You like red meat??? Don’t worry…so do we! Worry not! We’re here busting the cholesterol myth.
Have you ever wondered why “healthy,” active people die of heart attacks? It’s an interesting question. In fact, more than half of the people who die every year from the Nation’s #1 Killer had “Normal” cholesterol levels. How could someone go from “Healthy” to dead? Doesn’t “Normal” mean healthy?? The Cholesterol Myth is pervasive, and misguides people. Let’s take a closer look.
Busting the Cholesterol Myth
To answer these questions, let’s start by re-defining health. Health is a dynamic state of physiological balance and adaptation; a state in which a biological system can encounter and experience changes, obstacles and stress, skillfully adapting itself to each and every minute change or exposure. Disease, or more appropriately dis-ease, is a state that occurs where a biological system, like the human body, loses its ability to adapt and function appropriately. The key word in all this is dynamic.
A dynamic state of health is not something that can be measured by a simple cholesterol panel, as we are not the sum of our parts. The only true way to evaluate health is to look at the human body and all of its magnificent systems as one cohesive, highly ordered and synergistically functioning whole. This could never be done with linear thinking but requires great effort and much study.
As health care providers, it can be difficult trying to shake people from the slumber of conventional thought and indoctrinated beliefs. We care so deeply for people and it is difficult to watch people make decisions on information that doesn’t necessarily take into account all of the information. Because this is such a prevalent problem, we have decided to write this article to shed some light on this one single facet of health that most professionals and patients take for granted, the cholesterol myth. In a nutshell…cholesterol is not the vilified assassin claiming the lives of 2,200 people a day from cardiovascular disease. Nor is your total cholesterol any indication of your risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
I know what you’re about to say… “But my doctor said”…“But the TV said”…“But my Aunt Lucy said.” Yes, we know what everyone is saying. What we are suggesting, before forming any opinions on things as important as your life, do NOT take the general consensus of what people think, and believe it as fact, just because everyone else does. Remember, in 1492 everybody thought the world was flat and Columbus was headed for oblivion, as he set sail into the sunset. In 2015, the world is still watching other ‘ships,’ like NuVision Health Center, set sail, departing from an outdated paradigm, to a new, life-promoting, life-enhancing, vitality-based approach to achieving health; and higher states of human performance and potential.
Throughout the history of the health sciences, new ideas are not generally greeted with open and loving arms of understanding. Take for example, the topic of Trans Fats. Pretty much everyone would agree with the statement that Trans Fats are bad.
As common sense as this may seem today, did you realize that it took Dr. Fred Kummerow more than thirty years to convince the FDA that Trans Fats were not only unhealthy but destructive to the human body? His research was ridiculed because it defied conventional thought on the Trans Fat topic.
There are multitudes of studies available to support this more accurate view of cholesterol and heart health. We encourage you, not to take our word for it. Anyone who reads some of the studies being published, in some of the most prestigious medical and nutritional journals, will be as mystified as we are, as to why the world does not know this information.
Below, is the true causes of Cardiovascular Disease, as far as we are concerned:
- Sugar
- Inflammation
- Stress
Now, who’s ready for the “meat and cauliflower faux-potatoes?” If you want to significantly IMPROVE your heart health, you will actively seek strategies to incorporate into your life that will reduce or completely eliminate these three things, mentioned above. In addition, there are a number of extremely accurate markers of true Cardiovascular Health that can easily be run that will give you an accurate idea of where you stand, when it comes to the health of your heart. These tests have amazing predictive value and they give us information whereby we can create strategies to eliminate the true risk factors and ultimately enhance your life.
So what can be done? Great question…
What we suggest for our clients, is a diet very similar to the Paleolithic Diet; a customized program of eating that eliminates a majority of the true killers and performance-depleting substances from the diet. The program that we customize will optimize the capacities of our clients in such a way, that it not only tackles specific risk factors for the client, but also triggers a restorative process within the body, at the cellular level.
Each case is different and highly specific. However, there are a few tried and true supplements that have demonstrable results when it comes to improving Cardiovascular Health. Some of our top picks include:
- A high quality, properly balanced omega fatty acid supplement
- Adequate dosing of the active form of CoQ10
- Certain amino acids have shown impressive cardioprotective effects, specifically, D-Ribose and L-Carnitine
- Several of the B-Vitamins, such as Niacin and Pantethine (Vitamin B5)
- Other Antioxidants, such as: Resveratrol and Curcumin
- Magnesium and other trace minerals
Often times, a best starting point is running a few routine labs to see if trouble is brewing and to see, nutritionally, the status of the patient. Often times, we are astounded at the severe deficiencies of clients, who seemingly take great care of themselves and have been supplementing for years.
With supplementation, it is critical to remember that every body is different, as is activity levels, stress levels, and as a result, so are nutritional requirements. It is also important to realize that recommended dosages are usually based upon statistical averages, whereby the goal is to only insure that a deficiency does not take place and not necessarily to establish optimal levels.
The cardiac tests that can be ordered, if appropriate, can include things such as evaluating markers of inflammation (Hs-CRP, LP-a, Interlukin-6, etc.), cholesterol particle size/ratios, Fibrinogen, along with several others.
We, at NuVision Health Center, want to focus on Busting the Cholesterol Myth by encouraging our patients not to rely on sound bites of information but to merely ask questions and seek information. We want to be your resource for trusted information so you can ask better questions and get better information…and ultimately better health for you and your family. Consider the cholesterol myth busted.