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March/April 2005 Alternative Health
New Research Debunks Cholesterol Myths and Implicates Statin Drug in Poor Brain Function

by Virginia Hopkins

Drugs that lower cholesterol levels are among the top sellers in the pharmaceutical industry, and yet for decades the research on them has clearly shown that their side effects often outweigh their benefits. And believe it or not, there has never been any definitive proof that high cholesterol levels are a cause heart attacks. The "disease" of high cholesterol was created around and for cholesterol-lowering drugs. In truth, high cholesterol is a symptom of heart disease in much the same sense that a fever is a symptom of the flu. Lowering your fever might help you feel a little bit better, but it won’t make the flu go away, nor will lowering cholesterol with a drug make your heart disease go away.

Heart disease isn't the only disease that causes high levels of blood cholesterol. Diabetes, hypothyroidism, kidney disease and liver disease can also significantly raise cholesterol levels.

The "High Cholesterol Levels Cause Heart Attacks" Myth

Cholesterol is a fat-like material which is found in the brain, nerves, blood, bile and liver. It is the stuff from which your steroid hormones are made, and it is essential for good brain function. Another function of cholesterol is to stick to damaged places in the arteries as part of a repair process, and that’s where it got its reputation for causing heart attacks. However, what actually causes the damaged arteries in the first place are factors such as excess sugar and refined carbohydrates in the diet, hydrogenated oils, obesity, stress and toxins.

The "Saturated Fats Raise Cholesterol Levels" Myth

The myths about cholesterol are closely tied into the myths about cholesterol-containing saturated fats, which were incorrectly pegged as a major cause of heart disease more than 40 years ago. Ironically, saturated fat probably became linked to heart disease because in studies it was lumped in with hydrogenated oils. In other words, in heart disease studies, consumption of hydrogenated oils was never separated out from consumption of other oils—it was ignored or included with data on saturated fats. In all likelihood, it was the hydrogenated oils causing the damaged arteries, not the saturated fats.

It is also a myth that eating cholesterol-containing foods raises your cholesterol levels. This is only true for about 30 percent of the population. Your body manufactures about 75 percent of its own cholesterol from the breakdown products of foods we eat. The rest we get directly from what we eat. If we eat more cholesterol, the body makes less or it is broken down by the liver and excreted. People who eat extremely excessive amounts of cholesterol-containing foods so that the body is unable to keep up with the elimination process, or whose livers are not functioning properly, may have high cholesterol due to their eating habits, but this is an exception, not the rule.

A recent Harvard School of Public Health study published in the November 2004 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition examined the daily diets and coronary arteries of 235 menopausal women for three years. Three quarters of the women were overweight, and the majority of them were eating less fat overall than the average American. The researchers were surprised to find that the women who had eaten the highest amount of saturated fats had the least amount of additional plaque buildup in their arteries and better cholesterol profiles (lower LDL, higher HDL, lower transfatty acids). The women with the most plaque buildup were eating the most refined carbohydrates and exercising the least.

Statin Drugs Interfere with Brain Function

The most popular class of cholesterol-lowering drugs is the statins, also known as cholesterol blockers, which interfere with an enzyme needed for cholesterol production. The most common side effect of these drugs is liver damage. Other side effects include enlarged breasts in men, impotence, hair loss in women, insomnia and fatigue. The fatigue may have to do with the fact that statin drugs block the production of coenzyme Q10, a substance essential to a healthy heart and healthy muscles. About one in every 200 people who use statins has side effects of muscle pain and weakness. All indications are that the cause of these symptoms is a deficiency of CoQ10.

Now a new study published in the December 1, 2004American Journal of Medicine points up another side effect of the drug simvastatin (Zocor), which is that it reduces cognitive function, in this case attention, working memory and overall mental efficiency. The same team at the University of Pittsburgh that did this study also found that statin drugs reduce blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids which are well documented to be essential for good brain function.

Back to Basics

A good cholesterol profile is a reflection of good overall health. The basics of maintaining a good cholesterol profile are avoiding sugar and refined carbohydrates, eating fiber-rich foods such as whole grains, beans and vegetables, and getting plenty of exercise.

For more details on how cholesterol really works in your body, read the booklet John R. Lee M.D.’s Commonsense Guide to a Healthy Heart, available on the website at virginiahopkinshealthwatch.com.
If you’d like to know more about saturated fat myths and research, as well as get a wonderful cookbook, read Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig.

Reprinted with permission from the Hopkins Health Watch virginiahopkinshealthwatch.com