Oxidized LDL
The article and protocol are for informational purposes only, and not intended as medical advice. Please read the Medical Disclaimer below, and consult with your personal physician before starting supplements and acting upon any information on this website.
High LDL cholesterol is not the real problem, as it is not the main reason that people develop atherosclerosis (cardiovascular disease). The TRUE cause of cardiovascular disease is OXIDIZED LDL cholesterol, combined with arterial inflammation, that leads to arterial calcifications (plaque formation), and hardening of the arteries! It has very little to do with the actual LDL cholesterol level. Therefore, it is not necessary to be overly concerned with one’s LDL cholesterol level (as is the case in medicine), as long as the percentage of LDL cholesterol molecules that are oxidized is low, and inflammation of the arteries is kept at a minimum.
At this time, the best way to get the oxidized LDL cholesterol test, is to get it done through Life Extension. If this link does not work for you, simply type “lifeextension.com” in your browser, and then search their website for, “Oxidized LDL Blood Test.” Consider getting your OXIDIZED LDL cholesterol level checked (the test is called, “oxidized LDL”), as well as your HDL cholesterol, high-sensitivity CRP, and your homocysteine levels checked.
Atherosclerosis is a disease primarily initiated by oxidized LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol and inflammation of the arterial lining (endothelium). Endothelial inflammation is caused by oxidative damage from several sources, including homocysteine, a toxic amino acid intermediary, as well as cortisol (stress), high blood glucose (diabetes, metabolic syndrome), smoking, alcohol, autoimmune factors (rheumatoid arthritis, Lupus, etc.), infections, air pollution, hypoxia (e.g., sleep apnea), and excessive sun exposure. (1 – 4)
Lowering the oxidized LDL cholesterol level is key to reducing the risk for cardiovascular disease! Oxidized LDL cholesterol is not normally checked on routing lipid panels. Your doctor may not have even heard of oxidized LDL cholesterol, yet it remains one of the main factors for the development of cardiovascular disease.
If you are told you have high LDL cholesterol, and then you take a statin drug to lower it down to “acceptable” levels, how much does that lower your risk of cardiovascular disease? The reduction is minimal, and often not consistent, because there is no direct relationship between lowering your LDL cholesterol level and reducing your risk of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD).
Compare that to how much your risk of cardiovascular disease can be reduced by lowering your oxidized LDL cholesterol level. There is a direct relationship of oxidized LDL cholesterol levels and CAD.
There are labs that test for oxidized LDL cholesterol, but finding them can be a chore. I used to recommend people to two different labs, but those labs were bought out by big corporate laboratory companies, and they do not offer it.
The reason that oxidized LDL cholesterol is not widely known or tested for, is that the results would suggest that YOU NEED ANTIOXIDANTS, not drugs! It would be a tacit admission that LDL cholesterol is not the real concern, but rather it is the percentage of oxidized LDL cholesterol. Ideally the oxidized LDL cholesterol percentage to that of total LDL cholesterol should be less than 10%.
Homocysteine, in combination with free radicals from various sources, oxidizes the arterial lining, as well as LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, which leads to endothelial inflammation. Inflammation causes the release of C Reactive Protein (CRP), primarily from the liver— which is a known marker arterial inflammation. (5 – 7)
Homocysteine causes nicks, or cracks, in the endothelium, which is where the inflammation takes place. The LDL cholesterol molecules that are oxidized, or damaged, stick within these endothelial nicks. LDL cholesterol molecules that are not oxidized do not stick to the damaged endothelium, no matter how many LDL cholesterol molecules are present.
Oxidized LDL cholesterol molecules which are stuck within the nicks of the endothelium are then gobbled up by white blood cells, called macrophages. Macrophages gobble up more oxidized LDL cholesterol than they can handle, and eventually burst open, spilling “partially-digested” cholesterol, as if it were lard, under the arterial lining. The partially-digested cholesterol and peroxides released from the dying macrophages cause even more inflammation, which leads to calcification. In essence, this is a scarring process, which we call plaque.
