Cholesterol / Lipid Balance

Perhaps no area of Western Medicine is more fraught with extremism and misconceptions than the area of cholesterol and lipids. In the mid to late 20th Century, a series of events led scientists, doctors, and public health officials to believe that cholesterol levels practically single handedly could predict your chances of developing heart disease. With the invention of statins (the blockbuster drugs to lower cholesterol), Western medicine’s fate was sealed for the rest of the century and well into the 21st. Western medicine practically became synonymous with lowering cholesterol.

The problem is that originally it was thought that total cholesterol was a significant risk factor. That turned out to be untrue. Then it was thought that LDL (“bad” cholesterol) was the real risk factor. Not so fast. Now we are talking about small LDL versus large LDL, or particle numbers. Where will it end? If you look, you can find studies that show that the higher your LDL is, the longer you live. In the meantime, the FDA has issued a warning on statins that say they increase your risk of diabetes, the very illness that gives you the biggest risk of heart disease.

Here at MD Integrative Wellness, we take your concerns about cholesterol seriously, but help you to chart a middle ground and cut through the myths and scare tactics around cholesterol. We do not want you to be on medicines that are unnecessary or, worse, cause side effects unless there is good reason. In addition, there are many true risk factors for heart disease, stroke, and other modern diseases of inflammation that you actually do need to know about that will be missed if you focus on just cholesterol alone. We look for these and help you choose a lifestyle, nutrient, and supplementation path that not only prevents illness, but helps you feel better and more energized while you are at it.