Bad Cholesterol helps you live longer

[Gabes-Apg]

not new news persay, nor is it a new study. Moreso a review of multiple studies making the case strong enough to recommend overhauling the health system... ie stop prescribing Statins

“What we found in our detailed systematic review was that older people with high LDL levels — the so-called ‘bad’ cholesterol — lived longer and had less heart disease. Many of us suspected this may be true but the consistency of the results was astonishing. The diet/heart cholesterol hypothesis has been called the greatest scam in the history of medicine. It seems that is right.”

Aseem Malhotra, a cardiologist, said: “The scientific evidence clearly reveals that we must stop fearmongering when it comes to cholesterol and heart disease and focus instead on insulin resistance, the most important risk factor as a precursor to many chronic diseases.”
More than seven million people in Britain are prescribed statins in an attempt to reduce their risk of heart disease, Dr Malhotra said.

Whitehall sources say that nutritional guidance is to be reviewed after a controversial report found that fat was beneficial to health. There are claims that UK government guidelines are based on “flawed science, exacerbated by commercial influence”.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/wo ... 1465805206


on small step for researchers, is a HUGE step towards truth about health and doctors do not need to be prescribing so many meds!!!

[mcnomore]

Hi Gabes, so glad I found this info. I just got my lipid results today and my cholesterol is 254 (LDL) my HDL is 96 which has doubled since I began eating hi-fat lamb and ice cream.

I was worried because I'm desperate to gain some wait so can't stop eating the fat and meat yet.

Hope they are right!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[tex]

The only time I'm concerned about my cholesterol level is when it's too low. It's sad that many/most doctors don't seem to realize that low cholesterol is a serious health risk.

Tex

[Gabes-Apg]

Agree Tex, Mine has been low recently and no one can figure out why or know what to do, mostly because mainstream medicine does not have guidelines for that issue

even the wholistic practitioners are struggling as there are no studies to look at

[mcnomore]

Thanks Tex for your confirmation of this.

[tex]

If you want to lower your LDL level, take magnesium. Taking magnesium will increase your HDL level, but most doctors realize that there's nothing wrong with high HDL levels.

Gabes, this is probably why you have "ideopathic" low cholesterol. Here are some references:

Recently, one of my patients came into my office with some interesting news. Most of her life she had been plagued with high cholesterol that was difficult to treat.

She had recently had some blood work done and her cholesterol level was within two points of the normal range. She said that the only thing that had changed in her lifestyle was my suggestion of adding magnesium for something totally unrelated to her cholesterol.

I was intrigued.

Later that day I reviewed the medical literature for the effects of magnesium on cholesterol and was quite surprised about the results. Magnesium can lower cholesterol.

. . .

Several studies have demonstrated supplementing "at risk" high cholesterol groups with magnesium reduces bad cholesterol levels. In some studies the reduction of cholesterol is quite significant even with modest amounts of magnesium (400-800 mg per day) usually as a supplement.

Unfortunately, there have not been any long-term studies to see if supplementation with magnesium does reduce the risk of heart disease or stroke.

Magnesium can lower cholesterol, studies show

Abstract

The effects of acute magnesium deficiency on lipid metabolism were examined in weaning rats fed a high carbohydrate diet containing starch or sucrose for 8 days. Rats were killed after the feeding period. In plasma, magnesium deficiency increased triglyceride and free cholesterol levels and decreased esterified cholesterol levels. Rats fed a magnesium-deficient diet containing sucrose showed particularly high triglyceride plasma levels. In liver, magnesium-deficient rats fed sucrose showed a significant increase in triglycerides, lactate and alpha-glycerophosphate and a significant decrease in glycogen. Changes in triglycerides and glycogen in the liver of magnesium-deficient rats fed starch were not significant. In sucrose-fed rats, serum lipoproteins were isolated by ultracentrifugation. With magnesium deficiency, triglycerides were significantly increased in the very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) fractions and cholesterol levels were increased in the VLDL and LDL and significantly lower in the high density lipoprotein (HDL) fractions. The detrimental effect of severe magnesium deficiency associated particularly with a high carbohydrate diet content and more especially with a sucrose diet is discussed.

Effect of magnesium deficiency on lipid metabolism in rats fed a high carbohydrate diet.

Abstract

The effect of magnesium deficiency with/without supplementary cholesterol on phospholipid content in liver, plasma and erythrocytes was investigated in New Zealand White male rabbits. After the rabbits had been fed a low magnesium and/or high cholesterol diet for seven weeks, the phospholipid content in liver, plasma and erythrocytes was measured. Dietary magnesium deficiency produced a marked elevation of total phospholipid and certain individual phospholipids in the rabbit liver. The elevation was accentuated by cholesterol supplementation. In the plasma, a low magnesium intake enhanced plasma phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidic acid, phosphatidylinositol, and sphingomyelin, but an activated conversion from phosphatidylethanolamine to phosphatidylcholine made the increase in phospholipid insignificant. On the other hand, a low magnesium intake restricted the increase in magnitude of phospholipid caused by cholesterol supplementation. In the erythrocytes, total phospholipid, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine were decreased by a low magnesium and/or a high cholesterol intake. We suggest that the increased contents of total phospholipid and/or certain individual phospholipids in the livers and plasma resulted from the enhanced synthesis of phospholipid in the liver by low magnesium intake. A decreased utilization of food by low magnesium diet limited the magnitude of plasma phospholipid increase produced by cholesterol supplementation.

