Dispelling the Myth that LDL Cholesterol is “Bad”

Independently-sourced research challenges the idea that LDL (low-density lipoprotein) is the "bad cholesterol," and causes heart disease. However, the theory that LDL is "bad" persists in the mainstream media and with Big Pharma, mainly because they would lose billions of dollars in drugs and treatments to admit the theory lacks merit. The hypothesis of saturated fat creating artery-clogging cholesterol as the source of heart disease should be considered dead and incapable of resuscitating, based on the scientific evidence. But one still sees and hears fearful statements about lowering cholesterol and avoiding heart disease, mostly on mainstream media but even all too often on internet alternative media sources. Current research is showing LDL is not dangerous and it’s not an accurate marker for pending heart disease.

Why Most Doctors are Wrong About Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a waxy substance found in nearly every cell of your body and is essential to good health. It plays a role in hormone production, digestion and the manufacture of vitamin D following sun exposure, and helps protect your cell membranes. As noted by Zoe Harcombe, Ph.D., "It is virtually impossible to explain how vital cholesterol is to the human body. If you had no cholesterol in your body you would be dead." Cholesterol has long been vilified as a primary cause of cardiovascular disease (CVD), yet numerous studies refute this hypothesis, demonstrating that cholesterol has virtually nothing to do with heart disease — at least not in the way conventional medicine presents it. As noted by Harcombe, the notion that there is good and bad cholesterol is also wrong. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) are not actually cholesterol; they're carriers and transporters of cholesterol, triglycerides (fat), phospholipids and proteins. "LDL would more accurately be called the carrier of fresh cholesterol and HDL would more accurately be called the carrier of recycled cholesterol," she says. What's more, dietary cholesterol has no impact on the cholesterol level in your blood, so how could dietary cholesterol pose a health risk?

Network of Cholesterol Skeptics Researchers: Abandon the LDL Cholesterol Theory of Heart Disease and Look at More Important Risk Factors

Dr. Malcom Kendrick is the author of the book The Great Cholesterol Con. He is the co-author of a recently published paper that looks at important risk factors related to cardiovascular disease, pointing out that looking at LDL cholesterol levels are not a good indicator of heart disease. Dr. Malcom Kendrick is part of The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics (THINCS). The lead author of this recently published paper is Dr. Uffe Ravnskov, author of Fat and Cholesterol are Good for You, and the leader of THINCS. We have featured both men's writings frequently here on Health Impact News over the years, as they expose the cholesterol myth and the statin scam. Referring to Dr. Ravnskov and THINCS, Dr. Kendrick wrote in a recent blog post: "As you may know I am a member of an organisation known as The International Network of Cholesterol Sceptics (THINCS). When I say this, people always laugh. I suppose it is better than people shouting and screaming and slapping you repeatedly. The man who set it up was Uffe Ravnskov – our glorious leader. He has done far better than me. His first book The Cholesterol Myths, was burnt, live on air, in a television studio in Finland. I am very jealous. Having your critics become so enraged, that the only thing they can think to do is burn your book, is a very great ‘sceptic’ honour. Although one must be slightly fearful that the mob doesn’t stop at burning your books." So if LDL cholesterol is not a contributing factor in heart disease, what is? This White Paper recently published in the journal Medical Hypotheses encourages researchers to abandon the LDL cholesterol theory of heart disease, and consider other, more important, risk factors.

New Dietary Guidelines Reverse Flawed Recommendations on Cholesterol

Limitations for cholesterol will likely be removed from the 2015 edition of Dietary Guidelines for Americans; over consumption of dietary cholesterol is now cited as being of no concern. A recent review of studies investigating the link between dietary fat and causes of death concluded that recommendations to reduce the amount of fat we eat every day should never have been made. When fat was removed from processed foods, sugar was added in. This has led to a massive increase in obesity, diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, even among children

Is Inflammation, Not LDL Cholesterol, the Real Culprit Behind Heart Disease?

by Dr John Briffa
The Cholesterol Truth

Excerpts:
Cholesterol in the body is carried around the bloodstream in the form of what are called ‘lipoproteins’. The two main lipoproteins are so-called low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol). Conventional wisdom tells us that HDL-C is a marker for cholesterol being cleared from the inside of […]

LDL Cholesterol May Protect Us against Cancer

by Alliance for Natural Health
LDL cholesterol is demonized, but we’ve told you the other side of the story. Now a new discovery adds to the growing list of health benefits.
There may be a link between low levels of “bad” low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol—that is, not enough of it—and increased cancer risk, according to new […]

Putting The Myth To Rest: There Is No Such Thing As Bad Cholesterol

by PreventDisease.com
Perhaps one of the biggest health myths propagated in western culture and certainly in the United States, is the correlation between elevated cholesterol and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Unfortunately, despite dozens of studies, cholesterol has not been shown to actually cause CVD. To the contrary, cholesterol is vital to our survival, and trying to […]

How Not All LDL Cholesterol Is “Bad” For Your Heart

by Dr John Briffa
for The Cholesterol Truth

Excerpts:

Cholesterol is transported in the bloodstream in the form of what are known as ‘lipoproteins’. Basically, these are tiny packages of cholesterol and fat, encased in a mix of fats (known as phospholipids) and protein. Lipoproteins come in two different forms: ‘low-density’ and ‘high density’. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) has […]

‘Bad’ Cholesterol Not as Bad as People Think, Study Shows

ScienceDaily

The so-called “bad cholesterol” — low-density lipoprotein commonly called LDL — may not be so bad after all, shows a Texas A&M University study that casts new light on the cholesterol debate, particularly among adults who exercise.

Steve Riechman, a researcher in the Department of Health and Kinesiology, says the study […]