Cholesterol has always been described as an enemy of our heart and bad for our health. Whenever this word is mentioned somewhere, you feel that it is going to harm your heart or something. But the doctors say that this is wrong thinking which we have been accepting as true for a long time. Yes, it is being said that cholesterol is also essential for the body and our health. Therefore, we talked to Dr. Haresh Mehta (Interventional Cardiologist, Hinduja Healthcare Surgical, Khar) and tried to know from him whether cholesterol is not really bad for the heart. Here is his answer:
‘Is cholesterol really the cause of heart disease? Does lowering cholesterol help health? Are statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs) beneficial or harmful? There is a lot of information on social media and the internet, due to which you may get confused.
One of the greatest truths about cholesterol is that it is an essential part of every cell in the body. Our body needs about one-third of the cholesterol needed through diet, while about two-thirds of cholesterol is produced (by the liver) in the body. High levels of ‘LDL cholesterol’ (bad cholesterol) are associated with cardiovascular disease risk, while high levels of ‘HDL cholesterol’ (good cholesterol) are protective.
‘Research shows that the amount and type of cholesterol we eat can affect the level of cholesterol in the blood. Dietary fat, especially saturated and trans fat, can increase cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels in the blood. Remember that high cholesterol levels and LDL cholesterol levels in the blood increase the risk of heart disease, while its low levels reduce the risk. High HDL cholesterol level helps reduce the risk of heart disease.
‘In 1984,’ National Institutes of Health (USA) ‘said: to prove this It has been tried that lowering LDL cholesterol will reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and the resulting heart attacks.
‘However, There are some groups that dispute cholesterol associated with the lipid hypothesis. In 2015, a paper reported that 92 percent of people with high cholesterol levels live longer. After this there was a lot of discussion on social media.
‘To reduce the confusion associated with cholesterol, a detailed medical review was carried out and in 2016 respected medical journals. One of them was published in Lancet. This showed that the number of people who survived a heart attack and stroke by taking statin therapy was higher than those who showed its side effects. In addition, most side effects can be neutralized by stopping statin therapy. However, the effects of a heart attack or stroke are severe and dangerous. Therefore, the most important step to lower cholesterol is a good diet, regular walk (or aerobic exercise), and a healthy lifestyle. ‘