Cholesterol – New News

This article has an interesting new twist on the cholesterol debate: High cholesterol in midlife raises risk of late-life dementia ... Here is the first paragraph:

Elevated cholesterol levels in midlife – even levels considered only borderline elevated – significantly increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia later in life, according to a new study by researchers at Kaiser Permanente's Division of Research and the University of Kuopio in Finland. The study appears in the journal Dementia & Geriatric Cognitive Disorders. The four-decade study of 9,844 men and women found that having high cholesterol in midlife (240 or higher milligrams per deciliter of blood) increases, by 66 percent, the risk for Alzheimer's disease later in life. Even borderline cholesterol levels (200 – 239 mg/dL) in midlife raised risk for late-life vascular dementia by nearly the same amount: 52 percent. Vascular dementia, the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's disease, is a group of dementia syndromes caused by conditions affecting the blood supply to the brain. Scientists are still trying to pinpoint the genetic factors and lifestyle causes for Alzheimer's disease.

Here is the interesting twist from my perspective. We are bombarded with “facts” and media saying that any cholesterol reading over 200 should be treated with a cholesterol lowering drug that will destroy your muscles, including your heart. Yet in this study, high cholesterol is 240 or higher, not 200. Borderline cholesterol is 200 to 239. So what does that mean for the “oh my gosh, your cholestrol is over 200 and you need drugs” diagnosis?

What it means to me is that correlation does not equal causation. Here are a couple of other Kaiser demential-related studies from the article:

This study is part of an ongoing body of research at Kaiser Permanente to better understand the risk and protective factors for dementia. Dr. Whitmer recently authored two dementia-related studies: one that found a larger abdomen in midlife increases risk of late-life dementia, and one that showed that low blood sugar events in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes increase their risk for dementia. Another Kaiser Permanente study, led by Valerie Crooks of Kaiser Permanente in Southern California, found that having a strong social network of friends and family appears to decrease risk for dementia.

“High” cholesterol is the body’s signal that something in your body needs healing and the body is creating cholesterol to do just that. Keep in mind, though, that cholesterol numbers were artificially set to help feed the drug industry. See this blog post: Conference with Sally Fallon – Day 1. I wonder if the Kaiser study above chose the 240 number for high cholesterol based on what Sally Fallon reported. According to Sally, in 1984 a cholesterol reading of 240 was the American average and the doctors setting the number while attending a conference had no other “science” to go on. The 240 average was rejected because it would not sell enough drugs and 200 was arbitrarily chosen.

I am not saying that anyone should be at ease with a “high” cholesterol reading, because it is your body’s way of telling you to make some changes and heal. Read these posts for more perspective as you make the best decision for yourself: Victory – Cholesterol and Husband Health Update. There are so many ways that Americans mess up their bodies and lives, and there are easy ways to heal, to which this blog is devoted. Your body wants to heal and move to excellent health. You just need to give it the chance.