I had stopped asking for a repeat prescription.
Thing is though, what exactly is a CREDIBLE SOURCE these days?
For me, the NHS is in no way ‘credible’.
If a person was to follow, what they thought, were, “Credible” sources and it got them nowhere and then they learnt of alternative sources, which they tried out and found was more effective then wouldn’t that alternative source be more credible?
If my GP told me that my cholesterol was high and he suggested I started taking statins, then I would say that I will look for an alternative.
With all respect Matt, I’m not sure I agree with this post. It is my understanding that naturally occurring low cholesterol is due to an underlying health condition and is rare. When someone is found to have high cholesterol of the ‘bad’ type, unless there is a familial disposition, I understand it is invariably due to diet/lifestyle and sometimes medication is needed. I agree that is is worth liaising with ones GP to review levels over a period of time for positive lowering of levels. However, there would have to be a significant pause in taking medications in order to accurately determine if lower levels was a permanent thing.
The body naturally makes cholesterol- it’s our dietary and lifestyle choices than can affect it’s production on the whole (again, there be a genetic disposition that causes high levels) but I would caution anyone against either suddenly stopping statins without medical advice😊
High cholesterol has been viewed by some doctors as blaming the fireman for causing the fires just because you see them at the scene. or blaming recovery trucks for being the cause of breakdowns and accidents. NHS consultant cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra has claimed that for those who have had one heart attack lowering cholesterol with statins is only likely to help 100% of patients and in older people high choleserol can lead to longer life. Check out his book 'A Statin Free Life'.Unfortunately there are two types of LDL cholesterol and only of of them is dangerous and the tests do not tell you which wone you have, the best way to tell is if you have a higher level of trigycerides (building blocks for fat) than you have of cholesterol.
I have found this to be an interesting post having been unfortunate enough to suffer debilitating effects from taking a statin. As my cholesterol numbers weren’t alarming … this was at a time when everyone was prescribed a statin whether needed or not … I decided to research as much as possible regarding diet and lifestyle changes and followed my own instincts. I found some very interesting reading on the subject from what I considered to be reliable sources and felt that my GP, or Practice Nurse in my case, only had a limited knowledge and wasn’t going to be much help to me. So I stopped taking the statins, changed my lifestyle and diet and the pains and brain fog instantly went away.
I do agree though that this course of action is not advised for everyone and if you’re lucky enough to have a GP who hasn’t run for the hills due to Covid and it is possible to have a discussion then that would be the best option.
I would also like to mention that a few of my friends have low cholesterol … some are quite smug about it - but they’re not healthy and suffer from the effects mentioned.
I am glad coming away from statins has helped you :).
I have a brain injury and although I wasn’t really on any medication after my many operations besides paracetamol or ibuprofen every now and then due to frequent headache, I have changed my diet around drastically and eat more healthier and I hardly get headaches no more.
If I do get them, I treat them naturally via frankincense essential oil or yoga and this helps.
No more pills for me.
I do not trust the NHS or pharmaceutical industry, one jot.
I do thank the NHS when I was younger as I most likely would not be here now but as I grew up and moved to the adult wards I found the care from the nurses was terrible and it’s pretty lucky I survived due to the lack of care.
I'm sorry you feel that way about the NHS, I'm a retired nurse, and I know that since the training was changed to University, care standards have dropped, as machines have taken over from the personal care we used to get. It used to be very hands on, but nowadays it seems to be more production line stuff, especially on surgical wards.
I too was on statins for awhile, but I managed to get my cholesterol under control, but it might be on the up again now. Haven't seen a doctor for about 3 years!
Matt, I agree with most of your post (the part about how important cholesterol is in our body for all the reasons you list). There is no real evidence that high cholesterol causes the cardio-vascular diseases it is linked with - it seems to happen alongside those diseases, but as all good researchers know, correlation is not evidence of causation.The part I disagree with is your emphasis on Moringa - this is surely just another plant with excellent qualities. If we eat a good range of vegetables and fruit we will get all the vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants we need - we do not need to consume plants that don't grow in our part of the world, not do we need to take manufactured supplements.
The part about Moringa, it’s copied from an email. None of it is really my wording.But anyway, the email named Moringa cos it is really good stuff, along with wheatgrass, that is also good.But I agree with you, it is another plant with great qualities and I understand that not everyone can get hold of it.
I can only get the extract powder from the likes of Holland & Barrett or somewhere online but I would rather have the actual Moringa leaves which is virtually impossible to come by since we can’t grow the Moringa tree here.
But having a variety of different fruits and veg with certain qualities is most likely good enough :).
Interesting post! Any idea how the person managed to raise their cholesterol? Mine is extremely low (92 total) and am worried it's linked to my other health issues. I'd love to know how to get to a healthy level.
Your body naturally creates cholesterol anyway.I assume certain foods a person eats can also build up cholesterol but I don’t really know that for sure.
I haven’t looked too much into how cholesterol works.
But if I were to start reading up more on cholesterol I certainly would not look for the answers on the NHS website.
Although a lot of people will say they are a ‘credible source’.
I, onthe other hand, don’t think they are very credible….but that’s my opinion I suppose.
Ah thanks. I know the body builds cholesterol, but mine obviously isn't building much, so I want to know if I can do something. Was just wondering whether the person who wrote the email mentioned how, but I guess not. I read somewhere that a low carb high fat diet is good for raising the good cholesterol, and exercise, so I'll try that.
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