Posts Tagged ‘cholesterol’

The Benefits of Cholesterol on Health

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

The benefits of cholesterol often get left out when people visit their cardiologists.  This video breaks down why demonizing high cholesterol is a huge health mistake…

Benefits of Cholesterol

  • Carries vitamins through the blood stream into your tissues
  • Allows the brain to form nerve synapses.  Lack of synapse formation leads to brain degradation, brain fog, memory issues, and more.
  • Cholesterol produces sex steroid hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
  • Cholesterol helps fight infection (virus and bacterial).
  • It is a precursor to vitamin D
  • Low levels can contribute to muscle loss and weakness
  • It forms the nutrient CoQ10

Why Are We So Focused on Lowering It?

Most doctors are hyper focused and evaluating cholesterol levels.  The reality of the matter is that lowering cholesterol hasn’t worked to reduce deaths from heart disease.  That being the case, is taking the medication to lower it worth the risk?  Remember that statin drugs induce muscle loss, muscle pain, nutritional deficiencies, and cause liver damage.

Solution Worse Than The Problem –

Seems with all of the negative consequences of the medications, the smart question to ask is – “is it worth it?”  What ever happened to first do no harm?

The Harmful Effects – Vitamin D deficiency causes heart disease, high blood pressure, muscle atrophy, autoimmune disease, and cancer.  CoQ10 deficiency causes high blood pressure, muscle loss, congestive heart failure, and dementia.  Hormone deficiencies lead to hair loss, low libido, accelerated aging, and more.  Is lowering this molecule with artificial drugs worth all of that?

Commonly Reported Side Effects – Muscle weakness, muscle pain, muscle atrophy, liver damage, digestive issues, skin rashes, and nerve damage (neuropathy).  A recent research study found that using statin drugs (the most commonly prescribed cholesterol lowering therapy) actually led to a decrease in heart muscle function.  Another recent study found that statin drugs increase the risk for stroke.

If you have elevated levels of this natural chemical, this article is a must read before considering the use of medication.  Once you finish that article, read this one.

Wishing you excellent health,

Dr. Osborne

Dr. Osborne is an expert in functional medicine and chiropractic care.  He is Board Certified in Nutritional Medicine.  You can contact his office at 281-240-2229.  He regularly treats patients from across the world.  His office is in Sugar Land, Texas in the Greater Houston area.

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Cholesterol Drugs Cause CoQ10 Deficiency

Friday, June 17th, 2011

If you are taking statin medications like Zocor, Lipitor, or Crestor to lower your cholesterol, then it is imperative that you watch this video.  Take this information to your doctor right away and make sure that you speak with him about the toxic and dangerous side effects.

Learn more about the high cholesterol myth and why treating this symptom with medications can be terrible for your health.

If you are frustrated with your current health status and are looking for a functional medicine doctor in the greater Houston or Sugar Land area you can contact our office at 281-240-2229.  Dr. Osborne is a world renowned functional medicine doctor, chiropractor, Board Certified Nutritionist, and Food Allergy Expert.  He specializes in helping people when traditional medicine fails.

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Is High Cholesterol a Hoax?

Friday, February 12th, 2010
“We have one and a half million heart attacks in the U.S.each year. About 50 percent have normal cholesterol. Clearly, current guidelines are not adequate to identify all those individuals who are at increased risk,”
Nader Rifai, MD(2004)

Statistically speaking, cholesterol levels have zero relevance in determining heart attack risk. A 50-50 chance, after all, means a coin flips worth of certainty.  But that’s not all: people with the highest cholesterol may also live the longest…

Consider the finding of Dr. Harlan Krumholz of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Yale University, who reported in 1994 that elderly with low cholesterol died twice as often from a heart attack as did the elderly with high cholesterol. His research also showed that people with higher cholesterol lived longer than those with lower cholesterol.

