"CHIROPRACTIC FOR AN EVOLVING PLANET"

Jeffrey Benton, D.C.,N.M.D. 6360 Wilshire Blvd. #210 Los Angeles, CA. 90048  (323) 297.0566

THE CHOLESTEROL TEST

The Cholesterol Story - What’s Missing?

For the past 50 years, scientists have been learning about the role of cholesterol in the bloodstream. Doctors were initially interested in “total” cholesterol. More recently, scientists discovered the importance of LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol (so-called “good” cholesterol).

You may know your cholesterol count - your doctor may have discussed your LDL, HDL, or triglycerides with you. Although these numbers are useful for some patients in determining their heart risk, they don’t tell the whole story for many patients and their risk of developing heart disease.

Today, scientists have begun to realize that determining your risk for heart disease is not as simple as just measuring your cholesterol.

THE REST OF THE CHOLESTEROL STORY

It is well known that most (70%-80%) of the cholesterol in the body is produced by the body. Only about 20%-30% is derived from dietary sources. With this in mind, elevated cholesterol should first be thought of as the inability of the body to break it down. This usually involves correcting a toxic bowel (which interferes with cholesterol metabolism), supplementing as appropriate, and proper aerobic exercise. Still, diet can play a role in elevated cholesterol and may need to be addressed as well.

Consider that the liver is the primary cholesterol conversion organ, and also that the liver has a great organ reserve capacity. Hence, most patients with elevated cholesterol do not show any findings related to the liver, except one, an applied Kinesiology reflex test.

 

LIVER PASSES THE CHOLESTEROL BUCK

What appears to happen in elevated cholesterol is that the liver adapts, showing no problems to our examination, but this adaptation occurs at the expense of some other muscle/organ circuit which becomes stressed.

It is like the liver cranks up its function a notch to try to keep up with the increased cholesterol, but then “passes the buck” of that stress to some other muscle/organ circuit.

This is confirmed by the patient showing a bilateral PMS inhibition on oral insalivation of cholesterol or a cholesterol containing substance such as butter, cheese, bacon, or lard. This PMS weakness is negated by rubbing the liver VRP (suggesting the need for rubbing the liver Chapman’s NL reflex) and also by TL to the liver NL.

GOOD & BAD: LARGE & SMALL: Recent laboratory developments have superceded the previously used cholesterol parameters of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol. Of course we always want a higher HDL and a lower LDL, but there are subclasses based on the particle sizes of the HDL and the LDL. Evaluation of these various sized particles greatly enhances our abilities for evaluating risk factors.

There are 5 HDL subclasses and 4 LDL subclasses, the larger ones in each group being the preferable, the smaller particle sizes indicating higher risk. That’s right, there is a “good” HDL and a “bad” HDL and there is a “good” LDL and a “bad” LDL, all based on particle size. So to achieve decreased cardiovascular risk (CVD), you want large HDL particles and large LDL particles in your blood.

The number of LDL particles for any given LDL level is also very important: fewer LDL particles are good. So for a decreased CVD risk, you want a low LDL cholesterol, but you also want a larger LDL particle size and, hence, a lower number of LDL particles.

There are similar patterns related to VLDL (triglyceride) subclasses which are beyond the scope of our present discussion. All of these factors can be measured in the blood at a reasonable cost. For more information on these topics, we will refer you to Liposciences Lab.

¢ LIPOSCIENCES LAB in Raleigh, North Carolina is one of just a few laboratories performing a comprehensive lipid profile with these new HDL and LDL parameters. Their NMR LipoProfile is a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance test which measures LDL and HDL particle numbers and sizes on patients’ plasma specimens. The blood specimens are shipped by overnight courier at a reasonable cost.

With the breakthrough of this new understanding, the diagnosis and appropriate treatment of this condition is finally available. Some of the most tortured patients that ever cross a doctor's door can be miraculously helped, elevating health to a high level of well-being.

If you would like to ask Dr. Benton questions about your cholesterol level, please fill out the health questionnaire form

back up

next topic: " Optimal Health Naturally "

Go Back