It is kind of hard to believe that it is February already. This means it is back to heart month. So in a physical way, how does one protect their heart?
One of the first tests everyone thinks of in the area of heart disease is cholesterol. I am often asked about cholesterol test results in my practice. Every clinic does this test so it must be important. Cholesterol is an absolutely essential component to life. It is the base ingredient of most hormones, cell membranes and essential to the production of Vitamin D. We have been told for decades to reduce fat and cholesterol in our diet to help control our cholesterol levels, but this was not based on actual dietary studies. It was expert opinion. Assuming we are eating a natural diet, 90% of our cholesterol is made by us and 10% is from our diet. One will make a substantial change in their values only if the diet is high in processed foods.
There is clear evidence that the blockages that develop in arteries is from cholesterol. These blockages can start as early as 2 years of age. They will grow over time, but not everyone seems to get them. This isn’t even based on your cholesterol values, but likely on some other factor that is either not yet understood or the pharmaceutical industry has not yet figured out how to manipulate. I like to think of it as having sticky or slippery cholesterol. There are c ...
