Paleo f(x) Austin 2014

Clearing Up Cholesterol Confusion

 

Panel: Dr. Daniel Stickler, Dr. Rakesh C. Patel, Dr. Richard Maurer, Jimmy Moore (Moderator)

 

  • Why is  a reading over 200 considered bad? Because of the guidelines from the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP)
  • It is about treating numbers rather than training
  • Most physicians have no training in cholesterol
  • There is a lot of pressure on doctors to prescribe drugs to follow the set standards of care
  • Do not look at cholesterol as a risk factor. Look at diet and lifestyle first and only then move to medication if needed
  • Most doctors treat a number on a paper
  • If you have a heart attack and doctors haven’t prescribed medication they can get sued
  • Doctors must look at all aspects of the patient’s lifestyle and not just their cholesterol number
  • One reading is not enough on its own. Multiple readings are necessary
  • Risk factors such as family history, blood pressure readings, etc need to be considered
  • With cardiovascular disease, we can only treat the risk. It is about risk vs disease
  • Can use a croronary calcium score test – low dose radiation CAT scan. This scans the heart to see if there is any calcification
  • Ultrasound tests are also used
  • Gene expression scoring
  • Despite tests, we really need to look at more general symptoms such as inflammation and fasting glucose
  • STOP MEASURING YOUR CHOLESTEROL NUMBER!
  • An MMR – advanced lipid panel test is sometimes used
  • LDL numbers are calculated by an equation – they are not directly measured
  • Although we do not have a trial to show that small particles are more dangerous, we know that healthy individuals have lower amounts of the smaller, dense LDL
  • The advice to avoid saturated fat etc drops LDLC but compromises the particle

 

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