Cholesterol has long been blamed for the epidemic of heart disease in this country, despite hundreds of peer reviewed studies indicating that – to the contrary – low cholesterol levels may increase the risk of dying from infection, stroke, cancer, and yes, even heart attack itself. Consider the fact that there are scientific organizations composed of concerned scientists and physicians whose sole purpose is to point out inaccuracies of the cholesterol theory of heart disease. For more elaborate information please visit www.thincs.org

The Term “Bad Cholesterol” is a Myth

Let’s begin by acknowledging that cholesterol is an essential substance produced by nearly every cell of our body, and the building block for the cell wall, bile salts, vitamin D, steroid hormones, the myelin sheath of the nerves, and 30% of our brain tissue.  LDL or so-called “bad cholesterol,” transports antioxidants throughout the body and helps fight bacterial infection.  How can something that has so many important functions be so bad for you?

High Cholesterol is not a Disease

It is unscientific to call high cholesterol a disease.  Elevations in cholesterol are often times normal reactions to events in the environment.  Cholesterol production is extremely variable and depends on many factors.  Take into consideration the following: When we have allergy flare ups during the Spring or Fall, our cholesterol can increase to help support immune function.  Catching cold or the flu can cause temporary elevations in cholesterol.  Contrary to popular belief, diets high in processed grains can cause elevations in cholesterol.  And to top it off, medications prescribed for the following conditions elevate cholesterol: high blood pressure, hormone contraceptives, asthma, chronic pain, and acne.

So, why have we been fixated on cholesterol as the enemy for all these years?

The answer to that question has to do with the sad fact that the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) guidelines were written under tremendous bias.  Of the nine members who wrote the guidelines, 8 had direct financial ties to the pharmaceutical companies that profit from the sale of cholesterol lowering medications.  Additionally, the research used to base the NCEP guidelines was paid for by the pharmaceutical industry.

Treating Symptoms Doesn’t Work

Despite medical intervention, there are more than 80 million cases of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the U.S.  Cholesterol lowering medications cost U.S. taxpayers more than 10 billion annually.  If treating cholesterol with medicine was the answer, why do so many still suffer from CVD? Why does it still kill a million people every year?

What about the side effects of cholesterol lowering medications?  Congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, muscle pain and weakness, fatigue, and nerve damage are some of the possibilities.  What happened to the Hippocratic Oath – “First, do no harm”?

Heart disease is not caused by a lack of medication.  Research and common sense continue to show that the best treatment lies with prevention.  Cultures that do not consume processed refined foods have extremely low to no incidence of CVD.  Diet and lifestyle play a much greater role than do genetics as we did not inherit heart disease from our ancestors.  It is foolish to diminish the role that they play in health and wellness.

The bottom line – people are becoming more and more skeptical about the massive use of pharmaceuticals to treat disease.  They are looking to find the contributing factors and causes of their ailments, not to treat the symptoms.

“The Doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.” – Thomas Edison

Related Articles:

Cholesterol Myth

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Cholesterol Myth

Sunday, November 15th, 2009

stethoscope lying on a ekgWhat You Should Know About Cholesterol Before Taking Medication

By Dr. Osborne

High cholesterol is a household word in America. We have been told that it causes heart disease and stroke. We have been told to eat less animal fat. We have been told to eat more carbohydrates and fiber. We have been told that children as young as 2 years old should have their cholesterol checked. We have been marketed to by cereal companies. They tell us to eat whole grain sugar loaded cereals (i.e. Honey Nut Cheerios and Lucky Charms) to lower our cholesterol and prevent heart disease. Drug companies like Merck and Pfizer have told us that we need to take artificial chemicals to lower cholesterol. Our doctors have told us that we should use these medications for the rest of our lives…

Has anyone stopped to ask why?   Does it sound reasonable to put an 8 year old on cholesterol medication?  It is reasonable to think that a processed cereal with excessive sugar be used as a tool to improve health?  Is it reasonable to believe that we need to avoid eggs and animal protein and take a drug to keep the body functioning normally? What did we do before the medicine?   Statistically speaking, heart disease and stroke are on the rise in spite of the use of preventative cardiovascular medicines.  So the big question is: If taking these medications prevents heart disease, why are people dying from heart disease in record numbers?

