We are told that cholesterol is a major cause of heart disease. At least 40 million Americans are currently taking cholesterol-lowering medications, known as statins, and millions more people are avoiding foods that contain saturated fat and cholesteroL
The basic idea is that dietary saturated fat raises cholesterol levels, and these two substances somehow clog-up our arteries, causing a heart attack.
However, a number of doctors and researchers have been challenging this hypothesis for decades, and the latest heart disease statistics reveal some alarming facts. Such as:
a. People with high cholesterol tend to live longer
b. People with heart disease tend to have low levels of cholesterol
c. cholesterol-lowering on a population level does not reduce the rate of heart disease
In addition, despite their widespread use, and description as “wonder drugs,” statin medications do not extend life for the majority of people that take them.
Cholesterol lowering drugs have become a huge global industry, generating around $30 billion each year and climbing. My question is: Have the facts about heart disease, cholesterol and cholesterol medications been distorted by the pharmaceutical companies and food manufactures so as to increase their profits?
In the beginning the diet-heart hypothesis also known as the cholesterol hypothesis, has for many years focused on heart attack prevention strategies around the world.
It is important to note the word “hypothesis.” The fact is that these ideas have never actually been proven.
Ancel Keys was the father of this hypothesis due to his now infamous six country study in 1953, where he plotted on a graph the dietary fat intake of six countries against the numbers of deaths from heart disease. His graph showed a straight line relationship between higher fat intake and increased mortality.
However at the time of the study, there were data also available for another 16 countries. Keys omitted these 16 countries form his study because they did not fit his suggested linear relationship.
If the diet heart hypothesis was valid, we would of course expect to find that countries having a high rate of heart attacks, also have higher cholesterol levels, This was and is not the case! For example the United Kingdom had one of the highest rates of coronary events at the same time as having a below average cholesterol level. The UK is not an isolated case, when we look at the data; there is no correlation between the cholesterol levels of a country and that country’s rate of heart attack/coronary events. For example, there have been large reductions in the number of people with high cholesterol in the UK, but the rate of heart disease has stayed the same.
If we look at the socioeconomic levels we find that people with low income levels have a much higher risk of dying of heart disease; but their cholesterol levels are lower.
All of the experts agree that heart disease is a complex condition, with several contributing factors, however, this data raises questions about the importance of high cholesterol.
BAD CHOLESTEROL
Better known as LDL. Statin drugs are prescribed to lower “bad” cholesterol levels (LDLs). However a large study published in the American Heart Journal 2009 found that the level of so called BAD cholesterol is actually lower in people with heart disease, not higher!!!!!
This study included 137,000 people admitted to hospitals with heart disease. The researchers found that the average LDL level for this group was actually lower than the average level for the American population.
STATiNS
Around 75% of all people who take a statin are taking it for primary prevention. This means they do not have a heart problem but are taking the medication in the hope of preventing a heart problem in the future. There are a number of large clinical trials that have not been able to conclusively show any benefit from taking a statin for this reason.
The AFCAPS, ASCOT, CARDS, PROSPER and the WOSCOPS clinical trials all failed to show a reduction in deaths while taking a statin.
In 2008 pharmaceutical companies trumpeted the results of the JUPITER trial. Serious cardiac events were reduced by less than one percent. An article published in the Archives of Internal Medicine 2010 questioned the validity of the data from the JUPITER trial and raised concerns about the role of the company sponsoring the trial. Another article published in the journal Cardiology 2011 raised similar concerns.
In 2011 the highly respected Cochran Collaborative conducted a review of statin clinical trials. Based on this, they said they could not recommend the use of statins for primary prevention and, they continued, stating that any benefit was so small that it could come down to chance, and if even if ft was a real benefIt, 1000 people would have to be treated for one year to prevent one death.
Even if statins do provide a short term benefit for those with a heart problem, it is debatable that this has anything to do with the cholesterol lowering effect of statins. Quite simply, the amount of benefit does not match up with the degree of cholesterol- lowering. The potential beneficial effects of statins for people with heart disease is now widely recognized to be associated with a reduction in inflammation. And recent evidence suggest that this is mediated through an improvement in iron metabolism.
Just for thought: Statins reduce COQ1O levels in the heart, this will lead to heart disease, and decreased energy levels.
New study confirms statins cause EYE problems. Statin users are 50% more likely to develop age related cataracts and Type 2 diabetics who use statins are at even greater risk of Cataracts.
Cholesterol is used by the body for over a thousand purposes, one is to make hormones. The heart is the largest receptor of hormones. If I reduce my hormone production, will that not cause heart disease?
Cholesterol is used to plug up holes In arteries and veins
Cholesterol interacts with proteins in the inside of cells. These proteins play a vital role in cell signaling.
Cholesterol makes up 30-40% of every cells membrane (outer shell), which keeps the cell structurally rigid. This keeps the cells working correctly, thus reducing the chance of disease.
CHOLESTEROL PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE CELL
Cholesterol derivatives play an important role in the immune system and could protect humans from a wide range of viruses. Cholesterol-25-hydroxylase (CH25H) converts cholesterol to an antiviral factor. This inhibits the growth of a wide range of deadly viwses.
This may be one reason why people with low cholesterol tend to die more frequently from infections.
1997 researchers in the Netherlands found that life expectancy increases when cholesterol levels are higher. Those with higher cholesterol levels appeared to be better protected from cancer and infections.
