Low cholesterol can be harmful to your health — yes, you read that right

Yesterday, I told you about research that links low LDL cholesterol to increased cancer risk.

The existing evidence is compelling, but we still need additional research to confirm this link.

Meanwhile, cancer is not the only risk associated with low cholesterol.

Years ago, the Framingham heart study linked low total cholesterol with increased heart risks.

More recently, an analysis of the Honolulu Heart Program produced similar results. Researchers seemed dumbfounded. They wrote, “We have been unable to explain our results.”

They found that “long-term persistence of low cholesterol actually increases the risk of death” in older people.

And: “The earlier that patients start to have lower cholesterol concentrations, the greater the risk of death.”

Of course, these studies don’t make headlines. The reason is obvious. They don’t fit the mainstream mindset that cholesterol is like a disease you have to drive out of your body.

Sources:
“Cholesterol, Low” Thomas Cowan, M.D., Weston A Price Foundation, 8/9/05, westonaprice.org

“Cholesterol and all-cause mortality in elderly people from the Honolulu Heart Program: a cohort study” The Lancet, Vol. 358, No. 9279, 8/4/01, thelancet.com