We really shouldn’t be spending all of this time worrying about heart disease. In fact, it only takes us in the wrong direction.
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Truth is, you need to do the opposite. Get rid of that worry once and for all. I’ll show you rock-solid evidence that what you really need to do is easy and just feels right.
But first, let’s get one thing straight … there’s no real proof cholesterol causes heart disease. You need cholesterol to avoid heart attacks and heart disease. And I’ll show you how easy it is to boost your HDL. You don’t need drugs or doctor’s prescriptions. And you don’t need to follow a crazy diet.
Your cholesterol blood level can tell you useful information about your health and fitness, but it’s not the great predictor of heart disease that conventional medicine leads us to believe. In fact, these numbers make very poor crystal balls, as I learned from experience.
Years ago, I began inheriting a group of patients who “dropped out” with other doctors because they refused to lower their cholesterol levels. These cantankerous old men didn’t trust doctors and weren’t willing to change their lifestyles in ways that seemed to contradict their instincts.
Over the years, I noticed that these rebels with high cholesterol rarely had heart problems. Recently, the University Hospital in Switzerland announced that cholesterol fails to demonstrate an important (statistically significant) connection with coronary artery disease. Clearly, cholesterol isn’t the ultimate heart-attack warning it was made out to be.
When you get past the medical beliefs and look directly at the evidence, the literature points out that nearly 75 percent of people who have heart attacks have normal cholesterol levels.1
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Cholesterol is Essential for Although cholesterol has a bad reputation for clogging the arteries, it’s not the enemy. Cholesterol is essential for life and health. It provides energy to cells, helps make cell membranes, and assists in the formation of sheaths around nerves. Plus, it plays a vital role in the production of the sex hormones testosterone, estrogen and progesterone, and other adrenal hormones like DHEA and cortisol. While cholesterol is in some foods we eat, the liver manufactures most of it. In fact, each day our bodies churn out about 1,000 milligrams of cholesterol, compared to the average dietary intake of about 325 milligrams for men or 220 milligrams for women. No matter whether it comes from the liver or our diet, cholesterol and other dietary fats must move from the digestive system and into the cells to perform these terrific tasks. Fat must be packaged into protein-covered particles that allow the fat to mix with the blood. These tiny particles are lipoproteins (lipid – or fat – plus protein). The two most well-known lipids are HDL and LDL. And don’t be fooled by LDL’s “bad cholesterol” label. Your body needs both to stay healthy. |
Turns out, the maverick patients were right not to take everything their doctors said as Gospel. We now know that total blood cholesterol levels do not give us a clear picture of heart-attack risk. Still, most doctors continue to turn to conventional cholesterol screening as the best predictor of heart attacks.
Cholesterol Levels Can’t Predict Heart Attacks
Doctors and drug companies often refer to the famous Framingham Study when talking about cardiovascular risk. Framingham is a small town near Boston, where for more than 50 years, researchers followed the population and tracked risk factors for heart disease. Government organizations often cite it as a reason to beat cholesterol into submission, using potent prescription drugs if necessary. But what does the study really reveal?
Amazingly, Framingham researchers themselves reported that “80 percent of heart attack patients had similar lipid levels [i.e., fat levels in the blood] to those who did not have heart attacks.”2
In other words, cholesterol levels do not predict heart attacks in the vast majority of patients. The link between cholesterol and women was essentially zero: Women with low cholesterol died just as often as women with high cholesterol. Furthermore, according to data from the Framingham study, almost half of the people in the study who had a heart attack had low cholesterol.
Ironically, as the study participants grew older, the association between cholesterol and heart disease became weaker, not stronger. In fact, according to the data, for men above age 47, cholesterol levels made no difference in cardiovascular mortality.3
Since 95 percent of all heart attacks occur in people over age 48 – and those who have heart attacks at an earlier age are usually diabetics or have a rare genetic problem – then, most people don’t have to worry about their cholesterol levels!
Even if we could show an association between cholesterol blood levels and heart disease, it would not prove that cholesterol caused heart disease.
The Protective Effects of High Cholesterol
Now here’s another fact to make you wonder what the “experts” were thinking: High cholesterol seems to have a protective effect in the elderly. According to research done at the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Yale University, nearly twice as many people with low cholesterol had a heart attack – compared to those with high cholesterol levels.4
Data from the Framingham Study also support the finding that when blood cholesterol decreases, the risk of dying actually increases.
