[NowAgeMin] You Say Too High, I Say Too Low

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Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

4/11/04 - You Say Too High, I Say Too Low

 

In a twist on a classic Beatles tune, recent reporting on ideal

cholesterol levels for vital health are bound to make an already

confused conversation even more confused. A piece by Gina Kolata in

the NY Times a few weeks back says researchers are questioning the

theory that H.D.L (good cholesterol), does, in fact, counteract the

damaging effects of L.D.L. (bad cholesterol). According to the

article:

 

 

" For years, doctors have been saying that to prevent heart disease,

patients should pay attention to both the so-called bad cholesterol,

or L.D.L., and the good cholesterol, or H.D.L. The good, they said,

can counteract the bad.

 

But now, some scientists say, new and continuing studies have called

into question whether high levels of the good cholesterol are always

good and, when they are beneficial, how much.

 

While some heart experts are not ready to change their treatment

advice, others have concluded that H.D.L. should play at most a

minor role in deciding whether to prescribe cholesterol-lowering

drugs. In the meantime, doctors are calling researchers and asking

what to do about patients with high H.D.L. levels, or what to do

when their own H.D.L. levels are high, and patients are left with

conflicting advice. "

 

 

To read Ms. Kolata's article, you might get the impression that the

only way to protect yourself from heart disease is by taking statin

drugs, which are designed to lower cholesterol. Seems like, from

reading Ms. Kolata's column for years, that there's no problem that

science and drugs can't fix.

 

 

In another piece of drug induced cholesterol reporting, this week

results of a preliminary study by researchers at University of

Pennsylvania and Tufts University showed their new pill can raise

H.D.L., while lowering L.D.L. levels. You need to read a few

paragraphs down to learn that the study was funded, in part, by

Pfizer Inc., the maker of the experimental drug. All this reporting

makes you wonder: is there a drug-free answer to good health? In

order to answer that question, you need to look beyond the domestic

press (so, what else is new?)

 

 

This week, the Guardian of London reported on a group of researchers

called, the Cholesterol Skeptics. According to the piece, the

Skeptics maintain that inflammation, not cholesterol, is the primary

culprit in heart disease(2). And that inflammation can be addressed

by simply adding omega 3 essential fatty acids to one's dietary

regime. There's much more to be said on this topic, but that's for

another column.

 

 

The question for me is, how did something as useful as cholesterol

turn into the biological Bin Laden? Yes, I said useful. Dig this.

According to nutrition writer Sally Fallon, and Mary Enig, Phd.,

cholesterol may be the body's best friend. From an article co-

written by the two researchers titled, " The Skinny on Fats " ,

 

 

" And what about cholesterol? Here, too, the public has been

misinformed. Our blood vessels can become damaged in a number of

ways—through irritations caused by free radicals or viruses, or

because they are structurally weak—and when this happens, the body's

natural healing substance steps in to repair the damage. That

substance is cholesterol. Cholesterol is a high-molecular-weight

alcohol that is manufactured in the liver and in most human

cells. " (3)

 

 

The article also states this interesting function of cholesterol,

considering the current debate about antidepressants,

 

 

" Cholesterol is needed for proper function of serotonin receptors in

the brain. Serotonin is the body's natural " feel-good " chemical. Low

cholesterol levels have been linked to aggressive and violent

behavior, depression and suicidal tendencies. "

 

The problem with the Skeptics version of events is that there is

little profit for multinational drug cartels in marketing fish oils.

Remember, Lipitor is one of the best selling prescription drugs in

the world. In the end, the cholesterol confusion is another casualty

of the American " anything for a buck " way of life. All this

capitalism is killing us, literally.

 

 

-Craig Gordon

 

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