The Truth About High Cholesterol

High Cholesterol has become a major medical risk factor for heart disease…or so we’ve been lead to believe.  The fact of the matter is, there is no objective research that supports the connection between high cholesterol and heart disease.  Nonetheless, the fear of the risk associated with high cholesterol still exists and is continually drilled into us by most cardiologists and primary care physicians…that is; that we need to maintain low cholesterol levels (below 200). 
 

What is Cholesterol?

When it comes to understanding blood cholesterol, it is important to know that total cholesterol levels really mean very little.  It is the LDL or “bad cholesterol” and HDL or “good cholesterol” levels that are most significant.  A high “bad cholesterol” is not necessarily bad, so long as the “good cholesterol” is also high. 
 
In other words, HDL balances LDL…or ”good balances bad”.  In actuality, there is really no such thing as “bad cholesterol”.  “Bad cholesterol” or LDL is only seen as bad because it is viewed as dangerous when it is too high, in relation to “good cholesterol” or HDL.  Therefore the goal is to establish a healthy ratio between LDL and HDL.  That ratio is ideally 3 to 1, or lower.  There are many natural therapies that can raise HDL levels and it is these therapies that I focus on when helping to rebalance cholesterol. 
 
Cholesterol is unfortunately a very misunderstood molecule.  Most people don’t realize how important cholesterol is to life.  It is an integral part of our cell anatomy and is therefore essential to virtually every body process.  Cholesterol is also the primary building block to our sex and adrenal hormones, also called our “youth hormones”.  It is the “youth hormones” that are instrumental to the aging process.  As these hormones decline, our health declines, and we begin to age more rapidly. 
 
 

What is High Cholesterol?

High cholesterol is not a disease.  It is a sign of an imbalance in the body.  The human body, in its innate intelligence, is always trying to correct and rebalance.  High cholesterol is simply an attempt by the body to reestablish this balance. 
 

What is the Treatment for High Cholesterol?

In addition to causing various side effects, addressing high cholesterol with medications, like statins, is only delaying an inevitably more serious problem.  The goal to improving cholesterol levels is to discover the root of the problem.  That is, to address health as a whole. 
 
This often starts by making some difficult choices through lifestyle modifications. Some are:

• Losing excess weight (especially abdominal fat)
• Correcting the diet (changing to a more Paleolithic diet)
• Taking the right supplements (like high doses of B vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids)
• Adding or changing your exercise regime (activities to lower cortisol)

Can Hormones Cause High Cholesterol?

The last part of the equation is to find out if your cholesterol is out of balance because your sex and adrenal hormones are deficient.  Cholesterol can also be affected by thyroid conditions.  Even mild thyroid deficiencies (where the blood tests are normal) can cause an imbalance in cholesterol levels.  Restoring hormonal deficiencies with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy can often correct cholesterol levels alone.
 

Other Information and Services 

Food Sources - For your convenience we have listed organic grocery stores, other natural food sources and organic home delivery in the Gilbert, Mesa, Chandler, Tempe and Scottsdale area.
 
Connections Newsletter- Women's International Pharmacy produces a newsletter on with amazing information on Cholesterol and other health issues.