Does High Cholesterol Warrant Using Meds?

When I first worked in the health care field in the mid-80’s patents were told to keep their cholesterol below 260 and anything below 130 would cause concern that a patient has cancer. Today I’m hearing patients tell me that their doctor wants them to have a cholesterol below 130 or even worse, under 100!! Let me explain a little about cholesterol then you can decide for yourself.

Cholesterol is a strong antioxidant and repairs damage done by inflammation to vessels and tissues in the body. 80% of cholesterol is made naturally in the liver. Cholesterol is the precursor to making all hormones in the body including insulin, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol, serotonin, melatonin and thyroid hormones. The brain is made up of mostly cholesterol and every cell in the body utilizes cholesterol in it’s cell membrane.

Statin drugs are used to lower cholesterol and have side-effects that include kidney failure, liver damage, severe muscle cell damage and congestive heart failure. Here is a link that talks about recent deaths. In addition, this article discusses health risks associated with taking statins.

If you have elevated cholesterol it might be time to explore why the liver is making this excess and do what is necessary to bring that number down naturally before using medication that may cause further harm.

Next week, I’ll talk more about this subject and what you can do to manage cholesterol.

Does High Cholesterol Warrant Using Meds?