MY DOCTOR TELLS ME MY CHOLESTEROL IS HIGH…WHY DOESN’T THIS MATTER TO MY HEART? To really understand this, you need to understand how the body processes fats through the liver. Basically, our body uses proteins to carry fats around the body.
In general, the more protein (thus more dense) one of these carrier molecules has, the safer it is for our blood vessels and heart. The more fat (and less dense) in the molecule the more it can damage the vessels. In someone who is prediabetic (and has high triglycerides), the liver makes more of the less dense molecules (VLDL attached to Apo C III). It is a bad shift from dense HDL to very light VLDL and the use of the protein Apo C III.
Total cholesterol is merely one single value in a sea of these molecules, and what types of molecules we have floating in our blood is more of a reflection of how healthy we are rather than having a single value (like total cholesterol) as an indicator.
So, to REALLY get an idea of what our risk of heart disease is, we need an overall total picture of these molecules. Looking at the single marker (total cholesterol) is the equivalent of looking through a telescope at the ground in front of you as you walk. Really kind of pointless….