New Guidelines: Cholesterol Should Be On Everyone's Radar, Beginning Early In Life

[Mito]

"The evidence is overwhelming," said Dr. Scott M. Grundy, chairman of the guideline writing committee and professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. "Essentially no one says cholesterol is not important. The whole world now understands – it's important."

“For people 40 to 75 years old without evident heart disease, the guidelines use four classifications of risk: low, borderline, intermediate and high.

When a patient is in the intermediate zone, and sometimes on the borderline, the guidelines suggest doctors have an in-depth discussion with patients about potential benefits of statin drugs, considering all risk factors. If uncertainty remains about whether to use a statin, doctors can consider delving further with a test called a coronary artery calcium, or CAC, screening. A CAC score is calculated based on taking a CT scan of the heart and determining how much calcium plaque is building up in the heart's arteries.“

“Because of the potentially dangerous effects of a lifetime exposure to high cholesterol, particularly LDL, the guidelines suggest doctors consider selective screenings of children as young as 2 who have a family history of early heart disease or high cholesterol. In children without any known risk factors, doctors could recommend tests between the ages of 9 and 11 and then again between 17 and 21.”

New guidelines: Cholesterol should be on everyone's radar, beginning early in life

 

[Queequeg]

First they came for the overweight, and I did not speak out—because I was not overweight.

 

[lampofred]

.

 

[mujuro]

What is the mechanism for high serum cholesterol directly causing arterial calcification? That seems to be skipped over a lot.

 

[michael94]

The news title anagrams to something really interesting - my notes in parentheses

overforwardness ( going too far are we? )
Unchallengeably dehydrogenising rebellious olein ( olein = oleic acid, dehydrogenates to linoleic acid )
eine tine ( a German/old english interpretation, would mean „a distress“ )


Interesting how well this fits the subject at hand

 

[tankasnowgod]

What is the mechanism for high serum cholesterol directly causing arterial calcification? That seems to be skipped over a lot.

They don't mention one because it doesn't exist.

 

[Mito]

What is the mechanism for high serum cholesterol directly causing arterial calcification? That seems to be skipped over a lot.

It’s not a direct cause, but they believe it to be a gradient driven process so the fewer LDL particles floating around in the blood the less get into the artirial wall were they oxidize starting the potential calcification process.

“LDL particles move into the arterial intima through a gradient-driven process, and the rate of passive diffusion is increased when the concentration of circulating LDL particles is increased. Once inside the intima, the LDL particles bind to proteoglycans and initiate a process whereby the LDL particles become oxidized or other wise modified and are taken up by monocytes or macrophages to form foam cells or macrophages. The cholesterol molecules contained in the LDL are “passengers,” but the intact particles drive the atherosclerotic process.”

 

[Queequeg]

three questions they cant answer based on their cholesterol theory

Why is it only arteries get atherosclerosis and not veins?
Why is it only the heart that gets infarctions and but rarely other organs?
Why dont animals get heart attacks?
Dr Mathias Rath

It's not cholesterol, it's collagen or lack of it needed to repair damaged arterial walls. In its absence, the body uses cholesterol, fat, lipoproteins and calcium etc to repair the leaks. High cholesterol is a symptom not a cause.

 

[Sourdoughbanana]

I think that there’s also the fact that increased LDL is a marker for low LDL receptor activity at the liver. Could be excess protein intake, excess fats, excess calories...

Most likely excess dietary fat, in the context of a high carb intake leading to insulin resistance. This would yield SHBG issues freeing up more Androgens leading to a host of problems: hair loss, acne, sodium imbalance, hyperlipidemia, increased vascular stiffness, hypertension.

So high cholesterol (ldl AND hdl) is a very good marker of ***t happening.

 

[Sourdoughbanana]

Considering how many young guys have a degree of heart disease already (which takes years/decades before leading to visible symptoms just like hair loss and other degenerations) it makes sense to screen for bad numbers before they become adults.

If that leads to more dudes taking their liver health seriously, cut down on fats, cut down on animal food, that’ll be doing a great service to the Western people. The war on cholesterol and fat needs to be reinforced, not loosened as per all the quacks pushing a higher fat diet

 

[ecstatichamster]

Considering how many young guys have a degree of heart disease already (which takes years/decades before leading to visible symptoms just like hair loss and other degenerations) it makes sense to screen for bad numbers before they become adults.

