It’s likely that you’ve heard cholesterol is the cause of multiple problems in your body such as infertility, high blood pressure and heart disease, the latter being the leading cause of death in the United States.
Well, I’ve come to give you a handful of facts about this misunderstood lipid that the pharmaceutical industry hasn’t told you.
Nearly every health-hazard in our bodies has been attributed to cholesterol, especially LDL, or “bad” cholesterol. So what’s the truth about cholesterol? Here are 5 facts.
Fact #1: Your brain actually needs cholesterol.
We’ve been so busy slandering the reputation of cholesterol that we fail to realize it makes up 25% of our brains, and nearly half of every cell in our bodies, making it a crucial part of our existence.
When you lower your cholesterol, usually by taking statins (cholesterol-reducing drugs), you are more prone to memory loss and general cognitive dysfunction, because you are depleting the brain of necessary cholesterol.
Did you know that women with low cholesterol are more likely to develop depression or anxiety, because the drop in cholesterol could possibly decrease levels of serotonin, which is regarded by many researchers to maintain mood balance?
Other effects of low cholesterol include aggressive behavior and violent tendencies, as well as a higher risk of suicidal thoughts and actions.
Fact #2 Without cholesterol, all women would be barren.
Want a baby? You need cholesterol because every sex hormone in our bodies is made from it. The fight against animal fats and cholesterol has, unfortunately, become a war on normal sexual development, fertility and reproduction. One third of western women are infertile, and the same is true of young men.
Cholesterol is the stuff steroid hormones are made of (such as testosterone, progesterone, pregnenolone, androsterone, estrone— to name a few), explains Dr. Chris Masterjohn.
These fancy-named hormones accomplish many different functions in the body, from regulation of our metabolism, energy production, brain, muscle and bone formation, to behavior, emotions and reproduction.
Fact #3 The idea of “bad cholesterol” is a myth.
You have likely heard lots about good versus bad cholesterol, but there is no inherently “bad” cholesterol. LDL and HDL, commonly dubbed “good” and “bad” cholesterol, are actually lipoproteins that carry cholesterol. The abbreviations stand for low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL).
Now, pay close attention.
Elevated levels of LDLs (“bad cholesterol”) are not the cause of inflammation in the body; they are the response. You see, the body is unable to clear an infection, remove toxins or heal wounds without cholesterol. Any healing involves the birth, growth and functioning of thousands of cells. Because these cells are partly made up of cholesterol, they cannot form and grow without a considerable supply of this substance. When cells are damaged, they naturally require cholesterol to repair themselves.
“Without inflammation being present in the body, there is no way that cholesterol would accumulate in the wall of the blood vessel and cause heart disease and strokes,” says heart surgeon, Dr. Dwight Lundell. He continues, “Without inflammation, cholesterol would move freely throughout the body as nature intended. It is inflammation that causes cholesterol to become trapped.”
To put it simply, the LDL is the ambulance that transports cholesterol to areas in need of healing, and the HDL is the bus back to the liver until it is needed again.
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SOURCE: EEW Magazine – Julianne Collins
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