I Have High Cholesterol And I Don’t Care

Here’s a video I found interesting.  It’s an oldie but a goodie.

Cholesterol and how to eat right to keep it where it’s ‘healthy’ is so controversial.

Well, it’s the to-keep-it-where-it’s-healthy part that’s controversial to me.

Who to believe?

Are you on medication for high cholesterol?  Are you aware of the side effects they have, or notice any at all?

It seems to be very complex, but wonderfully interesting especially as there is a lot of money to be made from pharmaceuticals, and there seem to be many ‘I’ll-prescribe-you-some-chemicals happy’ doctors out there!

DING-A-LING!

So here’s what happened to me:

Last year, I decided that I would have a colonoscopy, as I was reaching a certain age where apparently, it’s wise to start keeping an eye on organ health.  I had to do a few different kinds of tests.  One of which revealed I had the genotype which made me susceptible to coelic’s disease (gluten/wheat intolerance). Another revelation was that my cholesterol was higher than the doctor (a Specialist actually) thought it should be, or in the range that is considered ‘high’.  It was 6.5.

And so the doctor suggested that I go on statins to reduce it, taking into account the fact that my father has had more than one heart bypass and my grandmother died from angina.  Fair enough  … typical conventional medical advice I should think.

I refused point blank, considering it rash but also because I’m not a fan of having foreign chemicals in my body.  As I felt perfectly fine and considered my lifestyle pretty healthy, in fact a large portion if not all of my lifestyle is geared around health & wellbeing, I’m just the kind of person that would rather my instinct tell me I need something like that, than a doctor who knows medicine but doesn’t know me at all.

He enquired about my diet. And so I explained that I try to eat less gluten, grains and sugar and more fresh vegetables, salads, fish, grass-fed meats, free range organic chicken, but not much meat over-all, and I include good animal fats, cococnut fat, and more goats & sheep products than dairy, though I still enjoy a daily latte on regular milk, some good quality cheddar cheese, biodynamic dairy yoghurt and of course my darling pure unadulterated butter.  I try to eat food that is not or as least processed as possible, and choose boidynamic and organic produce where my budget allows, (or really where I don’t feel like Im being ripped off).  These are just my general eating habits and preferences, I don’t stick to severe régimes or any such discipline!

He wasn’t too chipper about me eating butter, and coconut fat!!  In fact he suggested I give them up, and choose low-fat products (this to my chagrin!) instead.

He suggested the statins were a common choice as he said that changing my diet can only reduce my cholesterol by about 10%, which made me think ‘then why would I ruin my life by trying to avoid eating my beautiful foods?!’.

Now most of you who know me, will know that I can be quite contrary at times, and a bit bolshi when I feel like it, and I felt so strongly about this conventional approach that I wanted to blow this lovely man’s advice right out my you know what.  But I felt a little intimidated by his medical language and knowledge. I also have a lot of respect for him as a person, for his seniority & reputation in the profession, and he is very well revered in his specialty.

So I felt confused, as everything I had been reading and practising about diet and health, while may be considered ‘alternative’, was science based but was not being supported by this highly acclaimed professional.  And while I did not doubt myself and my instincts, I decided to bite my lip and keep it polite and respectful!!  At this stage there was nothing to be gained by arguing.

What I did do though, was tell him that I was going to send his secretary this video (above) and I asked him if he would watch it, and so that’s what I did.

Getting back to the statins, we decided on another route.  As I was firmly closed to taking them, I asked him an important question:

“What if I had my arteries checked to see if there was any plaque built up from my high cholesterol reading, family history or anything else?”

So we organised for me to have an ultrasound test of my carotid artery.  And I also had a cardiac ultrasound.

The tests came back.  The build up of plaque caused by cholesterol or anything else read zero, which he said was an excellent result for someone of my age and with my family history.

So now was it necessary for me to go on statins?  No.  Absolutely not necessary.

Did it matter that my cholesterol was high?  No it didn’t.

However, while I got the results I’d hoped for, I don’t really know what I would have done if the tests came back and my arteries did have a plaque build up.  I still think I would hold off on the drugs.  Maybe. But I’d never really know until I was faced with the issue. They say that once the build up of plaque is there, there is no way the body can remove it by itself.

It really made me think though … these ultrasound tests were very expensive, not something everyone can afford.  And so even if doctors were ‘on to it’, and recommending these tests before pushing the prescription drugs, the prohibitive cost would still mean that some people would end up on the drugs regardless.  Keeping the pharmaceutical companies in business, and possibly having this weird concoction of unnatural drugs floating around in our systems – for what?!

Again, I think I was very lucky not to have been bullied into taking the drugs and to have seen a logical doctor who gave me options, albeit expensive ones.  But that isn’t the case for us all.

I needed to quieten down a bit.  I had been going around blabbing passionately on how having high cholesterol was not the big evil problem that the medical profession, government and media make it out to be, and that we’d all do better to eat more good, healthy fats, less sugary crap, less fructose, less high sugar carbohydrates and less grains and wheat, all of which can cause inflammation in the body.  This is just my personal, extreme and general view, open to change and who knows what they’ll discover next! Not all doctors are going to agree with my slant on things, and not everybody is going to have the options I had made available to them.

But what about this : How much do we spend on the statins? Or does the government pay for that. What if the money was spent less on medications and more on rigorous testing?  Would that make more sense? Is there any link there between governments, politics and pharmaceutical companies?  These are the questions I ask myself.  I am naturally a suspicious person, and I will leave it there!

So what of those of us who DO have arterial plaque build up?  Are statins required then?  I mean, does the theory that high cholesterol doesn’t cause heart attack still apply and/or ought we tread very carefully here.

Is the answer to take the meds because we don’t really know?  And do we know the possible damage and risks we take by taking meds that may or may not help the issue?!  I can’t help feeling nobody knows. Or at least it hasn’t been fully revealed yet as it’s a constant experiment when our diets are changing so rapidly and, for some, with such little awareness of how food gets on our plates!

I have touched a little bit on some of my thoughts on eating wheat and sugar HERE and HERE, and I think this is a good way to proceed for me, and maybe even for most people.

How will you know how different you could feel (better that is), unless you TRY IT!!  Sugar plays a huge role in the issue of our ill-health today.

I feel that a little bit of the white stuff now and then won’t harm me too much, but it’s funny that I do notice the difference in how I feel when I eat it.

I grew up eating plenty of sugar, so don’t worry … I’ve had my glory days, and I think people should eat whatever the hell they want to in order for them to be happy, because life is short!  But best keep it real, with reality checks, non?!

I have my views and they’re my own! I believe in each to their own. I certainly think that we all have to do what we each think is best for us.  

I just wonder if programmes like this 30 minute one in the link below, will do much to help people understand that perhaps we’ve got to listen up, think about these things a bit more, become active in regard to our health, and not just sit around thinking the government and medical industry have got this one covered!! 

 Well done Dr. Maryanne Demasi!  Again!

Catalyst: Heart of the Matter Part 1 – Dietary Villains – ABC TV Science.

What are YOUR thoughts on this folks?