The attempted healing (scarring) of the arteries continues, with plaque building up, and infiltration of smooth muscles from the arterial wall. This bulges into the lumen of the artery, causing eddy currents and reduction of blood flow. In time, arterial spasms and blood clots cause the narrowed artery to partially, or completely, close off. This may result in a stroke or heart attack, depending upon where the occluded artery is located. Usually this is happening throughout the body simultaneously.
Lowering homocysteine to less than 7 micromoles/liter (µmol/L), as well as reducing oxidized LDL cholesterol, raising HDL cholesterol, and lowering triglycerides, all with a full-range of broad spectrum, correctly-dosed pharmaceutical-grade nutritional supplement protocol, is more beneficial for reducing the risk of repeat heart attacks than any drug available. (8 – 15)
For years, doctors have hyper-focused on LDL cholesterol levels, and encouraged continually lowering them with the use of statin drugs. (Please see my article, “Heart Disease” on this website, regarding the risks and dubious benefits of statin drugs.)
HDL, or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, is responsible for clearing out the excess cholesterol in your arteries. Exercise, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids (fish oil), and antioxidants, particularly the bioflavonoid antioxidants, increase HDL cholesterol levels and protect the LDL cholesterol from oxidative damage, and therefore do more to reduce your risk of heart disease than any medication ever could. These factors may also lower one’s LDL cholesterol level, but that effect is secondary, even tertiary to the reduction of oxidized LDL cholesterol levels, raising HDL cholesterol, and reducing inflammation. In other words, lowering LDL cholesterol is not very important compared to the other parameter changes.
There is nothing inherently bad about LDL cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is critical to maintain life. LDL cholesterol only becomes “bad” when it is damaged, or oxidized by free radicals. Only the damaged, or oxidized form of LDL cholesterol sticks to the arterial walls to initiate the formation of plaque.(16) Studies have shown that those who had more atherosclerotic plaque were not necessarily those with higher LDL cholesterol levels, but those with higher percentages of oxidized LDL cholesterol than others. (17)
To learn more about this concept, please consider listening to my audio-book, available on both iTunes and Amazon’s Audible.
To get the audio-book of “The Cholesterol Conspiracy,” from iTunes please CLICK HERE. You can also purchase it as a gift off of iTunes and email the coupon to friends and family.
Also, I think you would find Dr. Myron Wentz’s foreword to The Cholesterol Conspiracy very interesting reading. To read Dr. Wentz’s foreword to the book by CLICKING HERE.
If LDL cholesterol is not oxidized, or damaged, then it will not stick to your arterial walls to form plaque, no matter what the level. That’s good, because LDL cholesterol is GOOD, not bad. It is needed for the cells to function. In fact, you would die without it. When it goes too low, many problems arise.
Even if a person has high LDL cholesterol, they do not have to be at an increased risk of heart attack or death IF they reduce their oxidized LDL cholesterol, boost their HDL cholesterol, and reduce their homocysteine levels! This is the biggest take-away lesson!
It is critical to realize that it is not simply the level of LDL cholesterol that is the issue, it actually is the level of oxidized, or damaged LDL cholesterol that is of greatest concern. Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs do not address the true “bad” cholesterol, the oxidized LDL cholesterol.
The answer to lowering the life-threatening risk of arteriosclerosis, heart disease and stroke is to reduce the oxidative damage to the LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and the arterial lining so that plaque does not form. Oxidation and disease are effectively neutralized with the use of vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil), and other antioxidants, not with statin drugs! (18)
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin. It helps protect LDL cholesterol, as well as all cell membranes in all organ tissues, from oxidative damage. Vitamin E embeds in triglycerides and cholesterol, protecting them from oxidative damage. This has been known for years, and medical studies have touted the benefits of vitamin E. Recent studies show that vitamin E, and especially the form of vitamin E, gamma tocopherol, is able to reduce the risk of heart disease and atherosclerosis beyond its antioxidant effect.
