CHOLESTEROL MYTH: THE LOWER THE BETTER FOR CHOLESTEROL LEVELS

Fact:

Cholesterol is a necessary fat for producing hormones (serotonin, testosterone, steroid hormones, etc.), vitamin D, and bile.Cholesterol in its nature is not bad, it is the oxidized cholesterol (damaged by free radicals) that causes our body harm. When we are over-medicated through high-dose statins we may drop to dangerously low levels (less than a total cholesterol of 150) where we can see symptoms of deficiency in some of these by-products, such as erectile dysfunction (from low testosterone levels), depression (from low serotonin), etc.

Nutrition Rx:

Our best line of defense is to maintain healthy levels of cholesterol through lifestyle and to defend against the oxidation through an abundance of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory fats (omega-3s) in the diet. If we have high levels and lifestyle changes aren’t enough, we may consider supplemental aid from soluble fiber (glucomannan, b-glucans) or plant sterol/stanols, these compounds pull from the body’s stores of cholesterol pulling out the excess and do not impact the production pathway, so there are not the side effects with deficiency of any nutrients!

Visit our lab services page to learn more about our Lipoprotein Particle (LPP) lab testing services.