Let’s take a look at the scientific facts surrounding this issue:

High cholesterol as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease is a disproven theory.   Many medical experts have refuted this hypothesis for years.(1-2)  Studies using cholesterol medications to lower the risk for heart disease are funded and sponsored by pharmaceutical companies.   Both the editors of the New England Journal of Medicine & Journal of the American Medical Association have admitted that published papers in the two journals are often times fraught with conflicts of interest and that many studies that yield non beneficial drug effects go unreported. Many studies overstate the benefit of medication use by manipulating statistics and reporting relative risk reduction instead of actual risk reduction. For example, a recent study reported a 53% “relative” reduction in heart disease using Crestor, but the actual risk reduction was only 0.9%.

Multiple studies have shown that people with higher cholesterol live longer.(5)   High cholesterol has not been shown to be a risk factor for heart disease in women, diabetics, coronary heart disease patients, or the elderly.(3)  As a matter of fact, several studies have shown that higher cholesterol levels in the elderly population is associated with greater longevity and a reduced risk of dying from cancer and infection.(4-5)

Add the following facts to the above information: Low cholesterol has been linked to an increased risk of stroke, depression, aggressive and violent behavior, and suppression of immunity.

Risk Vs. Benefit
When considering the use of any medication it is important to know what NNT (numbers needed to treat) means. NNT is a value that rates the efficacy of a medication. The NNT for statin drugs is about 100. This means for one person to receive the benefit of the medication, 100 people have to be taking it. That’s a whopping 1% efficacy value. When you take into account the side effects of cholesterol lowering medications the question becomes: Is it worth it?

How can something responsible for so many critical functions be so bad?

1. Cholesterol is a precursor to all sex steroids (progesterone, testosteron, estrogen)
2. Cholesterol allows your body to make vitamin D (deficiency of vitamin D causes heart disease)
3. Cholesterol allows your body to make Coenzyme Q10 (Deficiency of CoQ10 causes congestive heart failure and high blood pressure.)
4. Cholesterol helps fight viral and bacterial infection
5. Cholesterol is necessary for brain cells to form communication synapses.

References: (Not all are listed, but they are available by request.)

1. Rosch PJ. Cholesterol does not cause coronary heart disease in contrast to stress. Scand Cardiovasc J. 2008 Aug;42(4):244-9.
2. Ravnskov U, Rosch PJ, Houston MC. Should we lower cholesterol as much as possible? BMJ2006;332:1330-1332.
3. Ravnskov U. Should medical science ignore the past? BMJ 2008;337:a1681.
4. Krumholz HM, et al. JAMA 1994;272(17):1335-1340.
5. Weverling AW, et al. Lancet 1997;18(9085):1119-23.

Learn More About Cholesterol Drugs and CoQ10…

Related Articles & Videos

Eggs are OK after all!

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Eggs are OK after all!

