Cholesterol: Is It The Real Culprit?

Why do the scientific researchers constantly refer to cholesterol as fat in the bloodstream that can be considered either “bad” or “good”? Cholesterol is a peculiar molecule that is three dimensional. Its special shape keeps it from dissolving in water. It is the substance that makes cells waterproof in all living creatures.

People have been told that HDL is good cholesterol and LDL is bad cholesterol. In reality neither HDL nor LDL are cholesterol. They are lipoproteins and the initials stand for high density or low density. The lipoproteins are like little submarines that submerge themselves in the blood. They are different from cholesterol in that they are quite soluble, and it is their job to transport cholesterol within the body.

The formation of hormones begins in the liver. In order for this to take place, the HDL transports cholesterol from the tissue and the interior artery walls and takes it to the liver. It’s up to the LDL to take cholesterol out of the liver and transport it to the cells that need it in the tissue and inside the arteries. HDL and LDL basically deal with the transportation of cholesterol to and from the liver.

It appears that when more cholesterol is transported from the liver (LDL) to the cells compared to the amount transported to the liver (HDL), that it can be considered a risk factor for heart disease, stroke, angina and heart attack. If it is a risk factor, does that mean that it is the cause of these illnesses? Doctors know that different things cause an imbalance in the direction the cholesterol is transported.

For example, doctors know that when a person is too heavy, the amount of cholesterol is higher. That means that more cholesterol is being taken away from the liver, and less is being taken from the body to the liver. What made the cholesterol go up? Simply the direction the lipoproteins were transporting the cholesterol. When the LDL increased, the HDL went down causing the ratio of the two, to become imbalanced. Why did the cholesterol go up? Could it be because of the weight gain, or was it because the HDL went down?

It is a known fact that consumption of alcohol and smoking makes the LDL go up. Anytime the LDL rises, it produces an unhealthy HDL/LDL ratio. This ratio can become favorable again if the person stops drinking alcohol and quits smoking. In view of this, does the elimination of natural foods, like butter, actually cause the LDL to go down?

Can anyone really determine by this information that high cholesterol is the cause of angina, stroke, heart disease and heart attack? Could it be that a poor lifestyle which includes drinking, smoking, little or no exercise and being overweight is more likely the cause of these diseases than the direction the cholesterol is being transported in the body? People who know the truth about cholesterol believe that the high cholesterol diagnosis is just a money making myth.

Source:http://www.chelationtherapyonline.com/articles/p72.htm