It's well worth noting that cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins have been found to boost stroke risk.
Total cholesterol will tell you virtually nothing about your disease risk, unless it's exceptionally elevated (above 330 or so, which would be suggestive of familial hypercholesterolemia, and is, in my view, about the only time a cholesterol-lowering drug would be appropriate). Two ratios that are far better indicators of heart disease risk are:
Total cholesterol will tell you virtually nothing about your disease risk, unless it's exceptionally elevated (above 330 or so, which would be suggestive of familial hypercholesterolemia, and is, in my view, about the only time a cholesterol-lowering drug would be appropriate). Two ratios that are far better indicators of heart disease risk are:
- Your HDL/total cholesterol ratio: HDL percentage is a very potent indicator of your heart disease risk. Just divide your HDL level by your total cholesterol. This percentage should ideally be above 24 percent. Below 10 percent, it's a significant indicator of risk for heart disease
- Your triglyceride/HDL ratios: This percentage should ideally be below 2
When it comes to diet, you'd be well advised to scrutinize the standard recommendations,5 which include cutting down on saturated fats and dietary cholesterol.
It's important to understand that cholesterol is in fact essential for your good health, as it carries out essential functions within your cell membranes, and is critical for proper brain function and production of steroid hormones. Vitamin D is also synthesized from a close relative of cholesterol: 7-dehydrocholesterol. In fact, we now have evidence showing that cholesterol deficiency has a detrimental impact on virtually every aspect of your health.
For example, there's reason to believe that low-fat diets and/or cholesterol-lowering drugs may cause or contribute to Alzheimer's disease, and violent behavior, due to adverse changes in brain chemistry.
Furthermore, studies have shown that dietary cholesterol has little to do with raising your serum cholesterol. For example, although egg yolks are relatively high in cholesterol, numerous studies have confirmed that eggs have virtually nothing to do with raising your cholesterol. For instance, research published in the International Journal of Cardiology showed that, in healthy adults, eating eggs every day did not produce a negative effect on endothelial function (an aggregate measure of cardiac risk); nor did it increase cholesterol levels.
But that's not all. One 2009 study6 discovered that proteins in cooked eggs are converted by gastrointestinal enzymes, producing peptides that act as ACE inhibitors—common prescription medications for lowering blood pressure, which would actually lower your stroke risk!
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