Post
by ofonorow » Sun Aug 10, 2008 6:04 am
This is a very good question, thank you for asking.
I've attempted to answer this question in the past using the analogy of sinus mucous. Mucous has evolved to help the body expel unwanted particles from "outside" the body, e.g. from the sinuses and lungs. We then cough or sneeze and the particulate are expelled.
The analogy is not perfect, but modern medicine has come up with "wonder drugs" that prevent the formation of mucous. These "antihistamines" artificially lower mucous production within cells. People don't cough or have stuffy heads, so they temporarily feel better.
But do antihistamines cure the cold, or remove the particulate that the body detected and then created the mucous to fight? No, and the overuse of antihistamines has created a chronic sinusitis in millions. Perhaps because these particulate have become imbedded in the sinus tissue.
I believe Dr. Levy has found considerable research that one of the functions of cholesterol is similar to mucous. It helps detoxify the blood of unwanted toxins. What is interesting, is that after the toxic load is reduced, say after dental amalgams are removed, the cholesterol levels decline within days. So lower cholesterol can be a positive signal. But medicine again has a drug to artificially lower cholesterol, without dealing with the underlying reason that cholesterol became elevated. And to lower it without dealing with the reason it was elevated, simply makes the underlying problem worse because we have hurt one of the body's defense mechanisms.
So I think it is perfectly logical to monitor cholesterol, and generally interpret its decline as a positive signal about the underlying disease process, so long as the person is not taking a drug which artificially lowers cholesterol.
Its the idea of treating the symptoms. This is always good for medicine, in general, but bad for patients.
p.s. I believe that vitamin C is intimately involved with the levels of both mucous and cholesterol in the body. Vitamin C is an antihistamine, and remarkably, it is also an HMG CoA Reductase inhibitor (which gives it the propertly to reduce cholesterol levels. When vitamin C is "used up" fighting toxins or colds, mucous develops and cholesterol levels tend to rise. When these toxins are overcome, more vitamin C enters the cells which product mucous and/or cholesterol, lowering the production of these detoxifiers.
Owen R. Fonorow
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