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The Risks of LOW Cholesterol... Part 2
Here is more evidence of the dangers of low cholesterol. Warning: not for the faint of heart...
- People with high cholesterol live the longest. This conclusion comes from numerous scientific papers. For example in 1994, Dr. Harlan Krumholz of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Yale University, reported that old people with low cholesterol died had twice the mortality risk as old people with high cholesterol. This conclusion has support in at least eleven other studies.
- High cholesterol protects against infection. Dr. Carlos Iribarren tracked over 100,000 healthy individuals in Northern California for 15 years. Those people with low cholesterol were admitted into hospitals more frequently with an infectious disease than those with high cholesterol. Other studies support this same conclusion.
- More than 90% of all cardiovascular disease happens in people over 60. At the same time, virtually all studies find that high cholesterol is not a risk factor for women. This means that high cholesterol is only a risk factor for less than 5% of those who die from a heart attack.
- Cholesterol lowering drugs create numerous unwanted, and in some cases deadly side effects. Among the unwanted effects of these drugs is an increased incidence of cancer, a deficiency of CoQ10 (ironically, a heart-protective nutrient), erectile dysfunction, lack of mental focus and serious weakness of muscles. All of this for a drug that addresses a phantom cause of heart disease for the vast majority of the population.
- Cholesterol may contribute to mental and emotional wellbeing. Duke psychologist, Edward Suarez conducted a study showing that in young women, low cholesterol subjects had higher measures of depression and anxiety. Other studies have shown that both men and women with low cholesterol (total cholesterol below 160) have increased risk for anxiety, depression and suicide.
- A much greater and more direct indicator of likely heart attack or stroke is elevated homocysteine levels. It is up to 40 times more accurate as a predictor of cardiovascular disease risk than cholesterol. Research suggests that taking sufficient amounts of Vitamin B6, B12 and Folic Acid prevents elevated homocysteine.
Keep in mind that high cholesterol may be still be a problem. Most recent research indicates that systemic inflammatory factors contribute to this issue, perhaps even more so in the presence of higher cholesterol. The key in this case is to insure that pro-inflammatory factors get addressed.
See more on this topic in part 3 of this article.
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