There is no question that blood cholesterol is involved in the accumulation of plaque in the arteries. Plaque buildup narrows the arteries and restricts blood flow. This can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Yet the conventional approach continues to miss the most important point: The plaque buildup is dangerous, not the presence of cholesterol itself.
Big Pharma Reaps Windfall Profits
By Promoting the Cholesterol Lie
Pharmaceutical companies continue to make billions of dollars annually as long as they support the myth that cholesterol causes heart disease. As the previous evidence shows, elevated cholesterol levels don’t cause heart attacks. Therefore, it’s unnecessary to take drugs to lower cholesterol.
Results from numerous independent drug trials also don’t support the connection between cholesterol and heart disease. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute conducted the Lipid Research Clinics Coronary Primary Prevention Trial to test the effectiveness of cholestryramine, a drug known to lower cholesterol.
Seven years later, researchers analyzed the data and found that the cholesterol levels decreased by 8 percent, but there were no important (statistically significant) differences in heart-attack rates.5
Researchers have summarized all drug trials published before 1994 (the year drug companies introduced statin drugs). These studies found that the number of deaths from heart attack was equal in the treatment and control groups. And the total number of deaths was actually greater in the treatment groups. None of the trials showed any important (statistically significant) decrease in the death rate from coronary disease.6
What it all boils down to is that these cholesterol-lowering drugs lowered cholesterol – but they didn’t decrease deaths from heart attack.
Generating Over $20 Billion a Year, Statins Are
The Most Profitable Drug in History
In 1994, drug companies introduced a new class of cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins. These drugs interfere with the body’s production of cholesterol. They also block the production of other essential nutrients, including CoQ10.
These drugs not only lower blood cholesterol levels but also, for the first time, some studies showed a slightly lowered risk of heart attack. But before we reach the conclusion that the lowering of cholesterol caused the modestly lowered heart attack rate, we run into a problem.
There was no relationship between the amount of the cholesterol reduction and the amount of the risk reduction. We call this phenomenon “lack of exposure response.” What this usually means is that the factor being investigated – in this case cholesterol – isn’t the true cause, but is secondary to or merely associated with the true cause.
Stated another way, statins may reduce heart-attack risk, but they do so in some way other than reducing cholesterol.
The drug companies that sponsor these studies are very slick at directing attention away from this failure. Only very recently has it come to light that statins do other things more directly related to heart disease risk. They lower the inflammatory marker, C-reactive protein.
The “lack of exposure response” may be because statins help by reducing inflammation – not cholesterol.
But there is more to the story. Statins are expensive. A typical dose costs about $1,000 to $1,500 per year. And, more significantly, statins block an antioxidant system important to your cardiovascular health and rob your organs of a crucial nutrient.
Statins can make you chronically fatigued and cause muscles aches. They also stimulate cancer growth in rodents. In human studies, breast cancer was more common in women who took the drug than those in the control group.
Additionally, it’s wise to cautiously review information from drug studies that pharmaceutical companies fund. These corporations benefit remarkably when research results recommend a new drug. Statins are the most profitable drugs in history to date.
Those profits buy a lot of propaganda, such as lobbyists in Washington, direct-to-consumer advertising and marketing to doctors, including free continuing medical education about how to prescribe the drugs! This is the fox overseeing the hen house – and the consequences involve your health.
Good Cholesterol is Your “Trump Card”
When Fighting Heart Disease
Maybe you’ve heard about the two types of cholesterol: low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) and high-density lipoproteins (HDLs). LDLs help lay down the plaque deposits in the arteries (that’s why they call these “bad”), and HDLs help remove plaque from the arteries (that’s why they call these “good”).
HDL is the single most important cholesterol factor in determining your risk of developing heart disease. Don’t worry about lowering your total cholesterol level or your LDL level. Just raise your HDL cholesterol.
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The Framingham Study shows that high levels of HDL are directly related to lower risk of heart disease. In fact, it showed that increased HDL could reduce coronary disease independent of LDL cholesterol.7
This is the real eye-opener: If your HDL is above 85, you are at no greater risk of heart disease if your total cholesterol is 350 than if it’s 150.
