Feb 17, 2019 09:20 PM
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-cho...ntroversy/
EXCERPT: . . . Over the better part of a century, cholesterol has been examined as a possible risk factor for heart disease. There have been many criticisms along the way. Some were justified, some less so. Animal studies in rabbits cannot be applied to humans, diet studies are often ineffective, early drug trials were done exclusive in men, treatment did not translate into a mortality benefit, statins might have had a different mechanism of action, and statins are too expensive.
But all these criticisms belong to a different time. There are studies in humans. We have moved past diet studies for lowering cholesterol. Women are included in studies. There is a mortality benefit. Statins (and other medications) do work by lowering LDL. Statins are now generic. There are alternative to statins if you have side effects. The thing about the cholesterol controversy is that most of it has been settled.
Some issues remain. Maybe it is better to measure to non-HDL cholesterol or ApoB cholesterol instead of LDL cholesterol. But this is a subtle point, and finding a better way to measure something does not negate the underlying truth that high cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease. There was a time when someone could be skeptical about the role of cholesterol in cardiac risk reduction. That time has now passed....
MORE (lengthy details): https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-cho...ntroversy/
EXCERPT: . . . Over the better part of a century, cholesterol has been examined as a possible risk factor for heart disease. There have been many criticisms along the way. Some were justified, some less so. Animal studies in rabbits cannot be applied to humans, diet studies are often ineffective, early drug trials were done exclusive in men, treatment did not translate into a mortality benefit, statins might have had a different mechanism of action, and statins are too expensive.
But all these criticisms belong to a different time. There are studies in humans. We have moved past diet studies for lowering cholesterol. Women are included in studies. There is a mortality benefit. Statins (and other medications) do work by lowering LDL. Statins are now generic. There are alternative to statins if you have side effects. The thing about the cholesterol controversy is that most of it has been settled.
Some issues remain. Maybe it is better to measure to non-HDL cholesterol or ApoB cholesterol instead of LDL cholesterol. But this is a subtle point, and finding a better way to measure something does not negate the underlying truth that high cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease. There was a time when someone could be skeptical about the role of cholesterol in cardiac risk reduction. That time has now passed....
MORE (lengthy details): https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-cho...ntroversy/