Natremed

Cholesterol is a precursor to many steroid hormones and is manufactured in the liver. It is transported around your body by two proteins. These proteins are known as high density lipoprotein (HDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL). LDL carries the cholesterol to the tissues and blood vessels and HDL collects the cholesterol and returns it to your liver.

Aside from the liver producing cholesterol, we also get cholesterol through foods in our diet. Many of these foods form a part of a healthy diet and often cholesterol in foods only becomes a problem when that food is also high in sugar or saturated fats. 

Your body requires cholesterol to perform vital bodily functions. These include

• Production of new cell membranes
• Repair damaged cells and make new ones
• Part of the production of testosterone, estrogen, cortisol, DHEA.
• Production of bile acids which aid digestion 

Cholesterol and disease:

High cholesterol is thought to play a role in many disease processors including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The problem with cholesterol in such illnesses is not so much to do with the amount of cholesterol but rather the type of cholesterol your body is producing. When your body produces LDL’s of the wrong size they stick to the blood vessel walls and form a plug instead of being carried to the area of the body where they are most needed. This plug will over time harden and form a plaque which irritates and inflames the vascular/aterial system, blocking the flow of blood, oxygen and nutrients to the heart (cardiovascular disease). Then, because cholesterol is involved in repairing damaged cells, an increase in inflammation to the blood vessels will lead to a continuous production of cholesterol (LDL).

How to improve your cholesterol levels:

Disease resulting from chronic inflammation (diabetes, CVD) is essentially the driving force for chronically elevated cholesterol and so the aim must be to reduce the inflammation. Some reasons for inflammation in the vascular/arteriole system are:

• Oxidation of LDL and small size of LDL
• High sugar diets and refined grains
• Smoking
• Sedentary lifestyle 
•  Emotional stress 
•  Eating trans fats (fried foods, processed foods etc)

 Therefore the first line of treatment should be to eat a healthy diet full of fruit, vegetables and lean meat, to exercise regularly, to have plenty of decent restful sleep, to quit smoking and to laugh as much as possible.

The problem with prescribed Statins:

The pharmaceutical drug group the Statins are used to lower cholesterol. They inhibit an enzyme called HMG-CoA reductase in the liver which is involved in the synthesis of cholesterol. Some drugs in this class are:

• atorvastatin (Lipitor)
• fluvastatin (Lescol) 
•  lovastatin (Mevacor)
• pravastatin (Pravachol)
• simvastatin (Zocor)
• rosuvastatin (Crestor)

Due to the inhibition of the HMG-CoA reductase the natural synthesis of CoQ10 in the body is negatively influenced. Studies have indicated that reductions of 20-30% in circulating CoQ10 concentrations may be expected due to treatment with statins. Ironically this serves to worsen the condition that the statins were prescribed for in the first place.

Deficiency signs of CoQ10:

• Fatigue
• Cardiomyopathy
• Mouth ulcers and leisons
• Iscemic heart disease
• Muscle aches/pains/cramps
• Congestive heart failure

Side effects of Statins:

• Fatigue
• Headache
• Muscle aches/pains/cramps
• Raised liver enzymes
• Poor sleep
• Stomach pain/nausea
• Depressed immune system

Conclusion:

Cholesterol is vital to your wellbeing, if your cholesterol levels are elevated ask yourself if you are follow all the tips in the ‘how to lower cholesterol’ section. The side effects of statins defiantly out way there benefits, especially in regard to CoQ10 deficiency. So take the natural approach and you may find, not only that your cholesterol levels become easier to manage, but that your overall wellbeing will be greatly improved also.

By: Sophie Atkin