High on Cholesterol

Should we really be worried about having a 'high' cholesterol level?

Raised cholesterol levels are seen as a risk factor for heart disease and statins are seen as the cure. I already knew that statins had side-effects so when I was told my cholesterol was too high I wanted to find out more.

What follows is not a medical act, a professional view, or a qualified opinion, merely a summary of information available on the web which I personally found convincing.

UK doctors consider a cholesterol level over 5mml/l (millimoles per litre) to be 'high' and an indicator of increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. In countries such as Switzerland and France the average cholesterol levels are higher than this but the incidence of heart disease and strokes is much lower than ours. In Russia the average cholesterol levels are much lower and yet the incidence of heart disease is much higher than ours.

How can this be?

Cholesterol is a fatty acid created by the liver and used throughout the body to generate new cells and create hormones. This is a natural and necessary function and without cholesterol we would die.

As fat is not soluble in our watery blood it must mix with a protein 'carrier' to form molecules of low density lipoprotein (LDL) for delivery to where it is needed. Unused cholesterol is then carried back to the liver via high-density lipoproteins (HDL) for recycling.

There is no good or bad cholesterol, just cholesterol and even if we had a cholesterol-free diet our bodies would still be creating it.

It is the physical size of the LDL particles which are of concern. If they are too small then they can get lodged between flakes of arterial plaque turning rancid over time to increase localised inflammation. In order for cholesterol to have this effect the arteries must already have plaque. Heart disease isn't caused by cholesterol but if you are already susceptible then it can make things worse: so could any fat in the blood such as omega-3 from oily fish!

We need to have more of the larger LDL particles to reduce our risk and we can do this with changes to our diet and so avoid harmful medication. Interestingly it seems that alcohol and saturated fats in the diet will actually increase the size of LDL particles. Sound familiar? Yes, just like the French diet!

The formation of plaque on arterial walls is in response to damaging toxins carried by the blood. Anything we ingest will at some point pass through the blood stream so could cause damage - including viruses and bacteria. Normally blood vessels will react to damage by becoming inflamed - which neutralises the toxins - then the inflammation dies down and the repair process starts. This process takes a matter of hours and is happening all the time.

Sometimes, however, the inflammation persists but the repair process still tries to lay down new cells. The inflammation will try to break down the new cells and it becomes a localised battle. Even if the repairs work, they are just covering inflamed areas (with plaque) and this can continue for many years. Eventually the loose plaque may be dislodged and cause damage as it moves through the blood stream. The end result can be strokes or heart attacks.

Although cholesterol may make things worse - as any oil in the blood stream could -it isn't the root cause of the problem. It seems cholesterol is getting a bad press.

Statins reduce the overall amount of cholesterol but they also have many side-effects such as dizziness, loss of muscle-mass, memory problems and lower bone-mass. There is also a risk of kidney damage. This is not surprising as statins are interfering with a natural and necessary process.

Some research indicates that statins can help prevent a second heart attack but there is little evidence that taking statins makes any difference to the risk of having the first heart attack. It seems that statins do not have an impact on the size of particles - just the overall volume - so these results are not surprising.

The threshold of 'high' cholesterol is variable and arbitrary yet it can lead to prescribed medication in the form of statins which can have serious side-effects. Having a high overall cholesterol level need not be bad news but taking statins nearly always is. Statins are not addressing any underlying problems some people may have but they could be giving false hope.

There are a lot of interesting sites out there and some of these are collected on this site.

Simon Hudson is an existential counsellor/psychotherapist in private practice. He writes occasional articles on personal matters on subjects which have affected clients.

What Does It Mean To Be Truly Wealthy?

All too often people mistakenly believe that they are wealthy when, in fact, that's not always the case. After all, earning a large income doesn't necessarily convert into a wealth. Income does not equal wealth. True wealth is built over time by taking clever, active steps.Having lots of money is all very well. However, it's not what you earn, but what you do with it in the long run, which will make all the difference to your life.

The illusion about wealth

Do you merely want to look rich, or do you truly want to be rich? There's an important distinction between the two. It's relatively easy to create the illusion of wealth. However, it's another question entirely of whether or not you will be able to maintain this illusion. Besides, "keeping up appearances" can be both physically and financially draining. Creating the mere illusion of wealth is certainly not a reflection of true wealth. If anything, the illusion of wealth is often accompanied by a mountain of debt, which is present in your daily life.

