|
Home / Health / Diseases and Conditions
Is Cholesterol Really the Enemy?
By:Garey Simmons
I am going to be blunt here. I have been studying Omega-3s, heart disease, cholesterol and statins for 2 years now. I am not a doctor, not a scientist, and I got a 'C' in high school chemistry. I am more than likely just like you - a laymen in this field. And I am going to throw down the gauntlet: Don't believe a word I say.
I want you to start asking questions. Yep, just like all the commericials on the TV say, "Ask your doctor about..." But here is the question I have been asking for 2 years and finally, finally am beginning to see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.
It's about this cholesterol doctrine or dogma, the action of Omega-3s on cholesterol, etc. It is certainly not what you see on the television. So last week I am at a trade show with all the new health products and I run into a gentleman, a pharmacologist, who is also an inventor of nutraceutical supplements.
After one hour of being schooled, I have some possible answers. You don't have to believe it, you don't have to accept it. After all, you have had 15 years of indoctrination from TV and that is a lot to overcome after reading this short article.
We say there are two kinds of cholesterol HDL and LDL.
HDL equals "Good" and LDL equals "Bad". The simplicity of modern medicine!
In actual fact there is only one kind of cholesterol and it's all GOOD. It is called cholesterol. The transport mechanism is Lipid Proteins. Cholesterol being a fat needs a vehicle to travel in through water based bloodstream.
The High Density Protein transporter, called Good, is the vehicle that is on a mono rail heading straight to the liver to be pump out or expressed out of the body. We call that Good. HDL has other functions enroute like gobbling up LDL cholesterol that may be hanging around and no longer being needed .
Low Density Lipid Proteins on the other hand, have another function. They don't go to the liver, they go everywhere else ...hence we say "Bad". The unexplained mystery is that these LDL Bad, nasty vehicles carrying the very same cholesterol actually are there for a reason.
Cholesterol is basic to human make up and function. There are too many functions to list in this short article but suffice it to say that it is needed in many parts of the body including the brain where neurotransmitters need to be insulated and coated just like the electrical wiring in your home.
This is one entirely needed function of cholesterol. So if you don't get that cholesterol to your brain by the LDL transporters, you begin to develop degenerative problems.
Now, too much of anything can be a bad thing and the fact that LDL gets really out of whack, the body is telling us something. If the LDL in ratio is abnormally high compared to HDL, this is a sign that there are stressors in the body.
The body is ordering up the LDL to deal with some serious problems. High blood pressure, hyper tension, high blood sugar, cigarette smoke and other life style issues that we actually have control over. Could it be the LDL is being manufacturered because of a deficiency in Omega-3s?
Let's use a simple analogy. I get sick. I have a fever. It's 102 degrees and I feel bad. Is the fever the cause of my sickness or is it a sign, a signal that something is wrong? Do I just treat the fever?
Aspirin may make me feel better, but is it curing my illness? Or is the chicken soup (nourishment) actually helping me to overcome whatever ailment is dragging on me? Or ask the next question, why do I have a fever? So with high LDL cholesterol. It begs another question.
Why is my LDL high? Instead of settling for a statin to lower the cholesterol (the symptom) unnaturally, why not look a little bit further and find out why the body feels it needs the extra cholesterol to help body function because of the life style stressor? Again, I ask could it be that a deficiency in Omega-3s could be part of the answer?
My contention is that both types of cholesterol are needed. By ingesting lots of Omega-3s, we are actually adding another fat to the body that will make the blood platelettes silkly smooth because this fat has the proper electrical charge to keep the blood from being clumpy.
We are providing healthy fats so that the body doesn't have to restock on LDLs quite as often. People who take a large amount of Omega-3s find that their ratios of HDL and LDL get better even if total cholesterol takes awhile to level out.
Work with your body. Use natural solutions through nutrition. If the situation is acute then by all means use the pharmaceutical products to save life where necessary, but remember its a marathon not a sprint. Those who have been on statins for years find out that their liver functions are impaired and other side effects present themselves.
Some doctors are worried about the overprescribing of statins and their long term side effects. One doctor I heard on radio said that this one action of over zealous prescribing of statins might crash our whole health care system in the future.
This is why respected doctors like Dr. Mercola and Dr. Russell Blaylock decry the myth of cholesterol, tell people to avoid statin drugs and beg people to convert to high potency Omega-3s. Not regular fish oil that can be tainted with mercury, but high powered Omega-3s that are molecularly distilled several times to reduce any risk of mercury.
Any highly distilled Omega-3 should show at least 600 mgs of EPA/DHA Omega-3 per capsule and some can contain as much as 800 mgs per capsule. If your Omega-3s only contain 300 mgs per 1 gram capule then you are ingesting 700 mgs of something else.
So know your source. Tests for purity should always show below 1 ppm (1 part per million) making it safe for human consumption.
