WAHT IS CHOLESTEROL?
IS CHOLESTEROL REALLY BAD FOR YOU?
Cholesterol. A truck-load of negative connotations are attached to this word. It’s perceived to be so bad and dangerous that there aren’t even any euphemisms that I could use to lower the impact.
Cholesterol has been made into such a villain that I wouldn’t be surprised if mothers scared their children to sleep by putting the fear of cholesterol in their heads. But here I am to prove to you that it’s all a bunch of old science that has been proven wrong.
So, what is cholesterol?
It’s a waxy substance. It’s present in our blood and the body uses it for a lot of things.
Remember that the smallest unit of the human body is a cell? Well these cells have a membrane around them that keeps them viable. One of the most important components of this membrane is cholesterol.
Cholesterol is also used as a source of steroid hormones in the body including cortisol, testosterone and estrogens. Cortisol is the stress hormone which is released when the body is in any sort of physical or mental stress and puts it into survival mode. The importance of testosterone and estrogens must already be well-known to you.
That’s not all though. Arguably the most important organ of our body is the brain. And yes cholesterol is important for the brain as well. It has a significant contribution in the formation of the white matter of the brain and in forming the myelin sheaths that cover and protect our nerves.
These are just a few examples of the importance of cholesterol in our body. So yea, cholesterol isn’t bad in its essence. It is useful! But let me take you one step further to understand its significance!
CHOLESTEROL IN DIET
Foods such as dairy products, meat, eggs, fried foods, etc. are rich in cholesterol. The cholesterol obtained from the diet enters the digestive system. Unlike other components; it is not absorbed directly into the blood. It first enters another circulatory system of the body: The Lymphatic System.
Lacteals are the smaller channels of this system in the gut. They absorb chylomicrons, a form composed of cholesterol and other fat substances. The lymphatic system channels the chylomicrons to the blood, which further sends them to the hub of metabolism; The Liver. In the liver, chylomicrons are degraded and cholesterol is packed into new lipoprotein vehicles.
TYPES OF CHOLESTEROL
Cholesterol is not soluble in the blood, so it is packed in the core of a lipoprotein molecule.
The liver releases VLDL (Very Low Density Lipoproteins) cholesterol in the blood. As it travels in the body, it accumulates more and more cholesterol from the body tissues and forms LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) cholesterol.
This delivers cholesterol to the body tissues to perform its useful functions mentioned above.
Another type, HDL (High Density Lipoprotein) cholesterol transfers cholesterol from the peripheral tissues of the body to the liver.
The liver metabolizes cholesterol or converts it into Bile salts. They are released from the liver to the gut in bile, which promotes the absorption of fats. Bile is also a source of excretion of cholesterol from the body through stools.
IS CHOLESTEROL BAD?
As evident from the discussion above it would be wrong to say that cholesterol is in itself dangerous. But still, we can’t entirely say that it is absolutely benign. I’d say that the answer to this question can not be a mere yes or no. Let us dig into the details to find an appropriate answer.
In medicine, whenever we talk about serum cholesterol levels, we are actually referring to these LDL and HDL molecules and their levels in the blood.
HDL cholesterol prevents the accumulation of cholesterol in peripheral tissues. It favors the utilization of cholesterol and its metabolism in the liver. It also promotes its excretion to keep the levels of cholesterol in check. Due to its cholesterol lowering effects, HDL is popular as Good cholesterol.
LDL cholesterol, on the other hand, transfers cholesterol to the body tissues. This facilitates its accumulation when in excess. It can accumulate in the blood vessels as a part of plaques, interrupting the flow of blood to body organs.
IS LDL A CAUSE OF STROKE?
High LDL cholesterol is a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases like coronary heart disease. But when it comes to the risk of stroke, newer studies have shown that there is no direct significant association between higher LDL levels and the risk for stroke. ¹
The reason is simple. Most of the stroke cases occur as a result of thrombi that form within the heart in people with heart disease. These thrombi then dislodge from the heart and get stuck in the carotid vessels that feed the brain. This hampers blood flow and causes stroke. In all of this, cholesterol is not involved.
A small number of stroke cases occur due to atherosclerosis. But even there our perception has been updated.
Only a few years ago it was thought that cholesterol simply builds up along blood vessel walls and causes plaque formation. But newer studies have shown that it is not true. The pathogenesis of this plaque formation involves inflammation and cholesterol plays but a very small role. Blood vessel wall inflammation can be caused by higher blood sugar levels for example. Cholesterol is likely to stick to the walls of these inflamed blood vessels as a reaction to the damage, possibly for purpose of repair. ²
One very interesting study also notes that higher levels of cholesterol are associated with lower risk of intracranial hemorrhage. ³ Take it as you will. 🙂
ROLE OF CHOLESTEROL IN LONGEVITY:
This is the other side of the coin that has been kept hidden.
