Let’s take a moment to explore the many nuances– and myths– of cholesterol. And if you’re someone who’s taking multiple medications, I implore you to pay close attention to this post and to please read the book that spawned this post. Its’ called the Great Cholesterol Myth.
Dr. Jonny Bowden and Dr.Stephen Sinatra debunk the whole cholesterol myth. Cholesterol doesn’t cause heart disease. It never did. No studies exist to prove that cholesterol causes heart disease.
Essentially, there are four causes of heart disease.
- Oxidation,
- Inflammation,
- Stress
- and Sugar.
That’s it. Those four elements lead to heart disease.
The authors also explore the cozy relationship between the National Cholesterol Education Program, which lowered the optimal cholesterol levels in 2004, and the pharmaceutical companies. They discovered that eight out of the nine people that were on that panel had financial ties to pharmaceutical companies, specifically those producing statin drugs. Now, if that’s not a red flag, I don’t know what is!
Bowden and Sinatra also explore the Nurses’ Health Study. It’s one of the longest running studies on diet and disease that’s ever been undertaken and was conducted by Harvard University. The Nurses’ Health Study explored the risk factors for cancer and heart disease in more than a 120,000 females dating back to the mid-1970’s.
5 Factors that Significantly Lower the Risk of Heart Disease
The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. and identified five factors that significantly lowered the risk of heart disease.
Eighty-two percent of the coronary events in the study were contributed to a lack of adherence to these five things.
One, don’t smoke. Kind of obvious, right?
Two, drink alcohol in moderation.
Three, engage in moderate to vigorous exercise for at least half hour a day on average.
Four, maintain a healthy weight, of BMI under 25.
Five, eat a wholesome, low glycemic, which is low sugar, diet with plenty of Omega three fats and fiber.
This study, a 30+ year long study, never once mentioned lowering your cholesterol! Why? Because your cholesterol has nothing to do with your heart disease.
Heart disease is solely a lifestyle problem. Oxidation creates inflammation. Inflammation in the blood vessels allows cholesterol to stick to the insides of your arteries. So, it has absolutely nothing to do with cholesterol in and of itself. Heart disease is an inflammatory problem.
So, if you’re having issues with cholesterol — or if your health is not where you want it to be, I would encourage you to go check this book out. It’s phenomenal!
If you’d like to explore how we can help you better understand and control the impacts of lifestyle on your health and work with an expert support team that understands exactly how our modern world negatively impacts your health, please do not wait. Reach out to us using the form below and let’s get you on the path to wellness.
