Did You Know That There Are Other Factors That Can Raise Your Cholesterol Levels Above Normal Besides Diet?

Posted on May 24th, 2017

What is cholesterol and where does its name come from?

Wikipedia has the following to say about cholesterol:

The name cholesterol comes from the Ancient Greek word chole-(bile) and stereos (solid), followed by the chemical suffix-ol, which is for alcohol.

Cholesterol is a steroid or modified sterol (1), a type of lipid molecule that is biosynthesized in all animal cells and is an essential component for the integrity of all animal membranes, including the structure of the cell wall and also its fluidity.

Cholesterol serves as a precursor for steroid hormones, bile acids and Vitamin D(2).

Cholesterol is the principal sterol synthesized by all animals and in vertebrates; the hepatic cells produce the most cholesterol.

There are two types of cholesterol that the medical profession is concerned about.

High Density Lipid (HDL) is referred to as the “good” cholesterol.

It functions to carry the Low Density Lipid (LDL) from the walls of the arteries back to the liver.

The Low Density Lipid (LDL) is referred to as the “bad” cholesterol.

It contributes to the fatty build up in the walls of arteries causing arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis; which leads to the constriction of the lumen of the arteries and the possibility of causing a heart attack or stroke(3).

Phytosterols like avocado, flaxseed, green tea, garlic and peanuts compete with cholesterols to help stop their intestinal absorption, but seem not to be too effective in doing so(4).

What are some of the diseases that the medical profession is concerned about when their patient has elevated amounts of cholesterol?

. Coronary heart disease (CHD)

. Stroke caused by occlusion of arteries and the possibility of bursting.

. Peripheral artery disease. According to WebMD, this is due to reduced

  blood flow to the legs.

. High blood pressure

. Type 2 diabetes

. Gallstones

What are the dietary causes of excess cholesterol?

One major cause comes from eating too many foods that are high in saturated fats, trans fats and cholesterol.

Which are the foods to avoid that contain large amounts of cholesterol(5)?

. Cheese

. Egg yolk

. Beef

. Pork

. Poultry

, Fish

. Shrimp

The medical profession is definitely concerned about elevated amounts of cholesterol being produced by their patients and causing clinical symptoms and disease, but are there other factors beside diet that can affect cholesterol levels?

There are definitely other factors that can affect cholesterol levels and the following are some of those factors:

1) According to Healthline, hypothyroidism can be a major cause for elevated amounts of cholesterol, including increased amounts of LDL.

Proper amounts of thyroid hormones are necessary for the body to reduce the cholesterol that is not needed and used by the body.

Even people, according to Healthline that were sub clinically hypothyroid, had elevated amounts of LDL.

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM) found that high levels of TSH alone can raise cholesterol levels even if the thyroid hormone levels were not high.

NOTE: This might be happening because the thyroid hormone receptor sites are bound, due to elevated amounts of total (adrenal) estrogen, which usually is never measured.

My own clinical observations in canines and felines, have indicated that low levels of thyroxin (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) will cause the production of increased amounts of cholesterol.

What also needs to be realized is that there are other factors that can cause a state of hypothyroidism, even though the patient has normal levels of T3 and T4.

What are those other factors?

  • When a cortisol imbalance is present, the inner layer adrenal cortex will produce large amounts of adrenal estrogen, which will block the receptor sites for T3 and T4 and even if those thyroid hormones are present in proper amounts, they are not available for use in the patient’s body. This may caused increased levels of cholesterol(6).
  • When a cortisol imbalance is present, T4 will not be transferred into active T3 hormone and a state of hypothyroidism may still exist(7).
  • If a Thyroid Binding Globulin (TBG) is being produced, the patient can still be hypothyroid(8).
  • Removal of the thyroid gland may cause elevated amounts of cholesterol to be produced.
  • Excess radiation of the thyroid gland will reduce the production of thyroid hormones and may increase amounts of cholesterol.
  • Since Cholesterol is a precursor to Pregnenolone, to Progesterone and finally to Cortisol, unfortunately if the stereogenic enzymes are not present or not present in proper amounts to help with conversions from one hormone progression to next, conversion may not happen. If this occurs, the lack of conversion might leave the patient with excessive amounts of cholesterol and a cortisol deficiency, which both might lead to the development of major, catastrophic diseases.

If a person is unable to alter their elevated cholesterol levels with a change in diet, than they may want to speak to their healthcare professional about having the following serum blood tests performed, in order to see if they have one of those other factors that might be causing their increased amounts of cholesterol, besides diet.

The following is a list of those serum blood tests:

. Cortisol

. Total estrogen

. HDL

. LDL

. Total T3

. Total T4

, TSH

. TBG

. Immunoglobulin A (IgA) (9)

NOTE: The reason for including the IgA level is because my clinical observation in humans indicates if a patient’s IgA level is not at 68 mg/dL or higher, many types of supplements, including thyroid hormone supplements, may not be absorbed through the gut wall.

Hopefully my clinical observations and experiences, including this information, may help you if you a have problem with elevated amounts of cholesterol and changing to a low cholesterol diet has not helped.

Sincerely,

Dr. AL Plechner

 

References:

  1. Cholesterol at the US National Library fo Medicine Medical Subject Heading
  2. Hanakoglu I (Dec. 1992) Sterogenic enzymes, structure, function and regulation of hormone synthesis. Journal of Steroid Biochemistry MOL BIO 43 779-804
  3. Healthline (Internet)
  4. Medline Plus (Internet)
  5. USDA National Nutrient Database. USDA Retrieved 2008 10-20
  6. Cortisol Abnormality Causing Elevated Estrogen and
  7. Immune Destabilization; Medical Hypothesis 2004 Plechner
  8. Unrecognized Endocrine Immune Defects in Multiple Diseases; Medical Hypothesis 2003 Plechner
  9. The Importance of IgA Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients; Nov 2005 Plechner