Unmasking the cholesterol myth
An analysis of the scientific facts known about the role of cholesterol is sobering:
- Cholesterol is a molecule essential for life. It is a structural constituent of the wall of billions of cells in our body and it is the precursor of many biological molecules including hormones (e.g. estrogen, testosterone).
- There exists no scientific evidence that cholesterol, even in moderately elevated concentrations, damages the blood vessel walls and causes atherosclerotic plaques and heart attacks if the blood vessel walls are structurally intact.
- For cholesterol to have a damaging effect on otherwise intact blood vessel walls in test animals (i.e. to cause plaques) it must be artificially increased to levels essentially never observed in humans.
In summary, there is no scientific evidence that cholesterol – even at moderately elevated levels – can damage an otherwise intact blood vessel wall.