Dear friends, We have long known that your total cholesterol number has little to do with heart disease. Now there is a simple new test that measures the type and number of LDL particles that you have and this determines your heart disease risk. Statin drugs to lower cholesterol and LDL may have very little effect on heart-attack prevention. Ask for this test instead. mary anne This brief article is from the Dr Mercola website: Cholesterol has been blamed for just about every case of heart disease for the last 20 years, when in reality, you need cholesterol in order to be healthy; your body uses cholesterol for cell membranes, hormones, neurotransmitters and overall nerve function.
Your total cholesterol number is not a good indicator of heart disease risk. One of the most important tests you can get to determine your risk is the NMR lipoprofile, which measures your LDL particle number. This test also has other markers that can help determine if you have insulin resistance, which is a primary cause of elevated LDL particle number and increased heart disease riskResearch published over the past 10 or 15 years suggests that neither saturated fat nor high-cholesterol foods will raise your cholesterol serum levelsThe primary cause of heart disease is not high cholesterol but insulin and leptin resistance, which increase LDL particle number via a couple of different mechanisms. Poor thyroid function can also directly increase LDL particle number, and should be checked if your LDL particle number is highInsulin and leptin resistance is caused by factors inherent in our modern lifestyle, including a diet high in processed and refined carbohydrates, sugars/fructose, refined flours, and industrial seed oils; insufficient physical activity; chronic sleep deprivation; environmental toxins; and poor gut health
Mary Anne Robinson, MS Bio-Nutrition |