The Race to Reduce Cholesterol…

Or what we like to call “Throwing the Baby Out with the Bath Water.”

Now why would we say that? Isn’t cholesterol the reason for heart disease? If that was true, and given how many people are taking cholesterol-lowering medications, why is heart disease STILL the number one killer?? Did you know that cholesterol is actually vital for the healing process, cellular health, and energy production? That cholesterol keeps the nervous system healthy (including brain function), is necessary for Vitamin D production and also maintains sex drive? It’s no wonder that the professionals seen on websites such as www.tubev.sex are so vocal about their great cholesterol. So, why remove it from our bodies?

Before making cholesterol the bad guy let’s consider this…cholesterol is the foundation for building vital hormones in your body. Cholesterol is naturally made by your body in your liver. Without it your body is unable to produce the sex hormones; estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone! It is unable to produce Vitamin D. If your body is unable to produce these hormones, then you suffer the consequences…low libido, muscle weakness, mental “fog,” depression, to name a few. As a result, you get additional prescriptions to address these new problems! But the story of cholesterol is for another post…if we’re determined to lower it, let’s look at what cholesterol-lowering medications are robbing from you.

Statins, also known as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, have been in the top five most prescribed drugs for the last ten years! Medications such as Lipitor, Crestor and Zocor, work in a speci?c biological pathway that prevents the formation of cholesterol in your liver. But here’s the trade-off; this same pathway also forms an important antioxidant known as Coenzyme Q10, better known as CoQ10. This nutrient is being robbed by statin medications and the long-term effects can be debilitating!

CoQ10 is a vital nutrient and antioxidant that is present in EVERY cell of your body! It is necessary for energy production. Every cell must produce energy to function or the cell will die! And while you can ?nd CoQ10 in all cells, it is most concentrated in the heart?. So, here’s the crazy part—we are taking a medication to reduce cholesterol and “protect us” from heart attacks, but robbing our bodies of the very nutrient that is most concentrated in the heart! Let that sink in…

As we’ve said many times, nutrient depletions ultimately lead to additional medications and the downward spiral of your health continues. What happens to your body when you have low CoQ10? Well, in the heart you might see diseases develop such as congestive heart failure, hypertension, and heart arrhythmias. In the brain there may be disease states such as dementia, stroke, and depression. Your muscles may fatigue easily, or ache (especially in the legs) and you may develop restless leg. There may be an increase in blood sugar, ultimately leading to a diagnosis of diabetes. And don’t forget we are still decreasing cholesterol levels, which may directly effect your Vitamin D levels (important for bone health) and sex hormones (important for…well…you know). As you can tell there are many opportunities for new prescriptions for you simply because your statin has depleted CoQ10. So what can you do?? The bottom line: if you are taking a statin, maintain your energy-makers and prevent bone-breakers by taking both CoQ10 and a Vitamin D! Let’s remember that for every medication you take, you can replenish the nutrient(s) being lost and potentially prevent more prescriptions!

In our next post we are going to take a break from the Rx robbers and talk about restoring your health through your gut. Because as Hippocrates, the founder of modern medicine said: ”Death begins in the colon.” So let’s turn our attention to the colon (or the gut) because it deserves much more love than we as a society give it 😉

Until next time remember, we give Two Hoots about your Health!!