by Dr John Briffa
for The Cholesterol Truth

Excerpts:

When individuals have their cholesterol checked by a doctor, whether the levels are deemed ‘raised’ or not depends on guidelines usually decided by panels of doctors and scientists. One thing I’ve noticed in my time in medicine is that, over the years, what is regarded as the upper limit of ‘normal’ for cholesterol has steadily come down. It wasn’t that long ago that the limit was set at 6.5 mmol/l (250 mg/dl). It’s currently standing at 5.0 mmol/l here in the UK, and this is despite the fact that average cholesterol levels are actually higher than this. Which means, in plain terms, that individuals with lower-than-average levels of an essential body constituent are being told they are in mortal danger, and should get their levels even lower.

As you’ll be aware from reading previous posts on The Cholesterol Truth, mounting evidence reveals that it’s a fallacy that cholesterol reduction has broad benefits for health. In particular, we know that taking dietary steps to reduce cholesterol and taking cholesterol-reducing drugs, such as ezetimibe, have not been found to benefit cardiovascular health. We also have evidence linking low levels of cholesterol with an enhanced risk of serious conditions such as cancer and ‘haemorrhagic’ stroke. If you want to understand how cholesterol guidelines can be out-of-step with the science, it often pays to follow the money.

Read the Full Article Here: http://www.thecholesteroltruth.com/the-conflicts-of-interest-driving-cholesterol