Hi all, in relation to DH's lipid test results today, I dug up some cholesterol stuff, and found this handy graph:

http://renegadewellness.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/cholesterol-mortality-chart.pdf

It then occured to me to convert my own result from years ago. The only time I've ever had a cholesterol test done was during a period when I was going through the worst of my gallbladder disease. I was eating a very poor almost vegan ultra-low-fat diet, and I was very thin. (Not by choice! It was all I could manage.) My result translates to 123 mg/dl, which, if I'd had this chart in front of me, would have given me cause for concern. My Dr never mentioned that this might be a problem. Maybe he figured I had more urgent health matters to worry about?

So now I'm wondering, why have I never heard about the "dangers of low cholesterol"? Why do we all know there are drugs to lower cholesterol but I've never heard of one to raise it? The Dr started talking about statins a while back with my DH - his TC was 259 mg/dl then. It looks to me like 123 is just as bad! Perhaps if a pharmaceutical giant invented a drug that raises cholesterol we'd start hearing about the "dangers of low cholesterol"?

I suspect that there is little causal relationship here anyway. Common sense would indicate that the low cholesterol and increased mortality are probably both caused by inadequate nutrition. (Likewise high TC and mortality may not have any causal relationship either.)