Cholesterol: The Misunderstood Molecule That We Were Told to Fear
We’re born as a beautiful ball of fat—and it’s a BEAUTIFUL thing.
From the moment we enter the world, cholesterol is there- surrounding our nerves, protecting our brain, forming our hormones, and building the membranes of every cell in our body. It's not the enemy. It’s a foundational molecule of life.
So how did we get here? How did a life-giving substance become Public Enemy #1 in the war on heart disease?
And how many people, like my father, have paid the price for this misunderstanding?
What Is Cholesterol & Where Does It Come From?
Cholesterol is a fatty molecule produced by your liver and every cell in your body. In fact, 85% of the cholesterol in your blood is made by you—not eaten.
Cholesterol’s roles include:
Building cell membranes
Producing vitamin D
Creating bile acids (for fat digestion)
Serving as the raw material for steroid hormones: cortisol, estrogen, testosterone (HELLO!)
Nourishing the brain and nervous system
Supporting immune repair
Your brain alone contains 20% of your body’s cholesterol. Every nerve is insulated by cholesterol-rich myelin. Without it, your nervous system frays—slowly, subtly, then suddenly. You think you have anxiety or brain fog now?
LDL Isn’t “Bad”—It’s a Delivery System
LDL (low-density lipoprotein) isn’t actually cholesterol—it’s the carrier protein that delivers cholesterol and fat-soluble nutrients (like CoQ10 and vitamin E) where they’re needed. Yes, LDL can oxidize and become dangerous—but that doesn’t mean LDL is the villain. It’s like blaming ambulances for the fact that they show up at emergencies; fire trucks a fires and so on.
The question shouldn’t be “How do we get rid of LDL?” It should be “What’s making LDL go bad?”
The War on Cholesterol: A Profitable Mistake
Cholesterol became the enemy in the mid-20th century, thanks to flawed science, industry interests, and political momentum. Statins entered the scene and suddenly, lowering a number became the goal. Doctors (and patients) were patting their backs all over the place! But, heart attacks, strokes and circulatory issues were still occurring. And, now, there were other conditions popping up (due to the new drug that lowered the number or the number, itself, being lowered?).
So, here’s the problem: lowering cholesterol doesn't fix what causes heart disease.
AND lowering it too far can cause real damage! I used to fight this complaint by some holistic practitioners because I thought to myself, “They wouldn’t let these drugs on the market if they didn’t work especially if they could hurt us”… WHO IS “THEY” I now ask myself. There isn’t a governing “THEY” that truly cares. YOU HAVE TO.
What Happens When You Lower Cholesterol?
Statins and cholesterol-lowering drugs don’t just reduce a number. They:
Lower brain cholesterol → memory loss, brain fog, depression
Deplete CoQ10 → muscle pain, fatigue, mitochondrial dysfunction (and supplementing with it doesn’t seem to help in many cases).
Block sex hormone production* → low testosterone, libido issues, even erectile dysfunction (chemical castration?). Low cholesterol = low testosterone = sterilized men and hormonally disrupted women (manopause & menopause in enough!)
Impair immune repair → delayed healing, increased infections
Increase blood sugar → higher risk of diabetes
Destabilize cells → because cholesterol is essential to membrane structure
I Thought I Was Helping My Father…
I was a good little caretaker. I used to fill his pill box religiously. I followed the instructions. I trusted the system. My dad had high cholesterol, so he was given Lipitor. Day after day. Year after year. Eventually, his body slowed. His mind dulled. And then one day… he didn’t even know he had put a diaper over his pants. He didn’t know what was happening to him. And I didn’t know what I was doing to him by giving him that little white pill every day. If I had known what I know now, I would have asked questions. I would have read the insert. I would have challenged the assumption that cholesterol is the villain. I’m not sure it was JUST the pill BUT In my opinion—I was unknowingly making him worse every day giving it to him.
DARE To Think For Yourself—While You Still Can
This is not about fear. It’s about freedom. WE ARE ALLOWED TO DISCUSS THIS STUFF.
