A great question to ask your primary care physician is "should I be worried about my cholesterol?" The answer to this frequently asked question is yes, but the reason as to why I advocate for more people understanding why may surprise you...
It is because their cholesterol is harder to track.
For a moment, I want you to visualize the process of testing your cholesterol. You will need to fast for 12 hours before going to your primary's office and having blood drawn to check your lipid panel. The lipid panel would display your total cholesterol, High density lipid level (HDL), Low Density Lipids (LDL), Triglycerides, and maybe Very Low-Density Lipoprotein (VLDL), Non-HDL Cholesterol, and the ratio between total cholesterol and HDL. Here is the thing, along with knowing that the most important kinds of cholesterol to know are HDL, the "good" cholesterol, and LDL (the "bad" cholesterol), understanding the method of calculating cholesterol, and how frequently cholesterol is checked, is more complicated than you think.
It goes without saying, the lack of questioning by any person of what and how important cholesterol is to our health is only a reflection of how little is known about the role cholesterol plays in health. It illustrates how much information has been provided to the consuming public on how cholesterol helps in filtering impurities from blood in the liver with bile to break down other fats, vitamins, and minerals with pancreatic juices in the small intestine. Sparing the reader from an in-depth, deep dive into the common biliary duct, hepatic portal vein: occlusion, diabetes, fatty liver disease, cirrhosis, pancreatitis, irritable bowel syndrome, pale stool, constipation, and colon cancer could all be treated from combining the right dietary cholesterol to the right enzymes, allow me to conclude with these final points:
Given that the leading cause of obesity is due to the consumption of large amounts of processed and / or fast foods high in sugar, and fat, the general public at risk for high blood sugar test for diabetes much easier and more regularly than testing for high cholesterol. Very rarely will cholesterol levels be tested more than for what is necessary for employment, or activity based purposes; to which at a minimum, once every 1-2 years unless pre-existing medical conditions, and risk factors are indicators to an increased higher risk for cardiovascular disease such as stroke, or rhythm related disorder.
This brings me back to a frequently asked question: how can people safely lower cholesterol fast? My answer to this question is with a question: if you are looking to lower your cholesterol fast, are you willing to let go of what raises it? Do you really need to lower your cholesterol fast? Are you just looking to pass the test for now or the near future to keep facing the same challenges of your past? What could you do differently from taking medications for high cholesterol and some possible side effects? What could you do aside from just searching for foods that lower bad cholesterol? What would it mean to lower your cholesterol? Is it lowering the risks of you having a stroke, you keeping off the unwanted weight? Is it fewer pokes and prods with needles? Is it more time walking along the beach with someone who's company you enjoy? Is it having a long live to watch your future generations grow and prosper? Or is it something else?
When it comes to cholesterol, because I know how long it takes for the body to process cholesterol, and I know how the whites of your eyes can turn a little yellow from high LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream, I don't just asses and recommend a few herbs, I asses a whole life style.
When was the last time you got your cholesterol checked? Don't forget your why!
Wellness
Dr. Prince J. EL
Wellness Consultant
