Truth About Cholesterol Part 3

~~I hope that you are enjoying some of the facts that I am teaching you about cholesterol. As you can now see, our little friend cholesterol has gained an undeserved, and truly notorious reputation. This unfortunate rap sheet that poor little cholesterol has garnered has occurred over the last 2 decades. Remember the "Tree of Truth" in science, and medicine takes years, often decades to take root and grow once those "Seeds of Truth" are planted. This is especially true when the reputation has been stained for as long as our little buddy's has been.
 
So, let's take a look at the true factors that affect your blood cholesterol levels, and what you can do about it. I have to say first off that some of the cholesterol issue is totally out of your control. That's right Dr. P. is giving some of you a little pass on this one. You see, your genetic makeup can predispose you to some issues with your level of circulating blood cholesterol. But don't think for a moment that you can't alter this level regardless of your genetic excuses. Remember the epigenetic topic that I have covered with you many times in the past. It may involve "up regulating or down regulating your genes".) That means that you can either turn certain genes on, or turn them off depending on your lifestyle choices.
 
Another thing that can definitely affect your cholesterol level is an under active thyroid (hypothyroidism). This can be a major, often undetected cause of increased cholesterol. Many of you suffer from this condition and all that "modern medicine" has to offer to you is a very basic blood test of your TSH level, and then a prescription of Synthroid. Worse yet, many of you are suffering from this condition and it remains undetected or undiagnosed. Understand that this epidemic of under active thyroid conditions is something that we assist patients with every day here at the Center for Nutrition and Wellness. The blood work that needs to be run and the case history that needs to be taken on each patient who thinks that they are suffering from an under active thyroid is much more extensive than what is the norm in a medical practice. Let Kerry know if you think that you may be suffering from this malady, or have been diagnosed with an under active thyroid. She will schedule you for a consultation and a nutritional analysis and we will see if your case is like many that we have helped in the past. To assist you further let Kerry know that you read about this in this article about cholesterol, and she will give you a 20% discount on that consultation and analysis.
 
Other factors affecting your cholesterol levels include the big "S". That's right stress will affect your cholesterol levels adversely. I will not be getting into this in detail here, but if you would like to get the facts about how stress can affect your overall Health and Wellness you can research it on the Center's web site. Simply type "stress" in the search bar on the top right of our web site and learn more about stress and its affects on cholesterol. You can also purchase and view my DVD "Stress and How It's Killing You!". For now just understand that when you are under stress your HDL (what they call your "good cholesterol") levels will go down, and your LDL (what they call your "bad cholesterol") levels will go up. 
 
Even something as simple as standing up can change your cholesterol level temporarily. You see, your cholesterol levels change throughout the day. This is the fallacy of thinking that by taking a blood sample at a particular time of the day, that the reading is truly an accurate depiction of your overall cholesterol level. This is really only a snapshot of your cholesterol level in that particular minute, which is literally about the time that it takes to extract a blood sample.
 
Some of the other factors that affect your cholesterol level are the use of nicotine, the presence of pain, fear (again, stress), pregnancy, your hormone levels, the use of tranquilizers, cortisone drugs, diuretics, gall bladder obstruction, and hepatitis. Believe it or not, the longer that rubber tourniquet strap is left in place while your blood is being drawn, the higher your cholesterol reading will be. Even the season of the year has the potential to affect your cholesterol level. You can see now that there are week to week, day to day, and yes even minute to minute variations in your cholesterol level.
 
I will sign off on this installment with a quote from Dr. Edward Pinckney, the former Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association. He wrote; "The laboratory test for cholesterol is probably the most inaccurate test there is. It is considered medically acceptable for the results to be 50 mg off in either direction.
 
Until our next installment I want you to just "digest" (sorry for the pun) what I have fed to you here about cholesterol. I am sure that I am shattering some beliefs, and ruffling some feathers with this series on cholesterol, but sometimes the truth hurts, so lick those wounds and get ready for my next installment in this series.
 
  
Dr. Pfeiffer's "Think Right"
"Unhappiness is not knowing what we want and killing ourselves to get it."