Studies have shown that high levels of cholesterol are actually associated with a decrease in mortality especially, from cancer and infection. Additionally, the impact of cholesterol on the risk of vascular disease is decreased. These effects are observed predominantly in old age. ⁴
You see the implication? Despite the correlation of higher LDL levels with risk of stroke and whatnot, overall higher levels of cholesterol decrease mortality in old individuals. Then what is the point in keeping these levels low???
I’ll admit that the beneficial effect of high cholesterol on longevity in the elderly is yet to be properly investigated. However, it does raise concerns about the utility of cholesterol-lowering drugs in preventing vascular events.
BIG PHARMA AND CHOLESTEROL
Now this might make everything a lot clearer. Why are we made to fear cholesterol with such intensity? Even when the literature is pointing out clear flaws in such an approach towards it?
Well, as always, it is about money!
Statins are the all-time favorite LDL lowering drugs that have been a source of great wealth for the pharmaceutical industries. Some reports suggest that as of 2021 the statin industry is worth more than USD 14.7 billion. And it is estimated to grow to USD 20.4 billion by the year 2029. Way more than a truckload of money, in other words.⁵
And wherever such money is involved, things do tend to go awry. Let me cite a few examples.
Almost 20 years ago, Bayer; the maker of the statin drug Baycol, paid more than a billion dollars to settle more than 3000 lawsuits by patients claiming that they were not forewarned about the side effects of this drug. Side effects that Bayer knew about. ⁶
Pfizer, their rivals, have a similar history. In 2014, Pfizer had to face a thousand lawsuits by female patients claiming that their statin drug Lipitor had caused them to acquire type 2 diabetes. ⁶
Studies have also indicated cases of memory loss in statin users. These were covered up by the media to save the big pharma overlords so that the public stays aloof.⁷
In 2013, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) claimed that statins were intentionally being overprescribed to people with low risk of heart attack and their side effects were actually worse than previously thought.⁸
Pharmaceutical companies are involved in the research trials, their analysis, and even in influencing policies. This pharmaceuticalization trend in health care has become too apparent for anyone who can see. Even the research data about statin drugs has been skewed to influence government policies. A review of 167 studies has very interesting comments regarding that.⁹
So you can see how the pharma companies are more than okay with over prescribing lipid lowering drugs, hiding their side effects, skewing the data, and influencing policies only to increase their sales. It’s almost laughable. The attempts at making people believe that cholesterol is some evil thing is just another bead of this string.
I hope I have given you some clear pointers towards the truth and you need not take my word for it. Dig for your own and be amazed at the amount of perception management that has been done to control us!
ENDING NOTE
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Bibliography
- Oliver M. F. (2000). Cholesterol and strokes. Cholesterol lowering is indicated for strokes due to carotid atheroma. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 320(7233), 459–460. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.320.7233.459
- Information, N. C. for B., Pike, U. S. N. L. of M. 8600 R., MD, B., & Usa, 20894. (2017). What is cholesterol and how does arteriosclerosis develop? In www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279327/
- Lin, S.-F., Chao, A-Ching., Hu, H.-H., Lin, R.-T., Chen, C.-H., Chan, L., Lin, H.-J., Sun, Y., Lin, Y.-Y., Chen, P.-L., Lin, S.-K., Wei, C.-Y., Lin, Y.-T., Lee, J.-T., & Bai, C.-H. (2019). Low Cholesterol Levels Increase Symptomatic Intracranial Hemorrhage Rates After Intravenous Thrombolysis: A Multicenter Cohort Validation Study. Journal of Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis, 26(6), 513–527. https://doi.org/10.5551/jat.46151
- Weverling-Rijnsburger, A. W. E., Blauw, G. J., Lagaay, A. M., Knook, D. L., Meinders, A. E., & Westendorp, R. G. J. (1997). Total cholesterol and risk of mortality in the oldest old. Lancet (London, England), 350(9085), 1119–1123. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(97)04430-9
- Statin Market growth, Opportunities, Size, Share, Trends, & Industry Research Report. (n.d.). Retrieved May 15, 2022, from https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-statin-market
- Pfizer confronts surge of lawsuits over Lipitor | Reuters. (n.d.). Retrieved May 15, 2022, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pfizer-lipitor-lawsuits-insight-idUSKBN0G80E520140808
- New findings on statin-memory loss link – Harvard Health. (n.d.). Retrieved May 15, 2022, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/cholesterol/new-findings-on-statin-memory-loss-link
- Statins – a call for transparent data | The BMJ. (n.d.). Retrieved May 15, 2022, from https://www.bmj.com/campaign/statins-open-data
- Freemantle, N., Calvert, M., Wood, J., Eastaugh, J., & Griffin, C. (2003). Composite outcomes in randomized trials: greater precision but with greater uncertainty? JAMA, 289(19), 2554–2559. https://doi.org/10.1001/JAMA.289.19.2554