Total Cholesterol (Blood test)
Blood test for serum cholesterol
U-shaped Mortality curve
The U-shaped mortality curve of total cholesterol refers to the pattern that when extremely high or extremely low, total cholesterol is directly related to increased mortality.
Extremely low cholesterol
Dr. Mason suggests that phytosterols suppress the formation of cholesterol and cause adverse health effects. Dr. Mason hypothesizes that if phytosterols have adverse health effects, then these could explain how a population with extremely low cholesterol could have increased mortality.
Extremely high cholesterol
Many will attribute increased total cholesterol and adverse health outcomes to saturated fat. Contrary to popular belief, there is no known mechanism by which saturated fat increases cholesterol. If saturated fat does not increase total serum cholesterol, then what does?
- B12 deficiency
- Folate (B9) deficiency
- Inflammation
Inflammation
Inflammation can cause Hypercholesterolemia above normal physiological levels.
- TNF-α is a direct driver of cholesterol synthesis