What is cholesterol and how is it bad? Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in your body and many foods. Your body needs cholesterol to function normally and makes all that you need. Too much cholesterol can sometimes build up in your arteries. After a while, these deposits narrow your arteries, putting you at risk for heart disease and stroke.
Cholesterol has been a fixture in dietary warnings in the U.S. at least since 1961, when it appeared in guidelines developed by the American Heart Association. Later adopted by the federal government, such warnings helped shift eating habits — per capita egg consumption dropped about 30 percent. In the mean time, tens of millions of people were advised to take cholesterol-lowering statin drugs to prevent heart attacks or strokes. Statin drugs work by blocking the action of the liver enzyme that is responsible for producing cholesterol.
However, the side-effects of statin drugs are enormous. More than 900 studies have been published illustrating the side-effects of statin drugs, most notable of which are the risk of developing diabetes, liver failure, memory loss and lower sexual functions.
I personally believe that unless someone’s overall cholesterol level is higher than 300, no one should take statin drugs. The fact is that 75 percent of your cholesterol is produced by your liver, which is influenced by your insulin levels. Therefore, if you optimize your insulin levels, you will automatically optimize your cholesterol.
Nutrition response testing can determine the root causes of cholesterol issues. For some individual, unregulated sugar metabolism caused by weak pancreas may be the most important issue; for others, metal or chemical toxicity in their kidneys may cause an elevated cholesterol level. Once the root cause is determined, cholesterol level can effectively be managed by real-food-based nutrition protocols..