If that leads to more dudes taking their liver health seriously, cut down on fats, cut down on animal food, that’ll be doing a great service to the Western people. The war on cholesterol and fat needs to be reinforced, not loosened as per all the quacks pushing a higher fat diet

It will lead to more dudes taking dangerous medications

 

[Sourdoughbanana]

That's unfortunately very probable, unless there again millenials (or rather, generation Z, millenials are trash) decide to go against the grain and question what the establishment is prompting them to do

We do live in a period of time where lots of people watch Netflix documentaries that hammer big agro / big pharma, follow plant-based doctors, try to get healthy organic business running. Still a drop in the ocean, but whatever pushes them on the right path... I'm an eternal optimistic.

So yeah I'd screen ahead lipids+lp(a)

 

[ecstatichamster]

I don’t see any point in lipid screening. It’s a failed theory only promoted by big pharmaceutical companies. I couldn’t care less what my lipids are. I don’t understand anyone giving this idea even a moments notice given what we know.

 

[somuch4food]

That's unfortunately very probable, unless there again millenials (or rather, generation Z, millenials are trash) decide to go against the grain and question what the establishment is prompting them to do

Why do you call millenials trash? That's really offending. Maybe we're too centered on ourselves, but we're not trash. Most of my generation are trying their best to be healthy, but we certainly have been brainwashed by education and media. It is not easy to untangle once you realize.

 

[Sourdoughbanana]

I'm a millenial too, and I'm baffled when I see how so many of us don't even try or are very happy to go with the flow. That's the majority of us.

The lipid theory is not a failed theory; if your lipids go up way above a healthy baseline your health isn't improving. Saying that bad lipids are causal to a host of disease might be failed, but screening them remains cheap and interesting.

 

[somuch4food]

I'm a millenial too, and I'm baffled when I see how so many of us don't even try or are very happy to go with the flow. That's the majority of us.

I understand. You were just a bit strong with the word "trash". But you could probably say the same thing of any generation. Most people are oblivious to those things (learned helplessness).

Every morning when I look at people waiting in line to get their morning coffee "fix" when they could just take the same time to enjoy one they make at home I'm disappointed with humanity.

 

[jb116]

I don’t see any point in lipid screening. It’s a failed theory only promoted by big pharmaceutical companies. I couldn’t care less what my lipids are. I don’t understand anyone giving this idea even a moments notice given what we know.

Agreed. Sometimes I'm confused by the type of posts on this forum that come out of the woodwork.

 

[jb116]

I'm a millenial too, and I'm baffled when I see how so many of us don't even try or are very happy to go with the flow. That's the majority of us.

The lipid theory is not a failed theory; if your lipids go up way above a healthy baseline your health isn't improving. Saying that bad lipids are causal to a host of disease might be failed, but screening them remains cheap and interesting.

The lipid theory is a failed Theory in terms of causality. And that's the most important aspect and understanding why the lipid theory is a fail Theory. If high blood lipids were knowledged as a symptom, that would be an entirely different story. But it's always an attack on cholesterol itself leading to dangerous and harmful medications.

 

[yerrag]

I don’t see any point in lipid screening. It’s a failed theory only promoted by big pharmaceutical companies. I couldn’t care less what my lipids are. I don’t understand anyone giving this idea even a moments notice given what we know.

Me neither. I don't care to check this metric. There are many other markers I'd rather spend my money on. Or not spend on.

And what's this bull about screening a child for cholesterol at 2. When they have a family history of it? Bull again. Will they start the child on statins? And will the child be on a cocktail of prescription drugs as a result of taking statins before he reaches nursery? They sure know how to start them young. This is the road to perdition.

The most ****88 up part here is this: children taking saturated fats may end up being treated while children taking pufa's get a clean bill of health. PUFA's will disrupt the production of cholesterol (as well as CoQ10) and pufa eaters will have lower cholesterol. Thus, no child will be spared. PUFA eaters are ****88. And SFA eating children will be ****88. Way to go. This is their version of leave no child behind.

 

[tankasnowgod]

If that leads to more dudes taking their liver health seriously, cut down on fats, cut down on animal food, that’ll be doing a great service to the Western people. The war on cholesterol and fat needs to be reinforced, not loosened as per all the quacks pushing a higher fat diet

The war on Cholesterol has never had any real evidence backing it up. All to attack a substance that is crucial to the youth associated hormones like pregnenolone, progesterone, and DHEA, and anabolic hormones like testosterone and DHT. Also, it's one of the most powerful anti-oxidants in the body. It's insanity that this failed and completely misguided war is still going on. All to fuel a multi billion dollar statin industry, and overlooking the real causes of heart disease, like excess iron, poor thyroid function, stress, and lack of fat soluble vitamins, especially K2, the only known substance that can not only prevent, but reverse calcification of arteries.