Natasha Campbell McBride, MD explains very well our need for cholesterol in her article published in Wise Traditions, Fall of 2007, p. 20-26. “In the modern world, cholesterol has almost become a swear word. Thanks to the promoters of the diet-heart hypothesis, everybody “knows” that cholesterol is “evil” and has to be fought at every turn. If you believe the popular media, you would think that there is simply no level of cholesterol low enough. If you are over a certain age, you are likely to be tested for how much cholesterol you have in your blood. If it is higher than about 200 mg./100 ml (5.1mol/l), you may be prescribed a “cholesterol pill.” Millions of people around the world take these pills, thinking that this way they are taking good care of their health. What these people don’t realize is just how far from the truth they are. The truth is that we humans cannot live without cholesterol. Let us see why.”

“Our bodies are made of billions of cells. Almost every cell produces cholesterol all the time during all of our lives. Why? Because every cell of every organ has cholesterol as part of its structure. Cholesterol is an integral part of cell membranes, the membranes that enclose each cell, and also the membranes surrounding all the organelles inside the cell. What is cholesterol doing there? It’s doing a number of things. “

“First of all, saturated fat and cholesterol make the membranes of the cells firm – without them the cells would become flabby and fluid. If we humans didn’t have cholesterol and saturated fats in the membranes of our cells, we would look like giant worms or slugs. And we are not talking about a few molecules of cholesterol here and there. In many cells, almost half of the membrane is made from cholesterol. Different kinds of cells in the body need different amounts of cholesterol, depending on their function and purpose. If the cell is part of a protective barrier, it will have a lot of cholesterol to make it strong, sturdy, and resistant to any invasion. If a cell or an organelle inside the cell needs to be soft and fluid, it will have less cholesterol in its structure.

Cholesterol and saturated fat firm up arteries and blood vessels, particularly those that have to withstand the high pressure and turbulence of blood flow. The blood deposits a layer of cholesterol and saturated fat to make them stronger, tougher and more rigid. These layers are called fatty streaks. They are completely normal. Various indigenous populations around the world, who never suffer from heart disease, have plenty of fatty streaks in the blood vessels in old and young, including children. Fatty streaks are not indicative of the disease called atherosclerosis.”

“The human brain is particularly high in cholesterol: around 25% of all body cholesterol is accounted for by the brain. If the foetus doesn’t get enough cholesterol during development, the child may be born with a congenital abnormality called “cyclopean eye.”

People with low blood cholesterol are prone to various infections, suffer from them longer, and are more likely to die from an infection. Cholesterol is a marvellous healing agent. The liver sends cholesterol to the site of the injury because the body cannot clear the infection, remove toxic elements or heal the wound without cholesterol and fats.

In Nourishing Traditions, chef and research author, Sally Fallon, creates the best cookbook ever with extensive scientific research. She presents the research of teams of scientists who challenge politically correct nutrition and diet dictocrats and guide us to the truth of all things. This book, as of 1999 out of Washington, D.C. collects historical perceptions and traditional recipes from all over the world. Sally’s forty years of investigations includes research on the fat of cavemen and our forefathers that kept them hardy and healthy in harsh cold climates on every continent. What Sally has to say about cholesterol is in total agreement with the teachings of the Edison Institute of Nutrition (1994) established in Canada by David Rowland, PhD. nutrition (1983).

“Here too the public has been misinformed. Our blood vessels can become damaged in a number of ways – through irritation caused by free radicals or viruses, or because they are structurally weak – and when this happens, the body’s natural healing substance steps in to repair the damage. That substance is cholesterol. Cholesterol is a high molecular-weight alcohol that is manufactured in the liver and in most human cells. Like saturated fats, the cholesterol we make and consume plays many vital roles:

-- Along with saturated fats, cholesterol in the cell membranes gives our cells necessary stiffness and stability. When the diet contains an excess of polyunsaturated fatty acids, these replace saturated fatty acids in the cell membrane, so that the cell walls actually become flabby. When this happens, cholesterol from the blood is “driven” into the tissues to give them structural integrity. This is why serum cholesterol levels may go down temporarily when we replace saturated fats with polyunsaturated oil in the diet.” James, P.J, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Aug 1997, 66 (1) :438-46, Julian, A.D. et al, Journal of Nutrition, Dec 1982, 112: (12) 2240-9.

-- Cholesterol acts as a precursor to D, a vital fat soluble hormone needed for healthy bones and nervous system, proper growth, mineral metabolism, muscle tone, insulin production, reproduction and immune system function. Our recent misguided fears of the sun and avoidance of cholesterol-rich foods have created an epidemic of vitamin D deficiency in the western world.

-- The bile salts are made from cholesterol. Bile is vital for digestion and assimilation of dietary fats such as vitamin A, D, E, and K. Cholesterol is the major building block of D3.

-- Recent research shows that cholesterol acts as an antioxidant. Cranton, E.M. MD, and J.P. Frackelton, MD, Journal of Holistic Medicine, Spring/summer 1984, 6-37. This is the likely explanation for the fact that cholesterol levels go up with age. As an antioxidant, cholesterol protects us against free radical damage that leads to heart disease and cancer.