High HDL trumps other cholesterol concerns. Why isn’t this simple and powerful advice getting through? For one reason, there is no drug to boost HDL. What’s the best way to increase HDL cholesterol?
You have several options.
One of the easiest is taking niacin (vitamin B3) as a supplement. I’ve been prescribing niacin for years. I have tested its effectiveness in thousands of patients in my 20 years practicing medicine.
And in study after study, niacin has proven itself to be a heart-health warrior.8,9 In one study from the prestigious journal Atherosclerosis, researchers showed how niacin raised HDL by a remarkable 24 percent.
In a group with low HDL, niacin improved heart-health markers across the board, including:10
- A 24% increase in HDL—the heart-healthy “good” cholesterol;
- A 35% increase in adiponectin, the hormone that melts fat away;
- A 38% decrease in LDL;
- A 12% decrease in triglycerides, the real culprit behind clogged arteries.
First, start with a diet that boosts your intake of vitamin B3. Foods rich in niacin include liver, chicken, beef, avocados, tomatoes and nuts. As always, stick with grass-fed meat, free-range chicken and organic produce and nuts.
Second, supplements are a great way to go. In this case, it’s crucial you take the right dose – and limit how much is in your body at any given time. I recommend taking 500 mg of “sustained release” niacin.
Taking a bit too much can lead to “flushing.” So you may want to start with every other day and slowly work up. In my clinic, I often gradually increase to up to 2 grams per day.
Aside from niacin, here are 7 easy and effective ways to boost your HDL:
1. Restore omega-3s to your diet: Wild-caught fish, grass-fed beef, free-farmed, organic poultry, nuts, olive, eggs and avocados are all rich in “good” fats. And cod liver oil – the best omega-3 supplement – will boost your HDL levels naturally.
2. Get more of this cholesterol: Be sure to focus on your HDL level. If it’s below 35, you should take steps to increase it. Steps like increasing your exercise, taking niacin and eating garlic.
3. Eat a low-carb diet: This will help to balance your HDL and reduce your LDL.
4. Practice my PACE program: My exercise alternative to aerobics and cardio boosts reserve capacity in your heart – critical for avoiding heart attacks – and raises HDL.
5. Consume alcohol in moderation: A glass of wine can help raise your HDL. Moderation is the key.
6. Stop smoking: It sounds obvious, but if you smoke, you should stop. Not only does smoking lower your HDL, it constricts your blood vessels and raises your risk of heart attack in many other ways as well.
7. Drop the excess weight: Carrying excess pounds increases your risk of heart disease. Even a little weight reduction will raise your HDL levels.
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1 Castelli, W.P., “Cholesterol and lipids in the risk of coronary artery disease– the Framingham Heart Study,” Canadian Journal of Cardiology July 1998;A:5A-10A
2 Gordon, T., Castelli, W.P., Hjortland, M.C., et al, “High density lipoprotein as a positive factor against coronary heart disease,” The Framingham Study, American Journal of Medicine May 1997; 62(5):707-714
3 Ravnskov, U., Cholesterol Myths, pg. 56
4 Krumholz, H.M., Seeman, T.E., Merrill, S.S., et al, “Lack of association between cholesterol and coronary heart disease mortality and morbidity and all-cause mortality in persons older than 70 years,” Journal of the American Medical Association Nov. 1994; 272(17):1335-1340
5 “The Lipid Research Clinics Coronary Primary Prevention Trial results. I. Reduction in incidence of coronary heart disease,” Journal of the American Medical Association Jan. 20, 1984; 251(3):351-64
6 Ravnskov, U., “Cholesterol-lowering trials in coronary heart disease: frequency of citation and outcome,” British Journal of Medicine July 4, 1991; 305(6844):15-19
7 Castiglioni, A. and Neuman, W.R., “HDL Cholesterol: What is its true clinical significance?” Emergency Medicine Jan. 2003; 30-42
8 Carlson, L.A., “Nicotinic acid: the broad-spectrum lipid drug. A 50th anniversary review,” Journal of Internal Medicine 2005; 258(2):94–114
9 McKenney, J., “New perspectives on the use of niacin in the treatment of lipid disorders,” Archives of Internal Medicine 2004;164(7):697–705
10 Linke, et al, “Effects of extended-release niacin on lipid profile and adipocyte biology in patients with impaired glucose tolerance,” Atherosclerosis 2008