Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
High Cholesterol
By
Dr. James Merchino, DC, MS, ND
High cholesterol is a big problem today, especially with respect to heart attacks, strokes and
other vascular diseases. In our society more than 55 percent of all people have cholesterol
that’s in the undesirable range; the range that increases their risk for heart attack
and stroke. The Framingham Heart Study showed us that
more than 90 percent of people can actually get their cholesterol into the ideal range
just by putting into place a solid diet and lifestyle program, and that in the majority
of cases, people don’t need drugs to do this.
So what is the ideal range? Having a blood cholesterol below 150 mg. per dl (deciliter)
is the point where almost no one has a heart attack is the ideal range. (if you were using
millimoles per liter, that would be 3.9 millimoles per liter.) Your bad cholesterol (LDL) should
be no higher than 69 mg. per dl or 1.8 millimoles per liter, depending on the units your doctor
is using. There are two major problems I see in the
medical management of high cholesterol. First – and I see this all the time – doctors
tell people their cholesterol is fine because it hasn’t reached a certain critical threshold
yet, so they often wait until their blood cholesterol is about 200 mg. per dl, or 5.2
millimoles (mmol) per liter, before they act on it.
If you want to get to zero risk for a heart attack, you need to be less than 150 mg. per
dl., or under 3.9 mmol per liter as I said earlier. This is where I really want you to
be. You have to know your numbers. Ask your doctor
what exactly are your numbers and then you can compare it to the values I’m telling
you here. The other problem is, once doctors see high
cholesterol they often put the person on a statin drug. Statin drugs are okay if someone
truly needs them, but most people can lower their cholesterol without taking statin drugs.
Statin drugs have been shown to produce liver and kidney damage, and to cause muscle aches
and damage in up to 30 percent of all people who take them.
The truth is, no one has been taking these statin drugs for 20, 40 or 50 years. And if
you go on one, your doctor will want you to stay on it for the rest of your life. So let’s
say you’re 30 years old and you go on a statin drug. They will want you to be on the
drug for the next 50 years, at least. But they have no tests and measurements to see
the effects of being on a statin drug that long. So it’s a bit of an experiment, and
we are seeing over time a chance of liver and/or kidney damage that may actually evolve
and become significant. So if you don’t have to use them, I think
the alternative is really your best bet. However, there are individuals for whom statin drugs
are life saving – if you’ve had a heart attack or stroke, if you’re in another high
risk category or if you have strong genetic predispositions – then statin drugs will
be very valuable to you. But if you’ve yet to have a heart attack
or a stroke and you’re among the 90 percent of others for whom the problem isn’t going
to catch up with right away, then what you really need is a prudent lifestyle program.
However, you must understand what you’re doing because there are a lot of pseudo-experts
who really give advice that’s inappropriate. And here is where I come in. I strongly recommend
you download my Cholesterol Lowering Lifestyle program immediately and act on the strategies
I outline. At http://www.MeschinoHealth.com you’ll
see my published review papers, videos, live footage from different seminars that I’ve
taught and other resources and free downloads to help you to live a long and healthy, functional
life. My review articles and teaching materials are complete with their corresponding medical
and scientific references; you’re on solid scientific footing, receiving evidence-based
information on every topic on our website. I strongly suggest you use our website, http://www.MeschinoHealth.com
as an ongoing, reliable resource for health and wellness information for both you and
your family.
Visit http://www.MeschinoHealth.com for more information.