Cholesterol: friend or foe

There are 2 types of cholesterol: "good" and "bad"

Lowering cholesterol has become a major concern in the medical world and most often results in an automatic prescription of chemical drugs.

But, on closer inspection, it turns out that cholesterol is not a poison but a resource necessary for the human body.

Cholesterol is naturally present in each of our cells; it is a soft, waxy, fatty substance produced in the liver and found in the blood, playing an indispensable role in maintaining the cell walls and helping in the production of bile.

Cholesterol represents 2% of body mass and our brain contains 25% of the cholesterol in the human body.
It is therefore essential for proper brain function but also for hormonal functions (oestrogen, testosterone and cortisol).
It is also a precursor of vitamin D, so is it an urgent necessity to lower it?

If cholesterol accumulates in the arteries, it may be to repair holes formed in the walls, the increased blood cholesterol level then being a defence mechanism…
A study from Yale University concluded that elderly people with low cholesterol die twice as often from heart attacks as elderly people with high cholesterol…
A study published by The Lancet, involving 800 people over 10 years, concluded that a high cholesterol level reduces the risk of death…

If we distinguish good cholesterol, HDL, from bad cholesterol, LDL, in reality, things are more complicated.

Bad cholesterol is made up of particles of different sizes, and only the smallest are dangerous because they can cross the artery walls and oxidise.
It then becomes difficult to speak of "good" or "bad" cholesterol and beyond the balance between the two, it is more appropriate to look at the ratio between HDL and triglycerides.

Finally, there are natural alternatives to chemical treatments and their side effects, plants, foods and dietary supplements providing us with sterols, omega 3s among others.
Not forgetting lifestyle hygiene and exercising.