Using High Cholesterol to Help Explore a Common Thread in the World of Health

I can’t ignore the thread that has been weaving throughout my interactions, experiences, and even my thought life. 

This thread?

It is multi-chorded like a braid, all the components interweave with one another:

1- Belief

2- Misinformation

3- Lack of education or lack of information

→ Let’s use a common example for explaining this: High Cholesterol.

(Please know that I am not intending to shame you or any of your loved ones. I share in hopes to empower and educate. Please also know that I am speaking broadly in this letter and that each and every person is unique - therefore individualized care and recommendations are needed. You must do what is best for you.)

Something I often hear when it comes to clients or even people in public sharing with me that they have high cholesterol is that “it’s genetic” or  “my doctor is keeping an eye on it but they recommended I start a statin” (if the individual isn’t already on one). 

This touches on all three of the components I listed above: belief, misinformation, and lack of education/information.

1- Belief - example: “it’s genetic”

High cholesterol can be genetic, yes. I won’t dispute the fact. 

However, from what I understand about the most common genetic disorder that causes high cholesterol, it can be detected starting at a very young age. Given the testing available today, most individuals would know relatively young if they have the genetic mutation or not.

What is far more common is to have high cholesterol which develops over time. This form of high cholesterol is reversible and preventable, often without medications. Diet and lifestyle play a huge role in cholesterol. Two things most of us have some control over if we desire to.

2- Misinformation - example: “cholesterol is bad”

Too much of any good thing is no longer a good thing.

We are taught from a young age that “cholesterol is bad”, especially those of us who have lived through the low fat, no cholesterol time periods. Even in school we learn LDL is “bad” and HDL is “good” (high cholesterol, by the way, combines both but the majority of the time it refers to high LDL). 

Stating “cholesterol is bad” isn’t the whole picture which is where we can see some form of misinformation creeping in. It is a partial truth. More information is needed.

And this point brings us to #3.

3- Lack of education or lack of information - example: “... you believe that high cholesterol is genetic and that cholesterol is bad”

For the majority of us, believing that “high cholesterol is genetic” is a bit of a scapegoat. As I mentioned earlier, high cholesterol often resolves / lowers when one works on their diet and lifestyle. I have seen it first hand! So, even if there may be a genetic component, there is still a lot that many of us can do to support our bodies in healing and functioning optimally.

I wish more folks would have their medical team educate them on other options when recommending a medication. Unfortunately, that isn’t reality, generally speaking.

The second layer to this, “cholesterol is bad”, is a partial truth- as I’d mentioned earlier.

LDL, when extremely high in proportion to HDL for extended periods of time is bad, yes.

But there’s more to the story.

Cholesterol, when put simply, is a fat-like substance that is crucial for several really important functions:

• Cell structure and cell membrane integrity

• Hormone production

• Production of bile acid (crucial for digestion)

• Synthesizing Vitamin D

Cholesterol is also what I call a “healing molecule”. Cholesterol will travel to sites of inflammation and/or injury to support the body in healing. 

There is more that could be said about cholesterol but the point here is that there is far more to the story than simply saying “cholesterol is bad”.

Information is powerful.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A really important piece to get from all of this is that you can insert so many other ailments/conditions in place of “High Cholesterol”.

Maybe for you it's migraines or headaches;

…menstrual irregularity (flooding, scanty, PMS, infertility, etc.);

…mental/emotional difficulties (anxiety, depression, compulsivity, attention, etc.);

Or maybe it's sleep, digestion, allergies, skin ailments, or ______ .

Just because you’ve been living with it doesn't mean that you have to live with it for the rest of your life. Advocate for yourself, learn, and seek support from someone who cares.

Maybe it's time to revisit or start a new conversation with your medical team.

Maybe it's time to seek support from another practitioner - a therapist, an acupuncturist, a chiropractor, a massage therapist, an herbalist.

Do what is best for you, in your own time.