High Cholesterol, Not Worth the Treatment Cost

Hello again readers, Dr. Faler ND here. Recently I have been thinking quite a lot about cholesterol and the 50% of the American population who have “elevated cholesterol”. A few weeks ago someone very close to me was told that he needed to go on Lipitor, a cholesterol lowering drug, also known as a statin drug. He was told that his cholesterol was too high and that the drug was required every day from now on to ensure his safety. Now I have studied these drugs extensively and I know the effects that they have on the body. First let me say there is no such thing as a side effect, they are all effects. The only reason they call them side effects is because they are other than what was intended. They are effects, just as significant as the therapeutic effect. Now I am not a drug hater. There are times when they are an absolute blessing and life saver without a doubt. However, I do have a problem with routine prescribing of long term maintenance chemical agents. I have seen enough in practice to know that it does not improve health but in fact slowly whittles away at good health by causing numerous imbalances in the body. The problems of maintenance pharmaceutical treatment as a means to improve health is an in depth topic for another day but in short the problem is this. Maintenance pharmaceutical treatment attempts to control the body rigorously through maintained chemical manipulation. Applying this level of control over the body for a long period of time assumes that we know better than nature how to balance our complex system. Anytime I have witnessed man attempting to control nature for a long period of time, I have witnessed a mess. Good health comes from living within the laws of nature, giving the body the tools it needs, maintaining the body through exercise as well as maintaining integrity, quality relationships and a meaningful sense of purpose.

So cholesterol and what to do about it has been on my mind lately and this is what I have found. First, what is cholesterol? Is it some foreign enemy to the body to be kept in check at all costs? No. Cholesterol is essential to human life. Every cell in your entire body is made from cholesterol. Every hormone you produce to run your body is built from cholesterol. If you were to stop eating cholesterol completely, a vegan vegetarian diet, your liver and intestines would produce more, to supply the needs of the body. So according the American Heritage dictionary cholesterol is defined as the following:

“A white crystalline substance, C₂₇H₄₅OH, found in animal tissues and various foods, that is normally synthesized by the liver and is important as a constituent of cell membranes and a precursor to steroid hormones. Its level in the bloodstream can influence the pathogenesis of certain conditions, such as the development of atherosclerotic plaque and coronary artery disease [cholester(in), former name for cholesterol (CHOLE– + Greek stereos, solid + –IN) + –OL¹ (so called because it was first found in gallstones).]”

Cholesterol is a fatty substance found in the animal products that we consume as well as in very small amounts in plant substances. Again, here the FDA has created confusion, allowing producers to label plant products as having zero cholesterol, when in fact they do contain a small amount, and again I say why mislabel our foods. (See previous article “Trans Fats, Just a Little, Lie.”?) Cholesterol is used in the body to manufacture the outer wall of every cell of the body as well as to produce the hormones that regulate the functions of the body. Cholesterol is also used to produce myelin, a fatty coating on the outside of each nerve to ensure rapid and accurate transmission of nerve signals, like the outer covering of electrical wires. So obviously, cholesterol is quite an important substance to the body and essential to human life. Conversely LDL cholesterol, one form of cholesterol, i.e. bad cholesterol, has also been shown to deposit it self on the walls of arteries causing the formation of a hard thick substance called cholesterol plaque. Over time, cholesterol plaque causes thickening of the artery walls and narrowing of the arteries, a process called atherosclerosis. This process increases the chances of several serious cardiovascular disorders, namely heart attack and stroke. Herein lies the dilemma. Cholesterol is a double edged sword essential to life and also part of a dangerous process. So, because there is cholesterol in the plaque found in artery walls, an elevated serum concentration of cholesterol is assumed to be the cause of the plaque. As you will see this is not necessarily the case. In fact the cholesterol deposits itself in artery walls as a part of a repair mechanism for small tears in the lining of the walls of blood vessels. So perhaps looking further into how to reduce the number of micro tears in artery walls would provide a more effective solution.

Ok, now we have identified what cholesterol is and that it is both essential to life, as well as a contributing factor to atherosclerosis and perhaps a risk factor in cardiovascular disease. Next let’s take a look at a cost benefit analysis of elevated cholesterol and its related risks and the pharmaceutical treatment currently used by ten million Americans to lower cholesterol and the health risks that come with that. Which is more dangerous? Does one ensure longer life? Does either detract for the quality of life lived?

