Harvard Health: Cholesterol testing is seriously flawed

[chassis]

Has anyone read this article or anything similar? https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart...-heart-disease

The article is from 2017.

People in my circle who are athletes, good BMI, good diet, no drinking, no smoking, etc. have high cholesterol, specifically high LDL. But low C-Reactive Protein, an inflammation marker.

The article says, "But for all its virtues, cholesterol testing is seriously flawed. Research has shown that only about 50% of the people who have heart attacks have high LDL. If LDL levels are supposed to be an alarm, then it's not going off for half of those who might benefit from a wake-up call."

Is the medical community changing its view on the relationship of cholesterol and heart disease?

What do all y'all think about this?

[JPSurratt2005]

I just watched this the other day and the first speaker really hits on some interesting points about LDL. I recommend you watch the entire thing but if not start at the 6 minute mark. Very informative.

[3PedalJake]

The concept that there is such a thing as "bad cholesterol" is an oversimplification of a faulty premise. It will take standard medical practice a long time to catch up, and may never be allowed to catch up because as the OPs video shows, cholesterol isn't the problem, the problem is Insulin resistance leading to damaged (oxidized) LDL, and the only way to undamage it is to stop eating sugar and ultra-processed food and seed oils. The most meaningful statistic on a blood workup is the ratio of triglycerides to total cholesterol, this gives some meaningful insight into your state of metabolic health, your LDL numbers only matter in that context.

In addition to the above video, Dr.Eckberg explains it in specific terms...

[g.m00]

Hmm this is interesting, thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by 3PedalJake

The concept that there is such a thing as "bad cholesterol" is an oversimplification of a faulty premise. It will take standard medical practice a long time to catch up, and may never be allowed to catch up because as the OPs video shows, cholesterol isn't the problem, the problem is Insulin resistance leading to damaged (oxidized) LDL, and the only way to undamage it is to stop eating sugar and ultra-processed food and seed oils. The most meaningful statistic on a blood workup is the ratio of triglycerides to total cholesterol, this gives some meaningful insight into your state of metabolic health, your LDL numbers only matter in that context.

In addition to the above video, Dr.Eckberg explains it in specific terms...

[Kick 6]

Oxidative stress is ultimately what causes health issues and increased cholesterol is an indicator of oxidative stress. Lowering cholesterol doesn't lower oxidative stress and that is why longevity is not increased when cholesterol is lowered.

What you eat greatly effects oxidative stress. I don't have enough time to write about every aspect of this.

[chassis]

@Kick 6

What would be a good starting point to read more about this?

[Kick 6]

Originally Posted by chassis

@Kick 6

What would be a good starting point to read more about this?

I read a lot of research but don't read a lot of books. I know it may sound odd, but the single best book I've read that pertains to health is an e-book called Autism: Pathways to Recovery by Dr Amy Yasko. You should be able to find and download it for free. I printed it out and read it twice. It's a technical read but it's right up my wheelhouse.

Dr Yasko is a microbiologist with a lot of experience in immunology and infectious disease. If you just don't think about the term Autism or maybe replace it with any other medical condition, the book holds true. To get to the root cause of our issues, this book does a great job explaining it.

[chassis]

Thanks. Is there an article or two on oxidative stress that you can recommend?

[Kick 6]

Originally Posted by chassis

Thanks. Is there an article or two on oxidative stress that you can recommend?

I'm at work so just a quick search found this. I'm not sure of your technical background, but it can get deep pretty fast. Be sure to read the part titled "Pathogenic Roles of Oxidative Stress" on page 151.

https://sci-hub.se/https://aspenjour...48607111434963