You’re allowed to question. You're allowed to have an opinion.
Don’t take anything blindly. Not from me. Not from your doctor.
Read. Investigate. Understand. Decide.
Because if you don’t… Pretty soon, you might not be able to think for yourself. And that might be exactly what “THEY” want. Read the inserts. Know what you’re really taking. Before it takes something from you.
Remember D.A.R.E. ... Drug Abuse Resistance Education? I love it. I’d like to apply it to medication education. Let’s consider another D.A.R.E.™ — Drug Awareness & Risk Education™ to help empower the public to understand what they put into their body for years on end.
It’s an education movement dedicated to exposing the full picture behind popular medicine prescriptions. While some drugs may help in certain situations, many are handed out with little to no discussion of the long-term risks, nutrient depletions, mitochondrial damage, or cognitive side effects. This isn’t about fear—it’s about freedom to know.
NOTE:
I’m not anti-medication—I’m anti cost outweighing benefit, especially when the risks are hidden or down-played. I’ve watched both my family and my patients work incredibly hard to improve their nutrition, sleep, and lifestyle—only to be unknowingly sabotaged by medications that quietly drain their mitochondria, rob them of key nutrients, dull their energy, and cloud their mental clarity. Drugs like statins may lower a number on a lab test (which often doesn’t need to be lowered in most cases), but they can also impair digestion, disrupt hormone balance, and steal the very vitality people need to care for themselves.
We deserve full disclosure—not blind compliance.
If you’re provided a pill in the doctor’s office (or via telemedicine now)—simply read the package insert. Simply learn about what you’re putting into your body. This isn’t crazy talk.
Bottom Line:
Don’t say yes blindly. Saying “Not yet” is still a valid answer (depending on the situation) Ask, evaluate, and decide with full clarity (if you have the time; if you’re in the middle of an emergency, sometimes you must go on faith...I do). But, for the longer-term medications... Drug Awareness & Risk Education™ is vital.
Who am I, a dietitian, to even talk about medication? I’m a human being provided prescriptions (in the past). I’m a daughter of parents (who’ve since passed) who were provided prescriptions. I am a mother with children provided prescriptions (at one time). And, I’m a health practitioner with patients on various medications they do not understand. And, no, I NEVER tell anyone to go off their medications. I simply tell them to read their medication package inserts carefully and discuss with their doctor and pharmacist. For some reason this is heresy to some! To me, it’s heresy for this to be heresy. If I didn’t care, I’d keep taking their money and not encourage education. But, I care. So, I D.A.R.E.
References
Dietschy, J. M., & Turley, S. D. (2001). Cholesterol metabolism in the central nervous system. Current Opinion in Lipidology, 12(2), 105–112.
Yeagle, P. L. (1985). Cholesterol and the cell membrane. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, 822(3–4), 267–287.
Miller, G. J. (2002). Lipids, lipoproteins and heart disease: Past, present and future. European Heart Journal Supplements, 4(Suppl A), A3–A9.
Pfizer, Inc. (2023). Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium) package insert. U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Golomb, B. A., & Evans, M. A. (2008). Statin adverse effects: A review of the literature and evidence for a mitochondrial mechanism. American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs, 8(6), 373–418.
Langsjoen, P. H., & Langsjoen, A. M. (2003). Overview of the use of CoQ10 in cardiovascular disease. BioFactors, 18(1–4), 141–146.
Kimbell, J., et al. (2007). Testosterone and statins: Risk of sexual dysfunction. BJU International, 99(5), 1189–1190.
Evans, M. A., & Golomb, B. A. (2009). Statin-associated adverse cognitive effects: Survey results from patients. Drug Safety, 32(4), 359–371.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2012). Important safety label changes to cholesterol-lowering statins.
Lenz, M., Reichert, M., & Bals-Pratsch, M. (2004). Cholesterol and steroidogenesis: Regulation and mechanism in testicular function. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, 215(1–2), 115–120.