Let’s first have a look at the connection between elevated cholesterol and CHD, coronary heart disease. Following is some data from a fifty year long study that is still running today, the Framingham Heart Study. (Reference 2)

In the Framingham Heart Study, as many as one third of all coronary heart disease (CHD) events occurred in individuals with total cholesterol <200 mg/dL. Considering that the average U.S. cholesterol level is approximately 210 to 220 mg/dL, almost half of all heart attack events and all stroke events that will occur in the United States next year will in fact occur among individuals with below-average lipid levels. For this reason, our research group has sought in our large-scale prospective epidemiologic studies to understand better other markers associated with cardiovascular risk.

Did you read that?!!… “Almost half of all heart attack events and all stroke events that will occur in the next year in the United States next year will in fact occur among individuals with below average lipid levels.” Furthermore, the graph above, particularly the curve labeled No CHD, shows that 60% of those people, with out CHD, are well above the so called safe cholesterol levels and have had no CHD. This data represents information gathered from a large population over the course of 26 years and from what I can see indicates little to no link between the level of total cholesterol in the blood and CHD. So, why then are10 million Americans on statin drug therapy to lower their cholesterol? If a statin drug were good for your health, if they somehow boosted your health while minimizing this already small if at all existent risk, then I would say it is a good idea to have 10 million Americans on an indefinite prescription for them. Statin drugs will in fact lower your serum cholesterol, but according to this data from the Framingham Heart study this in no way makes you safer or ensures a decrease in likelihood of CHD and it certainly does not improve your health. In fact statin drug therapy is quite detrimental to your health. Prior to beginning this therapy the prescribing doctor must check the integrity of the patients liver, run liver enzymes. If the liver shows no sign of pathology then this new drug, liver burden, can safely be started. Now six months into the therapy the liver enzymes, a measure of liver integrity, must be again checked and so on every six months as long as a person takes one of the statin drugs. So if the liver must be watched so closely during therapy with statin drugs, would it be safe to say that statin drugs are known to detract from the health of the liver, to deteriorate the liver?

Several other common side effects of taking statin drugs are muscle pain, loss of memory, headaches, nausea and abdominal pain. Statin drugs have also been shown to not only do their job of inhibiting the liver from producing cholesterol, but also to decrease the production of the Co Q 10 a known beneficial and requiered nutrient for the well being of the heart.

In review, the data shows that cholesterol levels in the blood greater than 200 mg/dl are not significantly correlated or linked to CHD or strokes. Meanwhile ten million Americans are receiving indefinite treatment with one of the statin drugs in an attempt to lower their cholesterol and prevent CHD. Cholesterol lowering agents, statin drugs, which are harmful to the liver, cause muscle pain, mental confusion, nausea and abdominal pain, will indeed lower the cholesterol in your blood stream by preventing you body from producing it but there is no evidence that this improves your health in any way. Seems to me that taking a liver toxic drug to lower cholesterol in the blood when we have 26 years worth of data that shows there is little correlation with “elevated cholesterol” and CHD is a bit like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Simply put there are no known health benefits to taking a statin drug and there are known health costs, so why would you take this substance? I would not.

So what do you do to prevent CHD? Well first things first, take responsibility for your health. If you want even mild assurance of a healthy heart you must personally take some action to make that happen. Start by consulting a natural health care professional, a licensed Naturopathic Physician or well trained Chiropractor. Ask them about reducing inflammation in your body, this is the real silent killer! Earlier I mentioned that cholesterol plaque on the artery walls are a part of a repair process for small tears in the inner lining of arteries. Perhaps rather than trying to suppress cholesterol level we should look to reducing inflammation and irritation in the lining of arteries and there by prevent their tearing and the resultant plaque build up. Talk to you natural health care professional about how to take steps to invest in your health and well being and then follow their recommendations. Let your natural health care provider help you identify the health burdens in your life then follow his/her instructions to eliminate these burdens. Take a long hard look at your personal health economy and decide where you can cut some costs such as, poor diet, bad habits, and negative thought patterns. Add in some new health income, quality food, increased vegetable intake, exercise, good relationships, find ways to increase the joy in your life, this will be good for your heart. As I have said, life offers no guarantees but we can work to increase likelihoods. Your first step is to seek the professional guidance of a licensed natural health care provider. The great thing about natural health care is that there are no bad side effects only improved health and better quality of life.

Well until next time, think positive, eat well and live, laugh and love.

Your Friend In Health,

Philip W. Faler ND

 

 

 

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