Effect of dietary magnesium deficiency with/without cholesterol supplementation on phospholipid content in liver, plasma and erythrocytes of rabbits.

Tex

[Gabes-Apg]

thanks for the links. interesting.

For me I think it was a combo of Magnesium, Coconut Oil and one other supp that I cant remember at the moment that I was using to toxins/metals.
since those test results, I have increased intake of things like Ghee and Avocado etc.

we will see what the next lot of bloods reveal...

[tex]

My HDL level was always at the bottom of the normal range, or below range, as long as I can remember it being tested. But after I resolved my magnesium deficiency my HDL jumped about 10 or 11 points.

Has your HDL level changed while your total cholesterol level was going down?

Tex

[Gabes-Apg]

the HDL was below normal range and marked with L
I am away from home (house and dog sitting for my nephew at the moment), when I get home I will dig out my results.

[Patricia]

I am wondering what to do about my cholesterol. So far, no doctor flagged it, but I will ask my PCP next time I see her.

The last blood tests, done at the end of October 2016, showed a
total cholesterol 132, HDL 86, LDL 36, cholesterol/HDL ratio 1.5, and triglycerides 48.

In September 2015
total cholesterol 148, HDL 82, LDL 57, ratio 1.8, and triglycerides 43.

I am not going to bore you with all my old blood tests, but I did find one test from 2011
total cholesterol of 158, HDL of 74, LDL of 71, ratio of 2.1, triglycerides of 63.

And another test in 2006
total cholesterol of 141, HDL of 75, LDL of 54, ratio of 1.9, and triglycerides of 58.

I am honestly surprised that my LDL was 54 in 2006, went up, and then down again. I was diagnosed with LC in fall 2014. At the time, I had fatty stools (visibly, but also per test by the gastroenterologist) and obvious malabsorption going on.

Right now, I am doing pretty well overall. No fatty stools, pretty much Normans, some gastrointestinal discomfort, good energy, stable weight (after having lost 30 pounds initially), and I can lead an active normal life.

Here is what I normally eat:
- Breakfast: hot white rice mixed with a banana and cinnamon
- Lunch and dinner: rice/potatoes/tinkyada pasta/GF gnocchi, wild seafood/pork (bacon/sausage from my butcher)/lamb/chicken, butternut squash/spinach/zucchini/yellow squash/red beets/cauliflower. I pour lots of pure olive oil that I special order over all my foods.
- 1 portion of homemade banana ice cream after dinner (bananas, water, a little bit of lemon juice, pureed, frozen)

I eat more seafood than meat. Seafood is any kind of wild caught fish, mostly cod or tuna, sometimes wild caught scallops/shrimps, mussels. If I am lucky and get to visit my daughters in Maine I go for the lobster

I feel really good if I eat like that. Once every few weeks I might have some chocolate or bake something with sugar, but really, the sugar is not good for me. I can feel it, and so I try to avoid it most of the time. To be honest, I did not just have one sweet tooth before I was diagnosed, I was more of a sugarholic!

Do you have any suggestions on what I should do to keep my cholesterol from going down any further??? How low is too low? And if I eat foods with more cholesterol, will it actually raise my cholesterol or not? Am I eating too much fish? But I love it! And my stomach loves it, too.

Love, Patricia

[tex]

Hi Patricia,

Unless you're taking a statin, and assuming that your liver enzymes are OK, the cause is almost surely due to malabsorption, adrenal insufficiency, or hyperthyroidism. If you had hyperthyroidism, or adrenal insufficiency, surely you would notice the symptoms (or your blood tests would indicate those issues). You would be hyperactive, too hot, generally uncomfortable, and unable to gain weight (and you would probably have D) if you had hyperthyroidism, and adrenal insufficiency would leave you with very low energy. At any rate, you probably wouldn't feel as well as you do.

But cholesterol is highly dependent on genetics. Do you know if other family members have low cholesterol? Eating foods that contain cholesterol is not likely to help much. Diet can affect cholesterol level (if my memory is correct) somewhere around 10–15 % at best. If you were not sensitive to eggs, they could be used to easily experiment with because eggs are a good source of cholesterol.

Here are my thoughts:

Other than genetics, our cholesterol level can be significantly reduced by restricting bile acid recycling. This is how statins and cholestyramine work.

Bile salts are reabsorbed for recycling in the terminal ileum. When we eat a meal, the gallbladder typically releases roughly 10 times as much bile as is actually used for breaking down fat. The unused bile salts are then reabsorbed in the terminal ileum, and sent back for recycling. The amount reabsorbed is usually roughly 90 % (or slightly less) of the amount originally released. If only half (or less) of that amount is reabsorbed (and recycled), for example, then one's cholesterol level will tend to be low, because our body wasn't designed to be able to replace so much cholesterol after each meal. So I'm relatively confident that you are not recycling normal amounts of bile acids.

