The Risks of Lowering Your Cholesterol Too Much

The common mindset in much of the developed world is that lowering your total blood cholesterol below 200 mg/dL is a key to good heart health. In reality, lowering your cholesterol does nothing to address any underlying problems … and lowering it too much can seriously devastate your health.

One large study conduced by Dutch researchers found that men with chronically low cholesterol levels showed a consistently higher risk of having depressive symptoms.This may be because cholesterol affects the metabolism of serotonin, a substance involved in the regulation of your mood.

On a similar note, Canadian researchers found that those in the lowest quarter of total cholesterol concentration had more than six times the risk of committing suicide as did those in the highest quarter.
Dozens of studies also support a connection between low or lowered cholesterol levels and violent behavior, through this same pathway: lowered cholesterol levels may lead to lowered brain serotonin activity, which may, in turn, lead to increased violence and aggression.

And one meta-analysis of over 41,000 patient records found that people who take statin drugs to lower their cholesterol as much as possible may have a higher risk of cancer,while other studies have linked low cholesterol to Parkinson’s disease.

What cholesterol level is too low?

Brace yourself.

Probably any level much under 150, an optimum would be more like 200.

So how do you know if your cholesterol really is too high?

For more information go to www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org