Does cholesterol really cause heart disease?

Cardiovascular disease (heart disease) is caused by a narrowing of the arteries.

This narrowing of the arteries is a result of "plaque", which builds up on the inside of arteries.

Plaque itself is a mixture of things: it's primarily caused by your immune system trying to fix a damage which has happened to the wall of your artery.

Imagine if you have a tunnel, and the wall of the tunnel is heavily damaged. The construction crew comes and instead of just plugging the whole, the put a bunch of extra material on top of the hole to make sure it's fully covered.

This causes a narrowing of the tunnel. The same thing happens in your arteries.

So what causes the damage in the first place?

The main culprit is something called: Oxidized LDL.

You may have heard of LDL as "bad cholesterol", while HDL is commonly called "good cholesterol".

This is an outdated concept that dates back to the 1970s.

Since then, we've discovered that there is "good" LDL and "bad" LDL, and "good" HDL and "bad" HDL.

In fact, we now know that over 70% of the cholesterol in your body (including LDL) is produced BY your body (not from the food you eat).

The reason is that cholesterol is a "must" for your body to function well: it transports fatty acids, it helps fight inflammation, it helps repair damage in the brain and nervous system, and it's what MOST of your hormones are made of.

In fact, most of your brain consists of cholesterol - and studies have shown that if you cholesterol drops too low, you're at significantly higher risk of degenerative diseases which impact the nervous system, like Alzheimer's, Parkinson, Dementia, etc.

But back to our subject of heart disease: so the disease is caused by "Oxidized LDL".

"Oxidized" means "damaged". So it's "damaged" LDL which is the main culprit, not regular LDL.

Now there are 2 ways to reduce the amount of Oxidized LDL:

1. Reduce LDL itself: no LDL means no Oxidized LDL

2. Reduce causes of Oxidation.

Yes reducing LDL (by being on an extremely low fat diet or taking cholesterol medication) may work, but studies have shown that this comes at a cost.

Like I said: cholesterol (including LDL) is produced by your body for a reason. It's "needed". If you artificially bring it down, you're not optimizing your health.

This is why people on statins (cholesterol lowering meds) suffer muscle and energy loss and hormonal disruption.

So wouldn't it be a better idea to keep your LDL in a healthy range but make sure you don't let them Oxidize?

So what CAUSES LDL Oxidation?

Oxidation is caused by "free radicals", which float in your blood and "damage" those LDL particles.

Where do free radicals come from?

Your body "normally" produces free radicals, when you exercise for example.

Your body also produces "anti-oxidants" which "eliminate" those free radicals.

That's how you get fitter, stronger, healthier: by producing free radicals from exercise, you're training your body to produce more "anti-oxidants".

It's like having a small number of criminals in your country, so that your police force gets the chance to practice and become stronger.

BUT, what happens when EXTERNAL free radicals FLOOD your system?

Your police force gets overwhelmed, and you have "criminals" going around everywhere "Oxidizing your LDL"!

What are biggest sources of "external" free radicals?

1. Deep fried foods (especially those fried in vegetable oils like sunflower, canola, corn oil, etc).

2. Processed / junk food (read the label, if it says "hydrogenated", run!)

3. Margarine

4. Not enough sleep (or bad quality sleep)

5. Pollution

6. Excess blood sugar levels

7. Cigarettes

8. Commercially baked goods (e.g. donuts, muffins, etc)

How do you increase the size of your "police force" (anti-oxidants)?

1. Increase your body's ability to produce antioxidants (train more police) by exercising regularly & allowing yourself to "recover" (sleep)

2. Get external anti-oxidants (extra police).

What are the best sources of anti-oxidants?

- Good quality fats (olive oil, nuts, seeds)

- Anti-oxidant rich fruits and vegetables (berries, dark leafy greens)

- Fatty fish (e.g. salmon, sardines)

- Supplements (e.g. Omega 3, Resveratrol)