Cholesterol has been plaguing the arteries of modern man (and woman!) since the last century…
And yet, it’s surprising how much misunderstanding and misinformation there is about cholesterol.
From the true cause of cholesterol, through to the actual difference between good and bad cholesterol…
Without the right information, millions of people end up depending on statin drugs to battle cholesterol.
But there is an easier, more sensible way to beat cholesterol…for good!
The Real Facts on Cholesterol
Would you believe me if I told you that many cholesterol tests give inaccurate results?
Well, it’s true, and I’ll let you know why soon.
But first, let’s cover three important facts you need to know to sensibly beat cholesterol:
Fact #1: Cholesterol is a hormone produced mainly by your liver. And like all hormones, it has many important jobs to do in maintaining your health.
It’s also a critical structural molecule in the membranes of every one of your cells, and it’s an important ingredient of brain tissue — just to name two of its functions.
Fact #2: Cholesterol is not the evil beast so many people think it is. In fact, you cannot live without cholesterol!
However, just like insulin, you need the correct amount in your system. It’s true that you don’t want too much…but you sure don’t want too little either.
Fact #3: There are two ways to get cholesterol into your blood — by eating foods that have cholesterol (known as “dietary cholesterol”), and through liver production.
Your body has a balance system — if you don’t get enough dietary cholesterol, your liver will produce more to make up the deficiency.
Busting the Biggest Myth of Cholesterol
So here’s a hugely popular myth we can go ahead and bust today: “You get high cholesterol by eating too many foods with high cholesterol.”
The fact is there isn’t a single test or shred of proof in the medical community that validates this idea…
It’s just a theory and it’s a theory that has growing evidence against it.
One of my favorite doctors on the subject, Dr. Michael Eades, has looked for years and he cannot find any correlation between eating dietary cholesterol and getting high cholesterol.
In addition, most people only get about 15% of their total cholesterol from food because the rest is produced by their bodies.
So you would have to eat an impossible amount of these high-cholesterol foods in order to “eat yourself to high cholesterol.”
So, if that’s the case, what causes high cholesterol?
Pretty much the same thing that produces all the high blood pressure of recent generations, as well as the obesity epidemic…
A high carb diet!
Eating a diet that is too high in carbohydrates and not high enough in protein (the typical diet of today), causes your own liver to produce too much cholesterol.
That’s how you get high cholesterol!
In order to prevent your liver from over-producing cholesterol, you need to eat a balanced diet made up of about 65% protein and fat, and 35% carbohydrates.
This is the most effective way to overcome high cholesterol problems, maintain excellent health and turn up your metabolic rate so your body becomes a healthy, fat-burning machine.
Beware of the Misleading Numbers
Earlier, I promised to tell you why many cholesterol tests give inaccurate results. So here’s the inside scoop…
Testing for your total cholesterol level and for your HDL level is pretty straightforward.
But performing an actual, physical test for the other two — the LDL and VLDL (the bad ones) — is more difficult and quite costly.
And so, unbeknownst to you, these numbers are almost always estimated.
An equation called the “Friedewald Equation” is used to estimate your LDL levels (developed by William Friedewald and others in 1972). This has become the standard, no-questions-asked process.
Now, in all fairness, the equation has shown to be very accurate most of the time.
But in recent years, more and more situations have been found where this equation produces a much higher number than if you actually tested it — the estimate is wrong.
An example of such a situation is people who keep their carbs nice and low. These folks tend to have triglyceride levels lower than 100 mg/dl, which skews the Friedewald equation.
This means those of us who actually eat a correct, healthy diet would be told that our cholesterol is too high because of a faulty equation…
And then your physician (incentivized by the pharmaceutical industry) will whip out his pad and prescribe a statin!
The Sensible Next Step
So what’s the moral of this story?
Keep learning! Become the captain of your own health and keep in mind that doctors are one important source of information on health…but only one.
If you’re being told that your cholesterol is high, and a statin (or treatment) is recommended, insist on a direct test of your LDL cholesterol level — not the estimated version derived from the Friedewald equation.
And feel free to show your physician this article!
Watch this complimentary video to further educate yourself on how to eliminate excess fat and beat high cholesterol safely and effectively.
About the Author:
Derek Gatehouse is an experienced speaker and trainer in the business world who has dedicated himself to diet, fitness and health.
He is the creator of The Primal You program, having controlled his own high blood pressure, cholesterol and general fitness with this eating program since 1998.
Which of the wonderful women in your life are concerned about how their cholesterol levels are impacting their health?
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