Cholesterol and Heart Disease

Sometimes we need to think outside of the box” when it comes to finding answers to many of our health questions. The case of cholesterol, heart disease, and the medications used to combat it illustrates this principle very strongly.

Comment on “Study: Boosting Good Cholesterol With Niacin Did Not Cut Heart Risks” on All Things Considered 27 May 2011.  It appears there are multiple causes for cardiovascular disorders.  There is strong theoretical work that suggests cholesterol is a response by normal cells to an assault on cell membranes. So people who continue to claim that high cholesterol is a cause for cardiovascular disease are misinforming the public, and putting research on the wrong track. We need to use our understanding of basic chemistry to study what may be the cause of disease. By recognizing multiple causes of high LDL (low density lipids, a type of cholesterol), we can treat it in multiple ways, like diet, exercise, taking niacin and calcium supplements, and getting rid of toxins.

Updated: 2 Sept 2014

Summary

A study of Niaspan showed that it did raise “good cholesterol” (HDL, High Density Lipids), but it did not lower the rate of heart attacks. Patients on Niaspan were more likely to have a stroke than those on placebo.  NIH halted a big study of this drug early as a result.  NPR reporter Scott Hensley tells us that even though earlier observational studies (not experimental) show that high levels of HDL in people have been associated with “a lower risk of heart attack,” this does not mean that HDL helps to get rid of a cause of a heart attack. Based upon the assumption of causation, the HDL hypothesis states that raising HDL cholesterol should lower the risk of heart disease (it is hard to avoid thinking that “risk” does not mean “cause” in this hypothesis). More than 3400 patients were studied and all were also taking cholesterol-lowering drugs to control LDL (Low Density Lipids).  However, the FDA wants more studies, and does not recommend that patients stop taking niacin.

What is the Hypodermis?

Ever wonder if that pain under the arm is in any way related to the pain in the groin? Why do the soles of my feet hurt when I first start walking upon waking up? Why in some people, but not in others, especially children, can you see very clear veins on the back of the hands and  in the antecubital fossa (where nurses [in the US] or doctors [in Australia] take blood samples)? How does acupuncture work? The answer: hypodermal fluids, or more specifically, the anatomy of the skin and hypodermis.