Vitamins provide protection from many diseases. (19, 20) B-complex vitamins, folic acid and B6, are associated with a reduced risk of heart attack. (21, 22) Researchers also believe that vitamin C provides protection to arterial walls and reduces plaque formation by neutralizing free radicals before they can damage elastic tissues and affect cholesterol profiles. (23 – 26) Others have studied the usefulness of a combination of antioxidants, particularly vitamins E, beta-carotene, and vitamin C in the prevention of heart disease and found them to be beneficial. (27 – 29)
In addition, bioflavonoid antioxidants, such as quercetin, grape seed extract, and resveratrol, are associated with a reduction in many diseases, including cardiovascular disease. (30 – 37) Add to this benefits of co-enzyme Q10 and olive phenol antioxidants—and it Is obvious that the benefits are greater than any medication.
Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs reduce one’s co-enzyme Q10 levels, which in turn leads to many health problems (see my article, “Heart Disease”), is a good reason to consider not taking that class of medication. The benefits do not outweigh the risks.
The fat-soluble antioxidants, vitamin E, beta carotene, and co-enzyme Q10 ride along in the blood fat (triglycerides) and LDL cholesterol, protecting them and the endothelium from oxidation. Vitamin E embeds in the surface of LDL cholesterol, protecting it from free radical damage. Beta carotene, grape seed extract and olive extract penetrate deeper inside the LDL cholesterol and arterial walls, adding more protection from oxidation. (38) Quercetin and alpha lipoic acid work through nitrous oxide pathways to reduce high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease.
The B vitamins, particularly vitamin B12, along with betaine, a.k.a., tri-methyl-glycine (TMG), change homocysteine into a safer amino acid, methionine, by adding a methyl group, and reduce inflammation of the LDL cholesterol and the arterial lining. Studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) have shown that lowering homocysteine levels with the B vitamins significantly reduces the risk of heart disease and heart attacks. (39 – 43)
Studies have shown how the B-complex vitamins, particularly folic acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 help reduce homocysteine levels by facilitating the conversion of homocysteine into cysteine.(44, 45) This leaves less homocysteine to oxidize and nick the arterial walls and LDL cholesterol. To further reduce homocysteine levels, one can take the amino acid betaine, also known as tri-methyl-glycine (TMG), as it “back-converts” homocysteine into methionine.
When you receive the results of your homocysteine test, do not accept the answer, “Your test was normal.” Ask for the actual number. The doctor and nurse usually know what is normal by what the lab report states as the “normal range.” Most lab results report a normal homocysteine level as being below 10.4 µmol/L, when in fact, since the early 1990’s, researchers have known that a homocysteine count above 6.5 µmol/L signals a rapid linear rise in the risk for heart disease.
Furthermore, for every 3-point elevation of homocysteine above 6.5 µmol/L, e.g., when homocysteine levels are 9.5 µmol/L, the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) rises by an additional 35%! Yet you may be told that 9.5 µmol/L is “normal and not to worry.” With a homocysteine level of 12.5 µmol/L, the increase in the risk for heart disease exceeds 70%.
The greater the homocysteine level, the greater the oxidation of both LDL cholesterol and the arterial lining. The greater the inflammation, the higher the CRP. Is it any wonder that homocysteine and CRP levels are more predictive for risk of heart disease than cholesterol levels and ratios? (46, 47)
Those who have looked at the studies will have seen that by lowering the percentage of oxidized cholesterol, no matter the actual level of LDL cholesterol, along with raising HDL cholesterol, and lowering homocysteine below 6.5 µmol/L, all with nutritional supplements, a person reduces their risk of heart disease and stroke far greater than by using any drug.