This might be due to genetics (that limit reabsorption), or it could be due to malabsorption caused by inflammation (or damage) in your terminal ileum. My cholesterol took a nosedive following surgery when part of my terminal ileum (and my colon) was removed, but soon thereafter I was prescribed a statin (because of a TIA-associated stroke risk), so I can't quantify how much of my cholesterol level reduction was due to the loss of part of my terminal ileum. It's possible/likely that the statin was responsible for most of the reduction. However, I did note that my cholesterol level bottomed out (at about 143, as I recall) about 3 months after I started taking the statin, and then began to rise. My theory is that it began to increase again because my body was adjusting/compensating for the loss of part of my terminal ileum. IOW, when part of our intestines are removed, our body compensates to allow the remaining parts to work more efficiently. To verify that, I note that initially (right after the surgery), my digestive system turnaround time dropped from approximately 24–30 hours to about 4–6 hours. After about a year, my turnaround time had increased to approximately 9–10 hours as my small intestine "learned" to compensate for the loss of my colon and part of my terminal ileum.

Most doctors seem to think that one's cholesterol cannot be too low. But those are the same doctors who believe that reducing cholesterol actually reduces all-cause mortality risk. Research proves that while lowering cholesterol levels can reduce heart attack risk, it does not reduce the risk of all-cause mortality. IMO anything below 100 can significantly increase health risks because it adversely affects the ability of the body to recover from traumatic health events (such as major surgery, or a catastrophic accident). Low cholesterol levels are also associated with an increased risk of nerve/neurological damage and compromised immune system functioning.

Unfortunately I don't have any suggestions for increasing cholesterol levels. I would like to increase my own cholesterol level, for that matter. Most doctors would almost surely consider your cholesterol levels to be superb, because they love to see high HDL and low LDL levels. And because of that undue focus on lowering cholesterol levels for everyone, researching ways to boost one's cholesterol level is not a popular topic these days in research labs.

So maybe my concerns about low LDL levels are unjustified, because after all, we are born with an LDL in the range of 30–40. And it is probably true that you will never have to worry about heart attack risk.

There is a rare genetic disease, known as hypobetalipoproteinemia. Large doses of vitamin E are used as a treatment, but it appears that the treatment is primarily to reduce the risk of neurological damage, rather than to increase cholesterol levels. (Doctors always treat the symptoms, rather than to address the cause of the problem).

Low LDL Cholesterol (Hypobetalipoproteinemia)

Low LDL Cholesterol (Hypobetalipoproteinemia) Treatment & Management

I'm sorry that I couldn't be more helpful.

Love,
Tex

[Patricia]

Thank you so much, Tex! Very interesting!

No, nobody in my family has very low cholesterol levels. Actually, my Dad is on medication because his levels are too high. All my other blood tests were normal and I don't really have any symptoms. It could very well be that I am not recycling normal amounts of bile acids. Would I notice that in my stools, though? My gastroenterologist sends me for an ultrasound of my gallbladder every 6 months because of something in my gallbladder. The radiologists are fairly sure that I have tiny polyps in my gallbladder, but sometimes they describe it as sludge.

IMO anything below 100 can significantly increase health risks because it adversely affects the ability of the body to recover from traumatic health events (such as major surgery, or a catastrophic accident). Low cholesterol levels are also associated with an increased risk of nerve/neurological damage and compromised immune system functioning.

Do you mean the total cholesterol level should not be below 100?

Love, Patricia

[tex]

Would I notice that in my stools, though?

Probably not because when motility is normal, the bilirubin in bile is what gives stool it's brown color. Bile can show up as a greenish color if motility is too fast to allow normal chemical maturity of bilirubin.

Do you mean the total cholesterol level should not be below 100?

Yes, total cholesterol. Of course in your case that would mean a very low LDL, because your HDL is twice the level of most people.

Fatty fish help to lower triglycerides, and that's good. It's possible that they may lower LDL levels while increasing HDL levels, but as I mentioned in my previous post, it's not likely that they would have a very large effect on your overall cholesterol level.

Love,
Tex

[mcnomore]

I went to a cardiologist last week who decided to order a blood test from Boston Diagnostics to see if I am absorbing excess dietary cholesterol which would account for my high number. He also mentioned that sometimes HDL, even though high, can be dysfunctional.

I will update when I get more info.

Thanks to everyone for your feedback

[Lilja]

Agree Tex, Mine has been low recently and no one can figure out why or know what to do, mostly because mainstream medicine does not have guidelines for that issue

even the wholistic practitioners are struggling as there are no studies to look at

Gabes,
The fact that it has been low recently may be a sign that the general inflammation level in your body has decreased. There is a connection between high cholesterol and high level of inflammation. Some weeks ago, I put in some links to the fact. I'll see if I can find them.

Lilja