cholesterol is a major cause of high blood pressure and should be lowered in the first place. Is the “ringleader” of gross deception rearing it`s ugly head again?

Cholesterol versus High Blood Pressure – Round 1.

Dr. Malcolm Kendrick, A GP for 25 years, who has also worked with the European Society of Cardiology, and writes for leading medical magazines, along with others of the medical profession are in the right corner. They are challenging the validity of the U.S. clinical practice guidelines, in the left corner, which recommend the expanded use of statins by healthy people.

What are the statistics showing us? Are the presented facts a myth, blinkering the public, and leading them into believing that high cholesterol is a killer, and that statins is needed to control it for the rest of their lives?

Cholesterol versus High Blood Pressure – Round 2.

Dr. Kendrick, in a Daily Mail article on the 22nd January 2007, highlighted a commentary published by John Abramson, MD, of Harvard Medical School and James Wright, MD, University of British Columbia, in The Lancet medical journal on 20th January 2007, in which they challenged the validity of the U.S, clinical practice guidelines recommending the expanded use of statins by healthy people.

Their argument is that these recommendations are not supported by the evidence.

In part they said,”…….Our analysis suggests that lipid-lowering statins should not be prescribed for true primary prevention in women of any age or for men older than 69 years. High-risk men aged 30-69 years should be advised that about 50 patients need to be treated for 5 years to prevent one event. In our experience, many men presented with this evidence do not choose to take a statin, especially when informed of the potential benefits of lifestyle modification on cardiovascular risk and overall health.”

Cholesterol versus High Blood Pressure – Round 3.

After mentioning that others have also found contradictory evidence prior to these findings and that even the cholesterol hypothesis itself is nonsense, Dr. Kendrick goes on to say something very interesting to quote, “So how can I say saturated fat doesn’t matter when everyone knows it is a killer? Could all those millions who have been putting skinless chicken and one per cent fat yoghurts into their trolleys really have been wasting their time?

The experts are so busy urging you to consume less fat and more statins that you are never warned about the contradictions and lack of evidence behind the cholesterol con. In fact, what many major studies show is that as far as protecting your heart goes, cutting back on saturated fats makes no difference and, in fact, is more likely to do harm.”One more quote from Dr.Kendrick which I just can`t leave out. He goes on to say,”So how did fat and cholesterol get such a bad name? It all began about 100 years ago, when a researcher found feeding rabbits (vegetarians) a high cholesterol carnivore diet blocked their arteries with plaque.”

Hmmmmmm? The mind boggles!

Cholesterol versus High Blood Pressure – Round 4.

Cholesterol

What is cholesterol? What is “good” and “bad” cholesterol? What function does it play in the body? The answers to these questions are important if we are suffering from high blood pressure, especially because general practitioners, advertising media, and researchers warn that high cholesterol levels in our blood can lead to blocked arteries, high blood pressure and heart disease. Cholesterol versus high blood pressure is a real issue indeed.

Cholesterol is really a sterol or alcohol but referred to as a Lipid. It is a waxy substance that is mainly produced in the liver. The presence of cholesterol in our bodies is vital for life as cell membranes such as nerve cells, need its waterproofing properties to function in water based environments. It is also an antioxidant, protecting cell membranes from free radical damage. It has many more highly important functions in the body.

So what is meant by “bad” and “good” cholesterol?

Cholesterol is carried around the body in a cycle by two particular lipoproteins. One is called LDL (low density lipoprotein), referred to as “bad” cholesterol. Its function is to take cholesterol from the liver to organs and tissues so it can be used in the cell membranes. The other is called HDL (high density lipoprotein), referred to as the “good” cholesterol which takes the discarded cholesterol back to the liver for recycling or excretion. The recycled cholesterol is used for so many other functions in our bodies that it is one of the most important substances the body needs.

(See the book “The Great Cholesterol Con” by Anthony Colpo.)

Cholesterol versus High Blood Pressure – Round 5.

Does eating saturated fats contribute to high cholesterol levels in the blood?

The majority of doctors and experts are adamant that it does. The majority are dedicated to their work of caring for the health of their patients, complying with health institution guidelines that rely heavily on statistics from research and controlled testing.

Cholesterol versus High blood pressure -Artery wall Fig. 2
The erroneous view according to other doctors.

For example: The largest study ever conducted in Europe, on people with high blood pressure, called the Ascot Trials, was partly conducted by The William Harvey Research Institution based in London.

It is part of the St.Bartholomew`s Hospital Medical College and St Mary`s School of Medicine and Dentistry, established in 1985. Today it is one of the leading centers for pharmacological research in the Uk; ranking among the top 20 in the world. (The Scientist 2004) A number of its senior scientists are among the 100 leading pharmacologists in the world. The Ascot trial was launched in 1997 where 19.000 men and women from the UK, Scandinavia and Ireland took part. The results were presented at the Congress of the European Society of Cardiology on 4 September 2005.

The results of the study brought the investigators to believe that international recommendation for managing high blood pressure may need reviewing. They suggested also that most patients with hypertension should be considered for a cholesterol lowering drug.

With research institutions such as the above suggesting the guidelines, who wouldn`t put their trust in what they hear?

Cholesterol versus High Blood Pressure – Round 6.

The above charts show the difference in opinion of what is actually happening in the arteries. Because both are relying on research, then perhaps the best option is to research the research. What are statistics really revealing? We don`t need to be doctors or scientists to find out. The evidence is being presented to us and it`s up to us to sit up and take notice.

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