Vitamin C intake is associated with a decreased risk of heart disease. (48, 49) One study found that the risk of death from cardiovascular disease was 42% lower in men and 25% lower in women who consumed more than 300 mg/day of vitamin C. (50) Recent results from the Nurses’ Health Study, based on the follow-up of more than 85,000 women over a sixteen-year period, also suggest that higher vitamin C intakes may be cardio-protective. (51)
Vitamin C and grape seed extract in combination are very powerful in preventing oxidation in all areas — the LDL cholesterol, the endothelium, and deeper in the arterial walls. Furthermore, vitamin C replenishes grape seed extract and vitamin E, and thereby synergistically protects LDL cholesterol and the arterial walls better than any of them separately.
Vitamin K2 helps mobilize calcium out of the arterial walls and drives it back into the bones where it belongs. When a person has osteoporosis and arterial calcifications, I prescribed higher doses of vitamin K2, e.g., 360 – 2000 mcg per day. Blood calcium levels will remain constant, but the decrease in arterial wall calcifications will reduce the hardening of the arteries, and the bones will be strengthened.
In fact, when a person is supplementing with high doses of vitamin D3 (> 1000 IU/day), it is important to also supplement with vitamin K2. One should consider taking 45 mcg per day for every 1000 IU of vitamin D3 that is being consumed. For example, if one is taking 2000 IU per day, as in a quality nutritional vitamin-antioxidant tablet, consider taking at least 90 mcg/day (or more) of vitamin K2 (in the MK-7 form). If one is taking 10,000 IU per day of vitamin D3, then consider taking at least 450 mcg of vitamin K2 per day.
The bioflavonoid class of antioxidants, that include among many others, grape seed extract, resveratrol, and quercetin just to name a few, is associated with reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke by as much as 50% and possibly as high as 70%. (52, 53) Grape seed extract is one of the more potent antioxidants that neutralize free radical oxidation of LDL cholesterol, the arterial lining, the arterial wall, the liver, the brain, the kidneys, and the skin. Both grape seed extract and quercetin work synergistically with other antioxidants, and even more so with resveratrol, also from red grapes.
Resveratrol can lower LDL cholesterol levels, but it is the reduction of oxidized LDL cholesterol that has the greater effect on preventing atherosclerosis.(54) Supplementation with a combination of grape seed extract and resveratrol work synergistically to reduce LDL cholesterol levels, Apo-protein B levels, oxidized LDL cholesterol levels, and raise HDL cholesterol levels. (55) The combination of these two antioxidants derived from the red grape work better together to have this dual effect than either micronutrient can do alone.
Green tea extract helps to both reduce the oxidation of LDL cholesterol and to lower LDL cholesterol.(56) This is more helpful than just lowering LDL cholesterol as with prescription drugs. Green tea extract also reduces the oxidation of the arterial endothelium. Green tea extract not only increases HDL cholesterol, it helps prevent cancer.
Olive oil and olive extract bestow incredible health benefits. There are powerful phenol antioxidants within the fruit of olives that are associated with a significant decreased risk of heart attack and cancer. The Mediterranean diet, in which olive oil is the primary source of fat, has been shown to provide the longest lifespan and lowest incidence of heart disease and cancers compared to other diets. (57 – 59)
Many studies have shown olive oil reduces death from heart disease by reducing atherosclerosis, plaque formation, lowering LDL cholesterol, preventing oxidation of LDL cholesterol, raising HDL cholesterol, and preventing abnormal and potentially lethal clot formation. (60 – 68)
Alpha-lipoic acid protects against oxidative damage to LDL cholesterol and reduces the inflammatory cellular response within arterial walls that produces more oxidative damage and plaque formation. (69) Alpha-lipoic acid, along with magnesium, is able to prevent and help reduce high blood pressure in diabetics. This is accomplished by raising the levels of glutathione to protect bio-mechanisms that regulate arterial tone. (70, 71)
The combination of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), vitamin E, grape seed extract, olive extract, green tea extract, quercetin, resveratrol, turmeric extract, and Co-Q10 synergistically work together in the prevention of oxidation of LDL cholesterol and the arteries much better than any of these working alone. (72)
Omega-3 essential fatty acids as from fish oil, especially a quality brand that is ensured to provide concentrated levels of both DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), helps reduce oxidation of LDL cholesterol and arterial inflammation, which means a reduction cardiovascular disease.(73)
Most commercially-available fish oil supplements consist primarily of EPA, and less DHA. Yet scientific evidence shows it is the DHA component that is more effective in preventing heart disease. (74, 75) Worse, is the concern of mercury – which is more of a problem with eating fish. The best advice I can give is to use a pure fish oil brand with concentrated DHA levels, manufactured to standards that eliminate contaminants, such as BCP’s and dioxins.
