Medical Myths: All about cholesterol
Among all the substances found in our bodies, cholesterol is arguably the most well-known. Even though everyone is familiar with this fatty substance, there is a lot of misinformation about it. We shed some light on cholesterol in this article.
Since cholesterol is a necessary part of animal cell membranes, all animal cells synthesize it. Despite its unfavorable reputation, cholesterol is necessary for life. On the other hand, high blood levels of it raise the risk of cardiovascular disease. Plaques containing cholesterol and other materials, like fat and calcium, accumulate on the artery walls. This causes the blood vessels to narrow over time, which can result in complications like heart attacks and strokes.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that 13% of Americans who were 20 years of age or older had high cholesterol in 2015–2016. According to estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO), elevated cholesterol levels cause 26 million deaths annually. It is not surprising that there is a lot of false information regarding cholesterol given its prevalence. So, to help us separate fact from fiction.
All cholesterol is bad
As indicated in the introduction, cholesterol is an essential part of membranes found in cells. In addition to playing a structural role in membranes, it is essential for the synthesis of bile acid, vitamin D, and steroid hormones. Therefore, even though high cholesterol raises the risk of disease, without cholesterol, life would not be possible.
Cholesterol is not harmful. In today’s modern world, an innocent bystander is being mistreated. Because our bodies were not made to survive in an environment where food was abundant, excess cholesterol will be stored in our bodies. And our blood vessels are frequently that deposit center, which is when it becomes harmful to us. In addition to its physiological roles, cholesterol’s mode of transportation influences whether or not it is harmful to health.
Lipoproteins are molecules made of protein and fat that transport cholesterol throughout the body. There are two primary methods of this transport. From the liver, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) transports cholesterol to cells, where it is utilized in a variety of functions. Because elevated blood levels of LDL cholesterol raise the risk of cardiovascular disease, people sometimes refer to LDL cholesterol as bad cholesterol. Since high-density lipoprotein (HDL) returns cholesterol to the liver, it is frequently referred to as good cholesterol. Once there, the body expels cholesterol, lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease.
I am a healthy weight, so I can’t have high cholesterol
Yes, you can, as Dr. Greenfield says. In actuality, our genetic makeup and the food we eat determine our cholesterol balance. For instance, a person may have a genetic predisposition to process cholesterol inefficiently from birth. He clarified that it has been dubbed familial hypercholesterolemia and that its frequency may be as high as 1 in 200 due to its genetic nature. Your genetic metabolism and the ratio of calories burned to calories consumed play a bigger role in weight. Dr. Paz agreed: Your cholesterol can be abnormal even if you have a healthy weight. The foods you eat, how much alcohol you drink, how much you smoke, and how often you exercise all have an effect on your cholesterol.
Furthermore, as Dr. Lajoie informed us, some overweight individuals may not have high cholesterol, while others who maintain a healthy weight may. She clarified that a person’s diet, exercise, sleep patterns, thyroid function, medications, and genetics all influence their cholesterol levels. She went on, Your age and your genetics are two more factors that can contribute to high cholesterol but that you cannot modify.
I would have symptoms if I had high cholesterol
This is an additional myth. According to Dr. Paz, high cholesterol typically doesn’t cause any symptoms. For this reason, it is advised to have blood tests regularly to check for high cholesterol. Your unique risk factors dictate when you should begin screening and how often.
When excessive cholesterol accumulation causes heart and blood vessel damage and blockage, the only symptoms that cholesterol can be linked to are the late symptoms. Angina (chest pain), a heart attack, or even abrupt death result from this. Dr. Lajoie reaffirmed that elevated cholesterol causes silent plaque accumulation in arteries, which worsens over time and can result in heart attacks or strokes.
If I eat lots of cholesterol, I will have high cholesterol levels
This subject is a little trickier to understand than one might think. According to Dr. Lajoie, cholesterol levels are not always directly correlated with the amount of cholesterol one consumes. Even if a person doesn’t consume much cholesterol, eating sugars or simple carbs can raise their blood pressure. She added, Compared to sedentary people, those who exercise are less likely to see elevations in cholesterol from eating cholesterol.
