This is an excerpt from my soon-to-be-published book, "Health Freedom Lost," Volume 1.
Summary: LDL and HDL (these abbreviations are often erroneously accompanied by the word "cholesterol" are:
SOAPs
Your Actual Cholesterol Number
Do you know your actual cholesterol number? You are wrong if you answer 240 or 175 or some other number in this range. It turns out there are 7.9 billion people on Earth as of April 2022. Not a single person on earth knows their cholesterol number - not even 1 person out of 7.9 billion. How can this be? Look at the definition of "total cholesterol" above. Where is the actual cholesterol number in that equation? It is NOT there. We have been duped.
Cleveland and Boston Heart Labs perform extensive "cholesterol" testing. Consider calling either of these labs and asking them if they run a test for the actual cholesterol molecule. The person answering the phone will say something like, "We can do this, we measure "total cholesterol." Then explain that "total cholesterol" is not the cholesterol molecule but you want your actual cholesterol measured. There will be silence on the other end of the phone. Then ask to speak to one of their scientists. None will be available and you will never get a return call. This is actually what happened to me.
Granted, both LDL and HDL contain the cholesterol molecule so there is a correlation between these values and the amount of cholesterol they are transporting. But, both these lipoprotein molecules do so much more than carry cholesterol, Figure 5.4. Do you see any similarities?
LDL, it turns out, is a 4-letter word - SOAP. Yes, the drug companies have grossed $1 trillion dollars by demonizing soap. You have been duped. Or maybe not. Do you need soap in your body?
"The human brain is nearly 60 percent fat. We've learned in recent years that fatty acids are among the most crucial molecules that determine your brain's integrity and ability to perform."[i]
The actual cholesterol molecule is often defined as a waxy substance. This term sheds a negative light on the substance. Even the word "fat" has a negative connotation. However, in human physiology, cholesterol is properly classified as fat. For the sake of an example, consider the words "fat," "oil," and "grease" to have the same meaning. Grease is more of a cooking term, oil is more of a chemical term, and fat is more of a physiology term which all define the same class of substance.
Blood plasma contains 91% to 93% water. The brain is 60% fat (oil). How do fats get to the brain? When you wash a greasy (oily) dish with water, the grease remains. Upon adding soap, the oil magically disappears. Where does it go? The oil gets pulled into the soap molecule, Figure 5.5.
[i] Chang, Chia-Yu, Der-Shin Ke, and Jen-Yin Chen. "Essential fatty acids and human brain." Acta Neurol Taiwan 18.4 (2009): 231-41.
Liji Thomas, M.D. explains lipoproteins.[i]
Lipoproteins are special particles made up of droplets of fats surrounded by a single layer of phospholipid molecules. They are distinctive in being amphipathic, which means they have both polar and non-polar ends.
In a lipoprotein, the polar ends of all the phospholipid molecules face outwards, so as to interact with water, itself a polar molecule. This enables the lipoprotein to be carried in the blood rather than rising to the top, like cream on milk or oil and vinegar in salad dressing.
The non-polar fat balled up inside the phospholipid layer, at the center of the lipoprotein, is thus transported to the place where it must be stored or metabolized, through the bloodstream, despite being insoluble in blood.
Thus, lipoproteins (LDL and HDL) are molecular level trucks to carry fats wherever they are required or stored.
Here is the definition of soap.
The soap molecule has two different ends, one that is hydrophilic (polar head) that binds with water, and the other that is hydrophobic (non-polar hydrocarbon tail) that binds with grease and oil. Soap is an emulsifier capable of dispersing one liquid into another immiscible liquid. This means that while oil does not naturally mix with water, soap can suspend oils, grease, and fats in such a way that can be transported through water.
LDL and HDL are soap molecules that transport fats through your water-based bloodstream, period.
[i] https://www.news-medical.net/life-sciences/What-are-Lipoproteins.aspx, August 23, 2018.
Cholesterol Demonized
A 2018 article explains that the evidence against cholesterol-lowering drugs have been suppressed and exaggerated.[i] The author, Maryanne Demasi, completed a doctorate in medical research at the University of Adelaide and worked for a decade at the Royal Adelaide Hospital as a research scientist specializing in rheumatoid arthritis research.
She has also worked as an advisor to the South Australian Government's Minister for Science and Information Economy. The abstract from her paper titled, "Statin wars: have we been misled about the evidence? A narrative review" is provided here.
"Statins are the most widely prescribed, cholesterol-lowering drugs in the world. Despite the expiration of their patents, revenue for statins is expected to rise, with total sales on track to reach an estimated US $1 trillion by 2020. A bitter dispute has erupted among doctors over suggestions that statins should be prescribed to millions of healthy people at low risk of heart disease.
There are concerns that the benefits have been exaggerated and the risks have been underplayed. Also, the raw data on the efficacy and safety of statins are being kept secret and have not been subjected to scrutiny by other scientists. This lack of transparency has led to an erosion of public confidence. Doctors and patients are being misled about the true benefits and harms of statins, and it is now a matter of urgency that the raw data from the clinical trials are released."
[i] Demasi, Maryanne. "Statin wars: have we been misled about the evidence? A narrative review." British Journal of Sports Medicine 52.14 (2018): 905-909.
Index & Upcoming (short) blogs
Number 1: Cholesterol fun (true) facts - completed
Number 2: Is the actual cholesterol molecule important? c - completed
Number 3: What is an optimal TC value? Remember, no one knows their actual cholesterol molecule value. - completed
Number 4: Surprising fact about cholesterol as an antibiotic - completed
Number 5: TC simple math - dumb doctors - completed
Number 6: What is LDL really? - Next
Number 7: Statins - do they lower the cholesterol molecule?
Number 8: What did we learn from the new "biologics" to lower "cholesterol"
Number 9: Niacin and other "cholesterol" management treatments
Number 10: What did Natasha Campbell-McBride say about cholesterol/lipids?
Number 11: What is a QALY, and how does it relate to "cholesterol"?
Number 12: Idiot doctor from Johns Hopkins, Roger Blumenthal
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