Cholesterol has certainly taken a bad rap over the past decade or two and most of it may be unwarranted.
A uninformed public coupled with an extreme profit-driven pharmaceutical industry has created a recipe for disaster.
In this article, I will address cholesterol as it relates primarily to the stress response.
First though, let's take a closer look at what cholesterol is and what it does.
Although we are led to believe that cholesterol is a fat, it's more like an alcohol but it doesn't act like one.
The highest percentage of cholesterol is found in the brain and nerve system demonstrating it's necessity for normal mental and brain function and activity.
Cholesterol is also necessary to every cell in the body as it waterproofs the cell membranes.
The majority of our cholesterol is made by the liver and cells.
Less than 50% of the cholesterol we consume is actually absorbed.
The transport of cholesterol in the body is done by lipoproteins.
HDL or high density lipoproteins carry cholesterol from peripheral tissues to the liver to be reused or eliminated in the bile.
LDL or low density lipoproteins carry cholesterol from the liver to meet the needs of the peripheral tissues.
Both of the lipoproteins have a specific and necessary role to play.
Cholesterol is also the foundational component of vitamin D and of our steroidal hormones.
These hormones include estrogen, progesterone, DHEA, testosterone, adrenaline, and cortisol.
It is in cortisol that the stress connection is made.
In order to make this as simple as possible, allow me to begin with an analogy.
When your body is idling, like your car in park with the engine on, it is your thyroid gland and its hormones that control this and supply the energy.
However, when the body is active, like when the car is moving, it is the adrenal glands and their hormones that provide the energy.
When we become stressed or anxiety-ridden, the adrenal glands increase their output of stress hormones.
As stress and anxiety become prolonged or ongoing, the gland weakens and alters its output.
Because the body still requires more adrenal hormones, the body's response is to increase cholesterol levels so more hormones can be produced.
This isn't the problem though.
The problem is that even though there is more cholesterol, the adrenals are dysfunctional and can't make more hormones anyway.
The result is higher serum and blood cholesterol readings.
Although this may not be the only reason for "elevated" cholesterol levels, I have been fortunate to have success by addressing this stress response and liver congestion in lower cholesterol levels.
Many times fatigue can be addressed through the endocrine system as well.
Retraining of the endocrine glands is essential for healthy hormonal function.