Cholesterol

Nearly 30 million Americans now taking statin drugs for perceived heart health do not understand that they are dangerously lowering a substance vital to the human body. Cholesterol is a steroid molecule that plays a critical role in human physiology. It is a major component of cellular membranes and is particularly critical for the proper function of neurons, allowing them to rapidly transmit electrical impulses over distances. Cholesterol is also the precursor to vitamin D and even provides the framework for the synthesis of bile salts which are vital for digestion and absorption of dietary fat.

Cholesterol serves as a precursor to sex hormones (androgens and estrogens); mineralocorticoids which control the balance of water and minerals in the kidney; and glucocorticoids which control blood sugar and protein metabolism, immune suppression, and inflammation.

Knowing the importance of this substance, one must wonder why cholesterol has been labeled “Enemy Number One” in healthcare and the media. Low or cholesterol-free foods have dominated headlines for decades, yet there is little evidence that cholesterol-rich foods and saturated fats contribute to heart disease. Actually, as Americans have decreased consumption of cholesterol-rich foods and saturated fat, rates of heart disease have increased.

Many progressive medical scientists have put forth valid reasons for the epidemic of heart disease in western societies, concluding that the cause of heart disease is not cholesterol. Inflammation, nutritional deficiencies, consumption of synthetic trans fats, and increased stress levels have been undeniably linked to heart disease. Unfortunately, most heart disease research is funded by institutions firmly committed to the flawed hypothesis that cholesterol and saturated fat cause heart disease while sugar consumption is conveniently ignored.

Symptoms & Diagnosis

Cholesterol causes no signs of observable sickness. Therefore, many are told that drug intervention is necessary due to diagnosis from a routine blood test or lipid panel. Acceptable lab numbers have dramatically declined over time, resulting in more prescriptions written for drugs widely known to cause mental decline, musculoskeletal pain, and multiple neurodegenerative issues. After years of statin drug use, patients still feel unwell despite the doctor’s encouraging report that their cholesterol numbers appear normal and that all is well. This routine continues for decades, and the result is an increasingly sicker population with no foreseeable end in sight.

Medical Treatment

Rates of heart failure have doubled since the advent of statin drugs. Modern cholesterol-lowering drugs inhibit an enzyme necessary for the formation of cholesterol in the liver. Drugs like Lipitor, Zocor, and Crestor carry serious side effects: destruction of muscle tissue, cognitive impairment, depression, liver and kidney damage, suppression of the immune system, and increased risk of cancer. Pain and tingling in the hands and feet as well as difficulty walking are often blamed on old age rather than on the statin drugs themselves. Several statin drugs have been pulled from the market due to multiple deaths.

How We Can Help

Cholesterol plays a pivotal role in human physiology, but many misunderstandings have been propagated in healthcare and the media to demonize a substance that is produced by nearly every cell in the body. The brain and nervous system cannot function without cholesterol. It is used to repair wounds including tears and irritations in the arteries. It protects us against depression and plays a role in the utilization of the body’s “feel-good” chemical (serotonin). Digestion of fats cannot occur without cholesterol, the building block of bile salts.

Cholesterol is the precursor to vitamin D, which is formed by the action of sunlight on the skin. Cholesterol helps fight infection and is a powerful antioxidant that protects the body from cancer. All sex hormones (testosterone, estrogen and progesterone) as well as those that regulate mineral metabolism and blood sugar are made of cholesterol.

At Divine Design Natural Health, patient education is just as vital as cholesterol. Our passion lies in helping our patients to envision a new paradigm of healthcare where one is cause rather than effect. Using widely known methods of natural healthcare, we help to eliminate the fear of unavoidable diagnoses and dependence upon prescribed medications known to diminish human health. Chiropractic care, detoxification, cold laser therapy, and targeted nutritional changes will accentuate health much more effectively than forcing biochemical reactions on the body to attain certain numbers on blood labs.