We all know the official line - the higher your cholesterol level the greater your risk for heart disease. And a high level of LDLs or a low level of HDLs is bad.
Image by TLECOATL ZYANYA
In fact, every aspect of this hypothesis has been repeatedly destroyed, but the vast majority of the medical community continue to ignore the facts, as astonishing as this is.
We have studies going back more than 40 years showing a strong link between higher cholesterol and a longer life. Other studies have shown a strong link between higher cholesterol levels and reduced incidence of cancer and infections (see this video clip).
A dietary trial published in the British Medical Journal in 2016 found that for each 30 mg/dL (0.78 mmol/L) reduction in cholesterol there was a 22% greater risk of death (see previous post here).
We also know that people who have a heart attack do not have high cholesterol - they have the same average total cholesterol levels as other people of a similar age (see this previous post here).
And we know that cholesterol-lowering at the population level does not reduce the risk of heart disease (see Statin Nation).
The LDL level (so called bad cholesterol) is also actually lower in people with heart disease, not higher - according to a large study published in the American Heart Journal.
Higher levels of so called ‘bad’ cholesterol also predict better athletic performance (see here).
Drugs that increased HDLs (so called good cholesterol) have increased the number of deaths. The drug Torcetrapib reduced "bad" LDLs by 25% and increased "good" HDLs by 72%, and at the same time increased the number of deaths due to cardiovascular causes by 40% and doubled the number of deaths from all causes (see Statin Nation book and this blog post).
Now, a new study has again challenged the idea that HDLs are good. The new study has been published in the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. The researchers found an association between higher HDL levels and an increase in carotid plaque in women.
Medscape recently reported comments from Robert Rosenson, MD, Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine, New York City, who has chaired four international working groups on the biology HDLs.:
"HDL can be a good, bad, or neutral particle," he said.
And that’s not all. A few days ago Professor Sheriff Sultan (featured in Statin Nation II) informed me about a study recently completed in China at Sichuan University and funded by a Sichuan Province-Supporting Technology Project. The study compared blood cholesterol and blood glucose in patients with coronary artery atherosclerosis and healthy individuals.
The researchers found that the cholesterol levels did not correlate significantly with artery atherosclerosis but blood glucose levels did.
The researchers stated: “Hyperlipidemia is not an important cause of coronary atherosclerosis”.
And yet again there is a lack of reporting from the media about these studies - because most journalists are lazy and they only write about cholesterol and statins when a press release is issued from a drugs company that they can cut and paste into their newspaper or website.
Or make a one time donation:
In US$
In GB £