Our cholesterol levels will almost certainly rise if we eat more cholesterol. He gave the following explanation for this: You buy red meat, cheeses, and eggs at the grocery store, but you don’t go buy a package of cholesterol. Red meat has cholesterol and saturated fat. Since cholesterol is derived from animals, eating foods high in saturated fat will raise cholesterol overall as well as the bad, or LDL, cholesterol, which is then deposited in the arterial walls of our blood vessels.
Everyone should aim for the same cholesterol targets
Dismissed! According to Dr. Paz, your target cholesterol level depends on your risk of heart attack and stroke, which is determined by factors like age and high blood pressure, as well as whether you have a history of these conditions. That is untrue, according to cholesterol guidelines released by the National Lipid Association, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Heart Association (AHA). He went on to say that the LDL cholesterol, or bad cholesterol, should be less than 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) for those of us who have not experienced any cardiovascular issues. However, the LDL cholesterol target should be less than 70 mg/dl, if not lower, if you have a history of heart attacks, strokes, or other arterial vascular diseases, and especially if you have diabetes.
Only men need to worry about cholesterol levels
Despite being a persistent myth, this is untrue. Dr. Paz clarified: The CDC reports that between 2015 and 2018, the incidence of elevated total cholesterol in the U.S. adult population was 11.4 percent. In comparison to women, men were more likely than women to have high total cholesterol (10.5% versus 12.1%). Dr. Greenfield concurred that heart disease is an equal opportunity employer. He clarified that women start to accelerate their risk of heart disease and develop the same risk as men after losing the protective effects of estrogens. In actuality, more female heart attacks than male heart attacks are reported each year because women typically develop heart disease later in life and live longer. He also informed us that women are far more likely to die from heart disease than from breast cancer and that when they do suffer a heart attack, their prognosis is typically worse.
There’s nothing I can do about my cholesterol level
Fortunately, this is not accurate. Dr. Paz states that in addition to taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, you can lower your cholesterol by eating a healthy weight, exercising, quitting smoking, and consuming moderate amounts of alcohol. Dr. Greenfield concurred that there is a lot that can be done with an abnormally high cholesterol level. The first steps are always diet and exercise, and they are still very important. Statins are safe and highly effective at lowering cholesterol. The more recent statins have been around since 1987 and are thought to be safer, more effective, and have fewer side effects. And science is still coming up with new ideas. According to Dr. Greenfield, more recent injectable PCSK-9 inhibitors have also been demonstrated to significantly reduce cholesterol to previously unheard-of levels.
I take statins, so I can eat what I want
Dr. Greenfield started, Wouldn’t that be nice if it were true, but it’s not. You will put on weight if you overindulge in food and calories. Excessive weight gain, particularly around the abdomen, can lead to the development of metabolic syndrome, a prediabetic state. He went on: Statins do not help people lose weight. It is your responsibility to treat your body with respect, which includes what you eat, and your job to lower the bad LDL cholesterol.
I’m under 40, so I don’t need to have my cholesterol checked
Dr. Paz clarified that many, advise screening for elevated cholesterol as early as age 20, despite some disagreement regarding the optimal age to begin. Dr. Greenfield agreed the longer blood in your blood vessels has an excessively high cholesterol content, the higher your chance of developing cardiovascular disease in later life. According to the recommendations, a person’s first cholesterol test should be taken when they are a teenager, and if there is a strong family history, it should be taken earlier. He informed us that people with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia should have their cholesterol checked starting at age 2.
Dr. Greenfield summarized her remarks as follows: I encourage my patients to ask questions and to do research on their medical conditions. But please be advised that a good portion of the polluted content is inaccurate and deceptive. He went on to visit reliable websites and trust the research presented by individuals who have devoted their lives to the treatment of heart disease.. Furthermore, anything that seems too good to be true or nonsensical is most likely not. Handle your body with reverence, not as if it were a theme park!
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