Superchip said:
Cholesterol levels are only good for selling statins and other pointless cholesterol lowering drugs.
misterdj above is spot on.
The cholesterol hypothesis is false and should be ignored, it is NOT based on clinical fact, but driven by pharmaceutical greed and general acceptance by all interested parties in this false hypothesis. ( Ancel Keys 7 Country study, he blocked out the other 15 that debased his claims )
Don't forget that 80% + of this amazing stuff is produced by the liver, for a very good reason, it's used by every cell in the body.
I will not touch statins or anything else that lowers cholesterol and I should know after 19 years with a heart transplant.
I could go on, but there is probably no point, suggest that you read the The Great Cholesterol Con by Dr Malcolm Kendrick, $29 billion reasons to lie about cholesterol by Justin Smith.
How to panic a world and make a packet while you are doing it ! EASY money.
This explains best. All the fuss about cholesterol is just an excuse to sell drugs.
Dr. Ron Rosedale, MD, who is recognized as a leader in the science of anti aging says that cholesterol is a vital component of every cell membrane for every living being. This tells us that cholesterol is not bad, but it's actually very useful. Without cholesterol you would no longer exist. The fact that the liver can use cholesterol again shows the importance of cholesterol. It's no secret that lowering cholesterol too much increases our risk to die. Without cholesterol your body would not be able to produce hormones such as estrogen, testosterone, cortisone, and many other vital hormones. Yet another example of how cholesterol is important, is the task of the HDL cholesterol, to pick up cholesterol from the tissues and arteries and transport it back to the liver. If the cholesterol was harmful to the organism your body would try to get rid of it immediately and not return it to the liver. As far as
normal cholesterol levels go, here are the recommneded values
For EU:
Normal cholesterol level is anything under 5 mmol/l.
Normal HDL cholesterol level is anything above 1,1 mmol/l.
Normal LDL cholesterol level is anything below 3 mmol/l.
For US:
Normal cholesterol level is anything under 200 mg/dl.
Normal HDL cholesterol level is anything above 40 mg/dl.
Normal LDL cholesterol level is anything below 100 mg/dl.
Recommended target blood fat levels are:
total cholesterol: less than 5 mmol/l (200 mg/dl) for men, same goes for women. For patients with cardiovascular disease or diabetes: less than 4 mmol/l (154 mg/dl)
LDL cholesterol: for men less than 3 mmol/l (116 mg/dl); same goes for women. For patients with cardiovascular disease or diabetes: less than 2 mmol/l (77 mg/dl).
Triglycerides: for men less than 1.7 mmol/l (150 mg/dl); same for women. Patients with cardiovascular disease or diabetes: less than 1.7 mmol/l (150 mg/dl).
HDL cholesterol: men - more than 1.1 mmol/l (97 mg/dl); for women more than 1.3 mmol/l (115 mg/dl). Patients with cardiovascular disease or diabetes: more than 1.1 or 1.3 mmol/l (97 or 115 mg/dl).
Hope this helps.