Understanding Cholesterol, Part II
Find Understanding Cholesterol, Part I here.
In part I, we learned that every single cell in the human contains cholesterol. If that’s so, why is cholesterol so vilified? Because for years, the pharmaceutical industry (with help from doctors) have waged an aggressive smear campaign against cholesterol. In medical school, doctors are trained to believe there is a pill for every ill. The pharmaceutical industry has made prescribing statins not only easy but lucrative.
High cholesterol levels can be the cause of many health concerns and the one we’ve been taught to fear is heart disease. Not all cholesterol is bad though.
The bad cholesterol in question is LDL and the good is HDL. Both are important. LDL and HDL are lipoproteins, a combination of molecules that contain both lipids and proteins. Their structure allows fat to be transported into the bloodstream.
LDL, or low-density lipoprotein, carries cholesterol, phospholipids, and triglycerides to different organs where these nutrients are needed. Remember, cholesterol is needed to form bile salts, cell membranes, cortisol, and sex hormones. Triglycerides are carried by LDL and provide a major source of energy for the body, especially for the heart and muscle function.
Side note: LDL has an antioxidant function when it responds to damaged vascular tissues. Not only does LDL carry cholesterol around the body, it also carries CoQ10, vitamins, and other nutrients.
HDL, or high-density lipoprotein, is manufactured by the liver. HDL acts as a scavenger, picking up excess cholesterol from the body and bringing it back to the liver for reprocessing. HDL delivers cholesterol to organs that create hormones and perform important cellular functions. HDL helps inhibit: coagulation, inflammation, oxidation, and keeps damaged LDL from adhering to the endothelial membrane (a thin membrane lining the inside of the heart and blood vessels). HDL is beneficial because it serves to decrease cardiovascular risk but it can be easily damaged from sugar and toxins.
Triglycerides are molecules of fat found in food and produced by the liver. Triglycerides are broken down in the intestines and easily absorbed. The liver uses triglycerides for energy or stores them as fat. Just like LDL and HDL, triglycerides travel in lipoproteins. The more carbohydrates, sugar, and excess calories you consume, the more triglycerides are stored as fat. Elevated blood levels of triglycerides are associated with an increased risk of coronary disease.
Cholesterol, LDL, HDL, and triglycerides all serve a purpose. The medical establishment treats them as the enemy and the pharmaceutical industry is in a never-ending production cycle of new drugs to combat cholesterol. Understand this: Cholesterol does not cause disease. What causes disease is eating a diet heavy in unhealthy, processed foods such as corn, soy, sugar, and wheat. Living in a world where we are constantly bombarded with air pollutants, chemical-laden personal care products, heavy metals, plastics, and toxic laundry products. What most doctors consider disease is really the body’s response to the poisons we are surrounded by on a daily basis.
I encourage you to do your own research and dig deeper into understanding the role of cholesterol in your body, to uncover all the ways we’ve been misled about cholesterol. The majority of doctors do not understand it; I encourage you to find a practitioner who not only understands cholesterol but the also the importance of nutrition and how to avoid the chemicals and toxins that cause disease.
Inflammation + Cholesterol
Inflammation is the body’s immune response to illness and injury. It is an essential part of healing. Sometimes however, inflammation can get out of hand and lead to a host of health problems. When this happens, inflammation can cause the growth of plaque in the arteries and trigger blood clots.
Pathogens + Toxins + Inflammation + Cholesterol
One of the most overlooked causes of elevated cholesterol by Western medicine trained doctors are elevated levels are pathogens and toxins. Not only can toxins raise cholesterol levels to an unhealthy range, it can cause systemic inflammation. Since cholesterol and inflammation can trigger each other, a heavy toxic burden can exacerbate both of high cholesterol and inflammation.
Toxins that play a role in elevated cholesterol and inflammation:
Chemicals
Additives and preservatives in processed foods
Heavy metals
Mold
Parasites
Addressing Cholesterol At The Root Level
To address cholesterol and inflammation with clients, I use natural supplements and lifestyle changes to target the issue at the root rather just address them only at the surface-level. My recommended protocol for each client is unique and based upon information gathered in the intake, blood work, and where I see deficiencies or needs. My go-to supplements for addressing cholesterol and inflammation include:
Berberine
Red Yeast Rice
GCO (CellCore)
Advanced TUDCA (CellCore)
IFC (CellCore)
A binder (CellCore)
Vitamin K
Vitamin E
Vitamin C (from whole foods, not ascorbic acid)
Digestive enzymes
Magnesium
Parasite protocol (CellCore)
Cholesterol-lowering foods such as apples, avocados, citrus, coconut, eggplant, fatty fish, nuts, oats, olives, and strawberries
Lifestyle changes such as movement and sleep
By knowing that high cholesterol and inflammation go hand-in-hand, you can take steps to lower both your cholesterol and inflammation levels.
As a root cause practitioner, my goal is to find the root cause (s) behind the inflammatory responses that are driving your cholesterol into an unhealthy range. If you want help getting to the root of your cholesterol and inflammation issues while improving overall health, let’s hop on a no-pressure Discovery Call so I can answer any questions you may have.