Cholesterol: a Modern Day Myth!

Dr. Dimitris Tsoukalas, MD

Chronic Diseases & Metabolic Disorders Clinic
Harvard Medical School Course GIMSS 
President of The European Institute of Nutritional Medicine E.I.Nu.M
American College for the Advancement in Medicine


Cholesterol : the issue of “good” and “bad” cholesterol is possibly one of the biggest medical myths of our times.

The following facts are based on at least three Nobel Prize discoveries.

During the last two decades we have been literally bombarded with information about the dangers of cholesterol and about the fact that the higher the cholesterol levels in the blood, the greater the risk of clogged blood vessels. 

For this reason we must lower the cholesterol levels 'at any cost.' 

But is this so? According to some experts the above is only partly true. 

Some time ago a major article was published in the New York Times, which lays out the results of a two-years study of the effects of two cholesterol-lowering drugs on patients with high cholesterol levels. After two years of administering the drugs the thickness of the patients' atheromatous plaque had doubled. (The New York Times, 16 Jan 2008).

The atheromatous plaque is the plaque created by cholesterol deposits on the inside of blood vessels. 

So what is going on? Let’s take it from the beginning.

What exactly is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a fatty molecule produced by the liver and it is vital to a great number of functions of the organism.

It is essential in the makeup of basic elements of the organism such as cell membranes, to the function of the nervous system, in the production of a large amount of hormones such as male and female hormones, et al. It is also used as fuel by the cardiac muscle.

It is one of the most important ingredients in the human body. Accordingly, two thirds of the body's cholesterol is produced by the organism itself. Only one third comes from food. 

Low levels of cholesterol in the organism can seriously disrupt its function, cause sexual dysfunction, increase stress and lower energy levels.

So what exactly does cholesterol have to do with damaged blood vessels and atherosclerosis?

It is a known fact that when the walls of blood vessels are damaged, cholesterol attaches itself to the damaged area to repair the wall by covering up the tear. This is how atheromatous plaque is formed. Description of this phenomen earned Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein the Nobel prize in Medicine in 1985. 

This means that cholesterol isn’t the cause of the clogging of arteries but a secondary defense mechanism used by the organism when blood vessels have suffered damage.

Increased cholesterol indeed means that there is something wrong with the arteries but it isn't the culprit. Very low cholesterol levels are associated with an increased risk of hemorrahage stemming from ruptured arteries! 

Cholesterol is really an index of the risk of cardiovascular disease, not its cause. To understand what exactly is meant by 'index' let's take as an example white hair and aging. White hair shows that someone is getting older. If one were to die his hair black we wouldn't make him younger or healthier. He may appear somewhat younger but his biological condition wouldn't be affected in any way.

Good and Bad Cholesterol

Cholesterol travels in the blood in the form of big (good) and small (bad) molecules. The small molecules have greater penetrative power and attach themselves to the blood vessel walls, which the big molecules do not. It must be noted that no medicine has any influence on the size of these molecules.

Linus Pauling (the only person to be awarded two unshared Nobel Prizes--Chemistry and Peace) described the phenomenon, which was later proven by his colleague Matthias Rath, of how damage to blood vessels is caused mainly by vitamin C deficiency and other nutritient deficiencies.

In older times, before the discovery of vitamin C, fresh fruits and vegetables weren't part of the diet of sailors. As a result, their blood vessels would rutpture due to the total absence of vitamin C causing death from internal beelding. This was known as scurvy. 

The toxicity of the contemporary environment has increased our need in vitamin C dramatically. Stress, radiation, environmental pollution, heavy metals, industrial chemicals burden our bodies and increase our cells' need for vitamin C.

At the same time the amount of vitamin C obtained through food is decreasing dramatically. While eating fresh fruits and vegetables is vitally important, the denaturation of food through the extreme degree of processing it undergoes before arriving on our dinner tables deprives it of essential nutrients. 

The minimum daily requirement to cover the organism's basic needs in vitamin C is 1000 mg. One must realize that the vitamin C one gets from eating an orange is 55 mg, provided that one eats it with its peel and pips within a few days of being plucked from the tree, which is, in practical terms, impossible.

What is happening to modern man is a chronic scurvy. The deficiency doesn`t occur within a period of a few months, as was the case with the sailors of the past, but over a period of years.

Where there is a lack of vitamin C, cracks begin to appear in the internal surface of the blood vessels. Wen this happens, the organism orders the liver to produce extra cholesterol to repair the damage, even if superficially. If the damage is extensive the amount of cholesterol used for repairs becomes extensive as well. Blood vessels clog and we get coronary disease, strokes, etc.

The solution is not to prevent the organism from producing cholesterol but to remedy its want of vitamin C. That will allow the body to repair the damage fully. Studies prove that after administrating sufficient amounts of Vitamin C the levels of cholesterol in the blood drop and the thickness of the
atheromatous plaque in the blood vessels becomes less.


If instead of increasing Vitamin C we administer lipid-lowering drugs, which impede the production of cholesterol in the liver, we make in fact matters worse by preventing the second defense mechanism from going into operation. 

To restore cholesterol levels to normal levels, one should:

  • Cover one's needs in micro-nutrients, minerals and above all vitamin C
  • Substantially decrease the intake of sugar, processed carbohydrates (bread, pasta, soft drinks) and potatoes
  • Exercise daily (exercise can make a major difference)
  • Increase the intake of omega-3 fatty acids

The goal is not to suppress the natural functions of the organism but to strengthen it and push it up into a higher level of health.


To Your Health!

 


References:
Live Science March 25, 2008
Dr. Mercola health site
Dr Rath Foundation
The New York Times 16 Jan 2008.
How You Have Been Fooled by Good and Bad Cholesterol

 

Do you have questions about Metabolomics? Contact Us