I was talking to a doctor who is a Naturopath yesterday. She happened to mentioned that doctors are now saying that cholesterol should be below 170. Many people are on statin drugs who don't really need to be. She said they are not taking into account that the brain needs certain levels of cholesterol to function, and as people age their cholesterol needs to go up, not down. Ten years from now scientists are going to say "oops, sorry" to all those people in nursing homes with Alzheimer's because their cholesterol was kept too low.
Scary stuff.
Scary stuff.
4 comments:
That is interesting. I haven't heard anything about that, but I can see why doctors would say that. (Not that I'm agreeing with it)
I had to get my cholesterol checked for my nutrition class I was taking, and my total cholesterol is actually just over 200, but My HDL is really high so I have a fantastic HDL/LDL ratio. Kyle's total cholesterol is just under 200. He has his blood work done up every few months to help track his diabetes.
Very interesting. I am personally not at all concerned about my total cholesterol being a little high. I do think it is important not to get too high, of course, but those HDL's are SO good for you. It acts like "spackle" inside your arteries, but excess doesn't stick, unlike LDL.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Barb,
Thanks for your comments. Interesting--Love, Mom
I have heard this about cholesterol as well.
I know of another example like this. Gestational Diabetes. It is a made up "disease." I could really get into it, but will spare you. There is a reason though that the test is invalid if given after about 28 weeks, and that is because sugar levels naturally rise during pregnancy.
I have articles if interested.
-End small rant-
Sarah
Target cholesterol levels vary depending on several factos. To find your individual LDL/HDL/triglyceride targets go to the National Cholesterol Education Program website: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/about/ncep/index.htm
This is sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a division of the National Institute of Health.
As a nurse, I can tell you that while it is certainly possible to dramatically lower one's cholesterol levels with lifestyle changes, based on my 20+ years of clinical experience ALMOST NO ONE DOES IT!
I can provide much more information if there is an interest that comes from well-designed, placebo-controlled, blinded, large-scale clinical trials published in respected medical journals, not someone's blog.
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