It's extremely difficult to change a mindset that has been conditioned for many years. I only ask you to consider this viewpoint as silly as it may seem.
Statins inhibit cholesterol being produced in the liver but it also inhibits CoQ10, a catalyst in muscle energy production.
This is why you feel tired and fatigued on statins. The heart is a muscle. So here we are medicating for lowering of cholesterol because of fears over heart disease but the medicine is actually robbing the heart of needed energy to pump blood. Go figure!
Take lots of high quality Omega-3s, you've feel better and be better, my humble opinion.
Digg
del.icio.us
Blink
Stumble
Spurl
Reddit
Netscape
Furl
Article keywords: res-q 1250, Omega-3s, Omega3, fish oil, heart health, statin drugs, rescue 1250
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
Garey Simmons writes about heart health from the perspective
of someone who has been there and done that. Diagnosed with high risk
of heart disease, elevated triglyceride count, and suspect family history, Garey
studied for 2 years to acquire an interesting perspective on the natural means
of reversing heart disease, find more from Garey at http://OptimalHealthRSQ.com
|
|
| Top Diseases and Conditions Articles |
- 1). Acid Reflux: What You Really Need To Know. By : Tyson J Stevenson
The formation of gases and acidic substances in the stomach and its backing up into the esophagus causes severe pain or burning sensation in the stomach and chest area that is clinically known as Acid Reflux or Gastroespohageal Reflux Disease.
|
- 2). Alcoholism— What Should I Know About It? By : Geoff Hugh
What is alcoholism?
Alcoholism is a disease that affects the part of the brain that controls your feelings, the way you make decisions, and the way you act. People with alcoholism cannot control how much they drink. What causes alcoholism?
Nobody knows what causes alcoholism. People with parents who have alcoholism have a greater chance of getting the disease.
|
- 3). What is Anorexia By : Keith George
Self induced emotional eating disorder characterized by persistent loss of appetite is called anorexia. Excessive consciousness toward weight loss, counting calories and excessive exercises can lead to a severe emotional eating disorder called anorexia.
|
- 4). Alcoholism Disease Or Not? By : The Source
Alcoholism can be given a lot of definitions and all of them stress the fact that there is a terrible disease that involves addiction to spirits. Apart from the physical dependence on alcohol, there are other psychological, genetic and social factors that may play a role in the development of alcoholism. Many social, economic and public health problems are determined by this very serious disease.
|
|
|
- 6). Gastritis Is More Than Indigestion By : Kevin Pederson
It is the inflammation of the stomach getting the defense system on roll. It would mean that the stomach is injured and the white blood cells move on the walls of the stomach for help. The inflammation can be caused due to an infection caused by bacterium which can lead to stomach ulcers. Any other injury can also cause such problems.
|
- 7). The Demonization Of Genital Herpes By : Christopher Scipio
Those of us who have so-called “genital herpes” are caught between a rock and a hard place. On one hand we are ostracized by the minority of the population (about 40%) who don’t currently have herpes simplex in their body, which is bad enough, but more cruelly we are often isolated by our fellow members of the herpes community who have so-called cold sores (heroes simplex 1 of the mouth and face).
|
- 8). I am a mouth ulcers By : Ryan Fyfe
Although it's not my favorite thing to be in the world, I am a mouth ulcer. My street name is most commonly: canker sore. I've got a fancy name, and that involves painful open sores that will exist in your mouth when the mucous membrane breaks. You might also choose to call me one of these other names: aphthous stomatitis or aphthous ulcer. Now that we have that out of the way.
|
|
|
- 10). HPV Virus By : Ryan Fyfe
Human Papilloma Ciruses (HPV) is a virus that infects humans. Some of the effects of the virus are associated with sexually transmitted diseases (STD's).
Over one hundred strains of the virus have been identified by Scientists. Most of these strains are harmless. Some of these strains can produce common skin warts which appear on the hands and feet.
|
| New Diseases and Conditions Articles |
|
|
|
|
|
|
- 4). Understanding Coeliac Disease By : Anne Wolski
Coeliac disease is a genetic condition that is caused by an inability to digest gluten. Hence the reason that this disease is also known as gluten intolerance.
|
|
|
- 6). Home Remedies For Breast Tenderness By : Kevin Pederson
A problem like breast tenderness may arise due to combination of factors like diet, nutrition, water, weight, age, menstrual cycle and fluctuating hormones. Studies conclude nearly three in four women suffer this discomfort at least once in their mature life.
|
|
|
- 8). Alzheimer’s Disease: What Every Family Needs to Know By : Douglas Hardwick
Alzheimer’s disease touches the lives of millions of Americans. Today, some 4.5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s, and 1 in 10 families have a loved one afflicted with it. With no cure in sight, it is important for families to arm themselves with information about this devastating disease.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