In a study consisting of 11,323 people who had suffered a heart attack within the previous three months, fish oil supplements (850 mg of EPA & DHA) were shown to reduce the risk of sudden death and repeat heart attacks by 45%, and provide a 20% decrease in total mortality, versus placebo. (75)
Fish oil is an omega-3 fatty acid that gets incorporated into cholesterol and triglycerides and prevents the oxidation of LDL cholesterol. Since LDL cholesterol is protected from excessive oxidation there is less plaque buildup, and less risk of heart disease. (76 )
The Framingham Cohort study, among many others, revealed that high levels of CRP are associated with the severity of coronary artery calcifications, i.e., atherosclerosis.(77, 78) Even in the presence of no other risk factors, people with the highest levels of CRP have five times the risk of developing atherosclerosis, and five times the risk of having a heart attack compared to those with lower levels. (79, 80)
Antioxidants, including vitamin E, vitamin C, grape seed extract, resveratrol, turmeric extract, green tea extract, olive extract, fish oil, and more reduce inflammation and CRP levels, and therefore, a marker for the risk of cardiovascular disease is lowered. The best way to get rid of oxidation, or inflammation, is with antioxidants. If statin drugs were to work at all, it would be because they lower inflammation (a little), not due to their ability to lower LDL cholesterol. (81, 82)
Consider getting at least these tests:
• Oxidized LDL (You will have to find a lab to get this test.)
• HDL Cholesterol
• Triglycerides
• Homocysteine
• C Reactive Protein (High Sensitivity)
At this time, the best way to get the oxidized LDL cholesterol test, is to get it done through Life Extension. If this link does not work for you, simply type “lifeextension.com” in your browser, and then search their website for, “Oxidized LDL Blood Test.” Consider getting your OXIDIZED LDL cholesterol level checked (the test is called, “oxidized LDL”), as well as your HDL cholesterol, high-sensitivity CRP, and your homocysteine levels checked.
To Learn More About This Concept, Please Consider Listening to My Audio-Book, available on both iTunes and Audible.
To get the audio book of “The Cholesterol Conspiracy,” from iTunes please CLICK HERE. If this link to iTunes does not work for you, simply click here, laddmcnamara.com, to go to my main website, and then click on the image of The Cholesterol Conspiracy book within that article, and that will redirect to iTunes. It is that article where you can read the foreword by Dr. Myron Wentz’s: CLICK HERE.
Please read Dr. Myron Wentz’s foreword to this book by CLICKING HERE.
The article and protocol are for informational purposes only, and not intended as medical advice. Please read the Medical Disclaimer below, and consult with your personal physician before starting supplements and acting upon any information on this website.
Minimal Protocol to Protect LDL Cholesterol and Arteries
Basic Protocol to Protect LDL Cholesterol and Arteries
Average Protocol to Protect LDL Cholesterol and Arteries
Advanced Protocol to Protect LDL Cholesterol and Arteries
Ingredients that I like to see provided collectively by vitamin-antioxidant & chelated mineral tablets
Vitamin A, mostly as Beta Carotene
Vitamin C
Vitamin D3
Vitamin E
Vitamin K (K1 & K2)
B-Complex Vitamins
Curcumin (turmeric extract)
Quercetin
Green Tea Extract
Olive Extract
Rutin
Resveratrol
Choline
Lutein
Lycopene
N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC)
Calcium
Magnesium
Iodine (as potassium iodide)
Zinc
Selenium
Copper
Manganese
Chromium
Molybdenum
Including Ultra Trace Minerals
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