A debt - driven life

What I imply by this is that, we tend to borrow money at any time we need any stuff in life. You live a kind of life driven/controlled by debts.

Credit can be incredibly useful. But, there is negative side of it. These days, credit is readily available to just about anyone and it is being used and abused as a result. The more you earn, the more creditors are willing to extend you credit regardless of whether or not you can actually honor those financial obligations. A lot of people are not as wealthy as they seem. They are merely using debt to create an illusion of wealth while the credit institutions own everything. It doesn't matter if you live in a luxury home and drive a fancy car. If you are in huge debts, then you haven't built any real wealth at all. Bad debt hinders true wealth creation. Hence, it's best to avoid it at all costs if you want to prosper.

What does it mean to be wealthy?

It's not what you earn, but what you save that matters most. You could earn $12 000 000 million per year, but if you aren't saving and investing any of this money, you'll never build real wealth. Being truly wealthy means that:

You have specific, financial goals that you're working towards;

You use a budget to plan your finances;

You are not over-indebted;

The financial institutions don't own everything;

You consistently save;

You have investments as assets;

You have an emergency fund;

You've created passive sources of income;

And you are determined to achieve financial freedom.

If you want to be truly wealthy, you must ensure that you constantly utilise your money effectively and efficiently. The rule of the financial game in life is that "your money must work for you" no one else.

Martin is a premium member at Wealthy Affiliate training. At WA, beginners, seasoned internet marketers alike, are trained internet marketing skills & expertise of developing as well as expanding successful online business venture.

My Answer to the DRACONIAN Question

In his excellent book: "Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future" Peter Thiel asks a question. He calls it 'the draconian question' which is being asked of every person he considers employing. The question is posed on page 1, and for the rest of the book, that question kept going around in my mind: What would my response be if asked the draconian question?

The draconian question: "What important truth do very few agree with you on?" That is a very good question. Forcing you to think beyond platitudes and make a stand for something.

Peter Thiel, here is my answer to your draconian question: "Most people believe doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is insanity". However, the truth is just the opposite.

Consider the following:

(1) Let me start by asking parents: "How long would you give your child to learn to walk?"

Put differently, what is learning to walk but holding your child upright and watching them move their cute little feet, trying to balance before falling over. How often and for how long would you do the same thing over and over expecting your child not to stagger and fall, but stagger and stay upright?

I believe any parent would answer: 'I am going to help my child learn to walk for as long as it takes.' No wonder all kid ends up walking, and nobody feels it is insanity to continue to do the same thing over and over expecting a different result

(2) Light. Humans are the only species that are not slaves to the rising and setting of the sun for light. For this, we can thank a prolific inventor with only three months of official school; Thomas Edison.

As a reminder, how did Thomas Edison achieve his feat? Edison tried many thousand of different materials before on 22 October 1879 he found the right combination of carbon filament connected to platina contact wires; and there was light!

In other words Edison tried over and over the same thing; to create light by combining various materials and expecting the result to be different from the thousands of previous disappointments. Did 'everybody', from fellow investors, newspaper people and general public try and convince him he was insane for doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result? You bet they did. However, I am very happy he did not get discouraged.

(3) Learning any craft. Let me pick tennis to illustrate. In tennis, there are eight basic shots: The serve, forehand, backhand, volley, half-volley, overhead, drop shot and lob.

How many have won a tournament by inventing and introducing a new shot? None.

How do you learn to play tennis? By practicing the eight basic shots over and over and expecting to become a little bit better every time you practice.

How do you win tournaments? By practicing the eight basic shots more frequently and with more vigor than your competition, expecting that your investment in repetition will make you better.

Is there an alternative to 'doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is insanity?'

Yes. The Chinese wisdom of "You can't step in the same flowing river twice", is so much more appropriate. Especially today with everything constantly changing, and just because something did not work yesterday, so much has changed since yesterday that with a minor tweak you may succeed today.

Your future is a blank canvas. It is up to you to paint your life's masterpiece. It does not matter if you feel you did not succeed yesterday, last month or last year. Only you can make the difference you want to make in your life, and the only time you have failed is when you give up.

To the best of your success,