Hi there!!

Most of you know that I have strong opinions on the societal beliefs about cholesterol, statins, how to lower cholesterol, etc.

In a nutshell (if you’re new here) – I push against mainstream beliefs about cholesterol – aka “Lower total cholesterol is always better.”

A few things you may not know about cholesterol –

1- without enough of it – your brain cannot function properly, as fats (many of which come from cholesterol) are the main source of fuel for your brain

2- without enough of it – you are unable to produce necessary hormones for reproductive health, among other processes

3- cholesterol is protective – in conventional medicine, when labs show “high cholesterol” aka above 200 – the response is: “fix this by making it lower” which typically happens via a statin drug (a drug that blocks cholesterol from getting to the brain). However, in functional (or root cause) medicine, the response is: “Why? What is the body trying to protect itself from?” …could be long term exposure to mold, heavy metals, an autoimmune issue, blood sugar issues, etc.

I know there is so much fear around high cholesterol and heart disease.

I am not invalidating that fear. Nor am I telling you that high cholesterol is a good thing all around.

What I AM saying is – the ranges for cholesterol that conventional medicine have given us – aka above 200 is “bad” – deserve to be questioned.

I am sharing some research today that speaks to this, specifically.

If you don’t want to read the entire paper, I suggest reading the Abstract (at the top) and the Discussion (last section at the bottom) – all will take you approx. 8 mins to read.

If you want the “Cliffs Notes” version:

A study of 13 million adults found that low cholesterol levels (less than 200 mg/dL, the current conventional medicine recommendation) were associated with a 3-fold greater risk of death than higher cholesterol levels (above 200 mg/dL).  

Cholesterol levels above 250 mg/dL were associated with increased mortality but not at the same extent as lower levels (50-199 mg/dL).

Across all age groups, 210-249 mg/dL had the lowest mortality risk, except for men aged 18-34 and women aged 18 to 44.

Something else to note:

Higher cholesterol levels in old age were more protective against mortality than high cholesterol levels in younger people.

While reverse causation may be one possible explanation for this (ex: illness can cause cholesterol to drop) this study shows that looking at one, single biomarker for heart disease risk doesn’t always offer a holistic picture of someones true risk (or reason for WHY cholesterol is high).

Make sure you advocate for your health. Ask questions. Dig deeper.

I’m here for questions!

Set your self-care intentions for the week ahead so you’re able to show up well for yourself and those around you.

xoxo

Alix