-- “Cholesterol is needed for proper function of serotonin receptors in the brain.” Engleberg, Hyman, the Lancet, Mar 21, 1992, 339:727-728; Wood, W.G. et al, Lipids, Mar 1999, 34 (3) :225-234. Serotonin is the body’s natural “feel good” chemical. Low cholesterol levels have been linked to aggressive and violent behavior, depression and suicidal tendencies. “In my clinic, I see growing number of people with memory loss who have been taking cholesterol lowering drugs.” Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD. Cambridge, MA,

-- Mother’s milk is especially rich in cholesterol and contains a special enzyme that helps the baby utilize this nutrient 100% because the developing brain and eyes of the infant require large amounts of it. Babies and children need cholesterol-rich foods throughout their growing years to ensure proper development of the brain and nervous system. Children deprived of cholesterol in infancy may end up with poor eyesight and brain function. Manufacturers of infant formulas are aware of this fact, yet, following the anti-cholesterol dogma, they produce formulas with virtually no cholesterol in them.

-- Dietary cholesterol plays an important role in maintaining the health of the intestinal wall. Alfin-Slater, R.B., and L. Aftergood, Lipids, Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 6^th ed. R. S. Goodhart and M.E. Shils, eds, Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia 1980, 134. This is why low cholesterol vegetarian diets can lead to leaky gut syndrome and other intestinal disorders.

“Cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease but rather a potent antioxidant weapon against free radicals in the blood, and a repair substance that helps arterial damage (although the arterial plaques themselves contain very little cholesterol). However, like fats, cholesterol may be damaged by exposure to heat and oxygen. The damaged or oxidized cholesterol seem to promote both injury to the arterial cells as well as pathological build-up of plaque in the arteries. Addis Paul, Food and Nutrition News, March –April 1990, 62:2:7-10. Damaged cholesterol is found in powdered eggs, in powdered milk (added to reduced fat milks to give them body) and n meats and fats that have been heated to high temperatures in frying or other high temperature processes.

High serum cholesterol levels often indicate that the body needs cholesterol to protect itself from high levels of altered, free radical-containing fats. Just as a large police force is needed in a locality where crime occurs frequently, so cholesterol is needed in a poorly nourished body to protect the individual from a tendency to heart disease and cancer. Blaming coronary heart disease on cholesterol is like blaming the police for murder and theft in a high crime area.

High cholesterol levels will often result from poor thyroid function (hypothyroidism). When thyroid function is poor, usually due to a diet high in sugar and low in stable iodine, fat-soluble vitamins and other nutrients, the body floods the blood with cholesterol as an adaptive and protective mechanism, providing a superabundance of materials needed to heal tissues and produce protective steroids. Hypothyroid individuals are particularly susceptible to infections, heart disease and cancer. Barnes, Broda and L. Galton, Hypothyroidism, the unsuspected Illness, 1976, TY Crowell, New York, NY

The cause of heart disease is not animal fats and cholesterol but rather a number of factors inherent in modern diets, including excess consumption of vegetable oils and hydrogenated fats; excess consumption of refined carbohydrates in the form of sugar and white flour; mineral deficiencies, particularly low levels of protective magnesium and iodine; deficiencies of vitamins, particularly of vitamin A, C, and D, needed for integrity of blood vessel walls and of antioxidants like selenium and vitamin E, which protect us from free radicals; and, finally, the disappearance of antimicrobial fats from the food supply, namely animal fats and tropical oils.” Fallon, Sally, and Mary Enig, PhD, “Diet and Heart Disease – Not what you Think,” Consumers’ Research, July 1996, 15-19. see also, What Causes Heart Disease,” posted at www.westonaprice.org These once protected us against the kinds of viruses and bacteria that have been associated with the onset of pathogenic plaque leading to heart disease.

Serum cholesterol levels do not provide an accurate indication of future heart disease, high levels of a substance called homocysteine has been positively correlated with pathological build-up of plaque in the arteries and the tendency to form clots – a deadly combination. Folic acid, B6, B12 and choline are nutrients that lower serum homocysteine levels. Ubbink, JB Nutrition Reviews, Nov 1994, 52:11:383-393. These nutrients are found mostly in animal foods.

Cholesterol levels vary in the same individual at different times of the year. In winter it goes up and in summer it goes down. It goes through the roof when people have surgery, or an infection, or after a dental treatment. It becomes normal when we feel relaxed and feel well. When the body has some healing jobs to do, it produces cholesterol and sends it to the site of damage.

Lori Nichols Davies is currently the CEO of Holistic Cooking Academy of Canada based in Carleton Place, Ontario.

Ms. Davies is a Canadian pioneer in research and education for Applied Nutrition. Lori is a passionate writer, a teacher, and an exciting guest speaker at conferences, and on radio and TV, and a political activist.

She has trained over 2,000 home chefs since 1998 in Ottawa, has four Alumni members in the Capital Region, and twenty-one holistic cooking instructors in training across Canada and the United States. The holistic cooking programs are designed to prevent disease. She has collected a team of multiple disciplinary health professionals to assist the public to get well and stay well. Have a look at the members of the Advisory Board.

Ms Davies began her professional career as a nutrition consultant in Toronto in 1972 - long before any formal schools were formed in holistic nutrition. The first three of nine schools today were formalized in 1994-1996. In 1972, when she was hired by Lionel Pasen as a his right hand serving as a Food and Health Consultant coddled by the Canadian Health Food Industry, she managed one store and then four stores as a General Manager in short order.

Ms. Davies not only hired staff but also trained them based on personal studies and exposure to research scientists at special health conferences. Through her employer, who is still co-owner of Thuna's on Danforth, Canada's oldest herbal store, she became active in the Canadian Consumers Health Organization to defend it from Big Pharma. (Mr. Pason is now President of Natural Products Consulting Corp www.npc-corp.ca) and spokesperson representing the health food companies with a very reasonable voice to Health Canada.)