In these next few videos, I'm going to be covering cholesterol lowering drugs like statins.

Why LDL cholesterol is such a major threat, for whom the benefits of these drugs outweigh the risks

and what we can do to lower our cholesterol naturally.

LDL cholesterol, also known as bad cholesterol, is unequivocally recognized as the principal

driving force in the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, our leading cause of death.

Over the decades, we have seen the guidelines shift to lower and lower LDL targets

on the basis of clinical trials demonstrating that lower is better, starting in the

1980s with an LDL target of 130, then down to 100 in the 90s and maybe down to 70 for

those at really high risk, and then maybe even down to 55, in the 90s and maybe down to 70 for those at really high risk,

and then maybe even down to 55, 40 or 30 over the last decade.

Those more recent targets might actually be closer to normal for the human species.

Even after we learn to use tools so we could hunt, Norma LDL has been in the 50 to 70 range.

But today, the average in the Western world is more like 120 milligrams per deciliter.

No wonder heart disease is our leading cause of death in men and women.

Recently, guidelines started scrapping targets in favor of just pushing

for LDL levels to be as low as possible, because the lower, the better. No threshold seems

to exist below which LDL cholesterol lowering does not further reduce risk. When it comes to

LDL, it's possible that lower is better for longer,

even if you start out at low risk. The risk reduction of major vascular events is independent

of the starting LDL cholesterol, meaning that even people starting out with an LDL under 80

had about the same relative risk

reduction.

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