Americans are cholesterol obsessed and for good reason. The importance of lowering the level of “bad” cholesterol, or LDL, and reducing the “good” cholesterol, HDL, has been shown in many studies to reduce the risk of heart disease. While many struggle to get their cholesterol down in the normal range, there seem to be a lucky few who have enviably low levels. But are they really happy? Can too low cholesterol be healthy?
If your cholesterol is too low, can it increase your risk of health problems? Some studies have shown that when cholesterol is too low, it can subtly change the way the brain functions, increasing the risk of psychological changes, such as depression, anxiety, and even suicide. The risk of these psychological changes occurring does not increase until cholesterol levels fall below 160.
Another association between low cholesterol levels and the risk of developing cancer has been found, although this is not necessarily causal. affinity It is possible that people who have cancer have already developed a drop in cholesterol levels because of the disease. It is also possible that because people who have a low level of cholesterol have a reduced risk of heart disease, they are more likely to stay around and eventually develop cancer. The relationship between cancer and cholesterol in this area remains unclear.
One thing is known, that even if cholesterol is too low by medical standards, it has a positive impact on the risk of developing heart disease, the main cause of death in “>United States. This should be reassuring since this association has been proven while the negative risks of low cholesterol levels are still theoretical. For this reason, some doctors encourage you to lower your cholesterol level by eating a healthy diet to reduce the theoretical risk of developing depression or cancer.
One situation where low cholesterol can be a concern is when a woman is pregnant. A study conducted by the NIH in 2007 showed that low cholesterol levels in pregnant women may increase the risk of premature birth. or delivering a child with a heavy weight in a lowly birth. In this particular study, women who had cholesterol levels less than 159 had a twenty-one percent chance of experiencing a miscarriage. Interestingly, women with high cholesterol levels have also been shown to have a high incidence of premature birth. It appears that there is an optimal level of cholesterol, neither too high nor too low, which gives the greatest probability of an uncomplicated pregnancy.
If you are taking a lipid-lowering drug such as a statin and your cholesterol is too low, should you stop your medication? This is something you should discuss with your doctor. A low level of cholesterol can simply be a marker for the risk of certain diseases such as cancer and play no causal role at all. Currently, the biggest concern from a medical point of view is elevated cholesterol which has been proven to increase the risk of heart disease. Until more definitive studies are conducted assessing the risks of low cholesterol, most doctors will likely focus on low cholesterol levels for heart health.