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

Eating eggs does not affect cholesterol and heart disease risk

supports consuming eggs in moderation after finding no
evidence that eggs increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
The researchers studied the association between egg consumption and
cardiovascular disease in 21,327 participants from the Physicians’
Health Study.
The end result of the study found that egg consumption was not
associated with incident heart attack or stroke.
Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Vol. 87, No. 4, 964-969, April 2008
_________________________________________________________
Dr. Osborne’s comment:
I have been an a long time supporter of the incredible edible egg.
However, eating the right type of egg is important.  Organic, free range
eggs should be the egg of choice.  Standard commercial eggs come
from hens that are cooped up in boxes and fed chemically sprayed
grains.  This changes the chemical composition of the egg.
One of the greatest misconceptions in the health industry is that eating
foods with high cholesterol will increase the risk of cardiovascular
disease.  The liver is responsible for approximately 90-95% of your
daily cholesterol production.  So eating cholesterol foods do not have
as great an impact on cholesterol as promoted.  An egg contains about
210 mg of cholesterol.
Dietary causes of increased cholesterol are the over consumption of
processed meats, grains, and sugars.  Additionally these foods have all
been shown to stimulate an immune response in the body.
Interestingly enough, these immune responses are lessened by the
formation of cholesterol.  That being said, cholesterol is increased
during times of immune distress to help the body not to hurt it.
Think about that last sentence for a minute.  If elevated cholesterol
helps the immune system, does lowering cholesterol with medications
create immune system dysfunction.  A number of studies support this
to be the case.  Additionally, a number of studies have concluded that
elevated cholesterol is not as great a risk factor for heart disease as is
promoted.  As a matter of fact, studies have proven that people with
the lowest cholesterol have a higher mortality rate (die sooner)!
Below are a number of the benefits of cholesterol
Cholesterol helps the immune system to fight infections
Cholesterol is a precursor to the hormones estrogen,
progesterone, cortisol, and testosterone.
Cholesterol allows brain cells to form synapses (bridges that help
brain cells communicate with each other.)
References:
Krumholz HM and others. Lack of association between cholesterol
and coronary heart disease mortality and morbidity and all-cause
mortality in persons older than 70 years. Journal of the American
Medical Association 272, 1335-1340, 1990
Ravnskov U. High cholesterol may protect against infections and
atherosclerosis. Quarterly Journal of Medicine 96, 927-934, 2003.
Jacobs D and others. Report of the conference on low blood
cholesterol: Mortality associations. Circulation 86, 1046–1060,
1992.

A new study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition supports consuming eggs in moderation after finding no evidence that eggs increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

The researchers studied the association between egg consumption and cardiovascular disease in 21,327 participants from the Physicians’  Health Study.  The end result of the study found that egg consumption was not associated with incident heart attack or stroke.
Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Vol. 87, No. 4, 964-969, April 2008.

Dr. Peter Osborne, Diplomate with the American Clinical Board of NutritionDr. Osborne’s comment:

I have been an a long time supporter of the incredible edible egg.  However, eating the right type of egg is important.  Organic, free range eggs should be the egg of choice.  Standard commercial eggs come from hens that are cooped up in boxes and fed chemically sprayed grains.  This changes the chemical composition of the egg.  One of the greatest misconceptions in the health industry is that eating foods with high cholesterol will increase the risk of cardiovascular  disease.  The liver is responsible for approximately 90-95% of your daily cholesterol production.  So eating cholesterol foods do not have as great an impact on cholesterol as promoted.  An egg contains about 210 mg of cholesterol.  Dietary causes of increased cholesterol are the over consumption of processed meats, grains, and sugars.  Additionally these foods have all been shown to stimulate an immune response in the body.  Interestingly enough, these immune responses are lessened by the formation of cholesterol.  That being said, cholesterol is increased during times of immune distress to help the body not to hurt it.

Think about that last sentence for a minute.  If elevated cholesterol helps the immune system, does lowering cholesterol with medications create immune system dysfunction.  A number of studies support this to be the case.  Additionally, a number of studies have concluded that elevated cholesterol is not as great a risk factor for heart disease as is promoted.  As a matter of fact, studies have proven that people with the lowest cholesterol have a higher mortality rate (die sooner)!

Below are a number of the benefits of cholesterol

  • Cholesterol helps the immune system to fight infections
  • Cholesterol is a precursor to the hormones estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, and testosterone.
  • Cholesterol allows brain cells to form synapses (bridges that help brain cells communicate with each other.)
References:
  1. Krumholz HM and others. Lack of association between cholesterol and coronary heart disease mortality and morbidity and all-cause mortality in persons older than 70 years. Journal of the American Medical Association 272, 1335-1340, 1990.
  2. Ravnskov U. High cholesterol may protect against infections and atherosclerosis. Quarterly Journal of Medicine 96, 927-934, 2003.
  3. Jacobs D and others. Report of the conference on low blood cholesterol: Mortality associations. Circulation 86, 1046–1060, 1992.

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