Sex, Lies and Cholesterol
by Dr. Ryan Bentley
I have been studying health and wellness since 1995. I have conducted thousands of office visits and helped hundreds of people restore purity and vitality to their bodies, resulting in amazing positive changes in their health. But I am amazed at the number of sick people still out there going untreated. It actually seems to be abnormal in today's society to be healthy. How can everyone be so sick?
After years of studying, I have discovered some startling findings on my quest to determine why we keep getting sicker and sicker. It just did not make any sense to me. How can we be the wealthiest country in the world, have the most hospitals, drugs, and technology and still be one of the sickest countries? Something is seriously wrong and we need to take action quickly before it's too late.
The major problems are
We have been taught to live (eat, think, and move) incongruently with how our genes were programmed for health. You see, 85% of your genes respond to the environment in which they are surrounded, and only 15% of the genes are permanent. Allow me state that again just in case you skimmed over it. Yes, 85% of the genetics your parents gave you respond to your lifestyle, and only 15% of your genes are unchangeable.
For example, we are not going to change your eyes from blue to brown with diet changes and lifestyle interventions. Thus, all the research shows that our Paleolithic ancestors had virtually none of the diseases that plague our modern times. So I ask you, what is the missing link that has led to the chronic diseases of today? The answer is that it is our lifestyles and the environment that surrounds our cells. Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States and has been for some time, and I promise you it is not a Lipitor (statin drug) deficiency.
Cholesterol is just one example of this. We have been led to believe that cholesterol is some raging disease and that you can't do anything about it. Why? Like most "dis-ease" in our country it's blamed on genetics. You see, if you can be convinced that cholesterol is bad and genetics is the cause, then you can't do anything about it except to take a drug... and be on that drug for life.
Here are some eye-opening statistics for you to consider: 13 million Americans take a statin drug such as Lipitor. Yet only 1 in 500 Americans have Familial Hypercholesterolemia (genetically high cholesterol), which means that 12,974,000 Americans are on a statin drug for lifestyle issues!
Being on a drug for life will make some people very, very rich but probably not you. They're actually recommending that KIDS take cholesterol medications now! What for? So we can have an even sicker generation than the one we have now? How much more money will "they" make from this?
Here's the truth about cholesterol.
Cholesterol is only "bad" when it is oxidized; oxidation makes it sticky.
"Oxidation leads to inflammation and plaque formation within the arteries no matter what your cholesterol level is. In fact, the majority of people dying of heart disease have NORMAL LDL cholesterol levels! The reason: because their LDL cholesterol and arteries are oxidized." (Dr. Ladd McNamara, M.D. The Cholesterol Conspiracy 2nd Edition)
Here is a great example:
The rusty build-up on the inside of a water pipe is actually oxidized mineral deposits.
Similarly, cholesterol build-up in an artery causing plaquing is also an example of something becoming oxidized, in this case the cholesterol.
See why Oxidized cholesterol is so bad? What do you think oxidized cholesterol can do to an artery after many years of accumulation? And THAT's why people have heart attacks.
People with normal or low cholesterol are just as likely to die as those with high levels. (Remember, it's about oxidation, not your total cholesterol.)
Over 13 million Americans take drugs to control their cholesterol. However 50% of people with normal cholesterol still have heart attacks. American Journal of Cardiology 2003, August 1; (92) 3)
Genetics plays only a very, very small role in heart disease - not even close to explaining the true number we're seeing (24,000 genetics/ 12,974,000 lifestyle issues). Familial (genetically caused) hypercholesterol is 1 person in 500, or 0.2% Am J Epidemiol 2004 Sep 1; 160(5):408-420
The truth is you need cholesterol for many normal and necessary body functions, especially to make sex hormones and stress hormones. What do you imagine would happen, for example, if you have a stressful job requiring your body to make more cholesterol but you artificially reduce it with a drug? You first of all need to understand that under stressful conditions, the body will make MORE cholesterol in order to produce the necessary stress hormones for an adequate stress response. So if you are under the dictatorship of a cholesterol-lowering drug but you are under stress and you need more cholesterol to help deal with the stress, the result will be depression.
Sex and cholesterol
What you may not know, or have not been told is that 80% of cholesterol is mainly produced in the liver and is a direct component of your sex hormones (testosterone, estrogen, progesterone). The major roll of LDL, the "bad" cholesterol, is to transport cholesterol from the liver to the gonads to make your sex hormones.
What do you think happens when you take a statin drug, like Lipitor, to block LDL production? Now you can't transport cholesterol to the gonads to make sex hormones. Say hello to Erectile Dysfunction!
Do you know what the number two selling drug of the leading statin maker is? Viagra,! Yet another example of the endless symptom chasing that results from taking drugs.
You need your cholesterol but you must keep your oxidative stress under control so your LDL does not become sticky. Oxidative stress comes from poor diet, environmental pollutants, drugs, radiation, and other life style issues.
A poor diet, especially ones high in processed grains, breads, whole wheat (enriched and low fiber), low fat foods and sugars will cause your cholesterol and oxidation to rise, making your cholesterol dangerous and sticky.
Cholesterol production is insulin-driven, so elevated insulin must be addressed first. The number one intervention is always diet and exercise to control insulin levels and slow oxidation in the body. The only side effects of healthier diet and more exercise are a more vibrant body and lower oxidation, which increases libido! And you have the ability to do something about that without a drug and all the side effects that drugs carry with them.
A second intervention would be to load up on supplemental antioxidants. With the oxidative challenges with which people in industrialized nations are now exposed, it's difficult to get too many antioxidants to combat these various toxic insults. Once I have identified patients with oxidative issues through Functional Medicine Assessement (FMA), I have successfully used a three-pronged approach of Metagenics products among my patients to deal with the oxidation and subsequent inflammation that ultimatley leads to heart disease, as follows:
Ultra InflamX 360 medical food: This is a formula specifically-designed for chronic inflammation. It has a huge antioxidant value (17,000 ORAC score), and it acts to not only quench inflammation but also to gobble up oxidation.
Ceralin Forte: This formula has some specific antioxidants that are incredible for fighting oxidation - N-acetylcysteine, grape seed extract, and Acetyl-L-Carnitine, to name just a few. This is one of my favorite all-time products.
EPA DHA 720: This is a high-potency ultra-purified fish oil that lubricates the arteries and keeps blood platelets from becoming sticky.
In closing, the dietary recommendations I'm talking about are not available in any fad diet books or programs. It is about eating the foods God created for us to eat (no, Twinkies are not in that category). For more information on the Food recommendations or Functional Medicine Testing, contact one of the Wellness Prescription practitioners in your area.