The truth about cholesterol

Researchers have found that excessively high cholesterol levels are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and that this risk can be reduced by lowering cholesterol levels into a safe range. However it appears that it is not so much high levels of cholesterol that cause heart disease, but high levels of damaged cholesterol (oxysterols) that contribute to heart disease. Every time we eat processed foods, experience stress, infection or trauma, the body responds by increasing the production of damaging chemicals called free radicals. These lead to the creation of oxysterols, which in turn cause inflammation and irritation of the tissues within which they are lodged, including artery walls. This is believed to be a significant contributor to heart disease.

So what do you need to know before you should start lowering your cholesterol levels?

Firstly, you need to know that cholesterol is carried around the bloodstream by fat/protein complexes called lipoproteins, which are divided into two types, LDL (low-density lipoprotein) and HDL (highdensity lipoprotein). Because LDL carries cholesterol to the arteries and increases the risk of fatty deposits in the artery walls – LDL is called the ‘bad’ cholesterol, and because HDL carries cholesterol away from the arteries to the liver, HDL is called the ‘good’ cholesterol. Therefore the higher a person’s HDL cholesterol compared with their LDL cholesterol, the lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Risk for Cardiovascular Disease

What next? Conventional wisdom is that if you have a high cholesterol level, you need to lower it as much as possible. However research suggests that getting cholesterol down too much can have adverse effects on the body (e.g. increased risk of stroke, depression, aggression and even suicide). Our goal therefore is to bring it into a healthy range of 4.9 to 5.4 mmol/l.

How to lower your cholesterol naturally

Diet

For most people, less than 5% of the cholesterol in the bloodstream gets there through diet. So whilst limiting read more

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