Cholesterol

Dr. Rath's groundbreaking discovery about the nutritional origin of coronary heart
disease (vitamin C-scurvy-heart disease connection) also explains that elevated blood
cholesterol levels are not the main cause of heart disease, but the consequence of
biological dysfunction of the arterial walls and ongoing cardiovascular disease.
Today pharmaceutical medicine focuses on promoting chemical drugs (especially
statins) to reduce blood cholesterol levels without an understanding of the biological
connection between structurally damaged arterial walls and elevated cholesterol blood
levels. Dr Raths Cellular Medicine not only explains this phenomenon but also offers a
possibility of a natural control of the high cholesterol problem.
Dr Raths discovery logically explains that the impaired integrity of the blood vessel walls and
their need for reinforcement and repair is the main cause why cholesterol production in the
bodys cells increases and its blood levels become elevated. Dr Raths scurvy-heart disease
connection
explains
that cholesterol carrying lipoproteins (LDL and Lp-a) are one of the most effective biological
repair molecules because their properties can deposit in the structurally weakened areas of
the arteries similar to mortar patching structurally damaged bricks in the wall. If the underlying
cause of arterial dysfunction, which is micronutrient deficiency, in particular the lack of vitamin
C, is not addressed and damage continues then more and more cholesterol molecules enter the
artery wall lesions. With time, this triggers various pathological responses and leads to the
formation of arterial deposits and a risk of heart disease or stroke.

The connection between loss of vitamin C production, structural damage in the vascular wall
and elevated blood cholesterol levels that was discovered by Dr. Rath about 20 years ago ihas
been gaining an increasing scientific support. Among others it was independently confirmed by
the work of Maeda et al
. by using genetically modified mice which, similar to humans, have lost an ability of
endogenous production of vitamin C.

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Cholesterol

The relationship between cholesterol production and vascular wall structure proposed
by Dr Rath provides logical explanations to many still opened questions in cardiology
which cant be answered by conventional medicine, for example:

Q: Why cholesterol deposits are predominantly formed in the coronary blood vessels,
not veins?
A: Cells building arterial walls have particularly high demands for micronutrients to support
optimum bio-energy production and maintain integrity of the blood vessels.. Due to high
mechanical stress of the pumping heart muscle and the pressure of blood forced through the
arteries, nutritional deficiencies and structural impairments primarily affect the blood vessels of
the heart (coronary arteries). This is why blood repair factors such as cholesterol carrying
lipoproteins (LDL and Lp-a) are deposited in these weakened areas but not along the entire
length of the vascular system.

Q: What is the role of secondary blood risk factors other than cholesterol (i.e.,
homocysteine, high glucose)
A: Many of them function as biological repair factors compensating for weakened connective
tissue and arterial dysfunction (i.e. by facilitating collagen cross-links).

Q: Why coronary heart disease is the most frequent cause of death in humans while it is
practically unknown in the animal world?
A: All animals, with only a few exceptions, produce large quantities of vitamin C in their bodies
(2- 20 grams /day) to support optimum collagen production necessary for maintaining healthy
and elastic blood vessels. High level of endogenous vitamin C production protects animal
arteries from damage and development of atherosclerotic deposits. This is why animals do not
die of heart attacks, even if some of them, such as bears, have very high blood cholesterol
levels (600 mg/dl). In contrast , humans lost the ability of vitamin C production and its daily
dietary intake is often insufficient to assure optimum vascular health. (Human RDA for vitamin
C is 60-80 mg/day). Read more .

Practical consequences of the new understanding of the role of cholesterol

in cardiovascular health
Cellular Medicine provides the basis for developing the most comprehensive micronutrient
based approaches for optimizing cholesterol metabolism in our body. These approaches aim
primarily at increasing biological stability of the blood vessel walls as a causative factor for

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Cholesterol

abnormal cholesterol levels. In addition, they include natural approaches to optimize cholesterol
synthesis and its utilization in the body.

Cellular medicine applies the principle of biological synergy between natural components for
achieving increased effectiveness with using moderate doses of micronutrients.

The key natural synergy components essential in optimizing blood vessel function and
cholesterol metabolism are:
1. Healthy function of the arteries:
Nutrients such as Vitamin C, lysine, and proline support optimum collagen formation and
its structure which is needed for the natural healing of the artery walls and reducing demands
for repair factors.
2. Optimum cholesterol synthesis in the liver is naturally regulated by vitamin C.
This nutrient can decrease the activity of an enzyme, HMGCoA reductase, which regulates
the rate of cholesterol production. In this aspect, vitamin C and highly promoted pharmaceutical
drugs statins target the same enzyme. Vitamin C works as a natural statin without causing
the severe side effects associated with this class of drugs.
3. Other blood risk factors.
Synergy of Vitamin B complex, betaine and other nutrients is important for supporting
metabolism of methionine, thereby optimizing homocysteine synthesis and its blood levels.
4. Biological energy for the cells building the cardiovascular system.
Fatty acids are the primary source of bio-energy for the heart muscle and arterial walls. Ca
rnitine
is essential for optimum conversion of fatty acids into cellular energy.

The effectiveness of micronutrient synergy in optimizing cholesterol and triglycerides blood

levels has been confirmed in our pilot clinical trials .

Cholesterol production
The main cholesterol sources in the body are its internal production and diet. Our liver is the
main organ producing cholesterol (about 80%), although the intestines, adrenal glands and
reproductive organs also contribute to cholesterol production. Synthesis of cholesterol
molecules in our bodys cells is a multi-step process where two small carbon-containing
molecules (acetyl CoA and acetocetyl CoA) are bound together to form

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3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA (HMG-CoA) by the action of an enzyme HMG-CoA reductase.

The activity of this enzyme is important as it determines how much cholesterol is produced in
the bodys cells.

Pharmaceutical drugs, statins, which inhibit the HMGCo-A reductase in the body are heavily
promoted and widely prescribed for artificial lowering of cholesterol production and its blood
levels. However the action of these drugs is associated with many, often dangerous, side
effects. Some of these relate to the fact that statins inhibit production of other important
biological molecules, such as Coenzyme Q10 (Co-Q-10), sex hormones, steroid hormones, and
vitamin D. The most frequent side effects of statins are muscle, liver and kidney damage, risk of
thrombosis, developing mental problems, cancer and many others.

The HMGCoA reductase activity and cholesterol production can be naturally regulated by
vitamin C. However, information about the cholesterol-lowering effects of vitamin C in
synergistic combination with other nutrients such as niacin (vitamin B3) and other micronutrients
is largely ignored.

Importance of cholesterol in the body

Cholesterol plays a vital role in optimum structure and function of all cell membranes, in the
synthesis of bile acids that break down ingested fats and it is essential for the production of
steroid hormones. These hormones such as cortisone and aldosterone regulate blood pressure,
affect the immune and inflammatory responses and play other functions. Production of other
cholesterol-dependent hormones such as male and female sex hormones (testosterone and
estrogen) affects sexual development and fertility. Furthermore, cholesterol is required for
production of internal vitamin D, which in turn is essential for several biochemical processes
including bone mineralization among others. Most importantly, cholesterol is critical for the
proper functioning of nervous tissue and brain cells (neurons).

Cholesterol transport in the blood

Cholesterol does not dissolve in water, therefore it is packed together with other fatty
substances which are wrapped around by a protein forming lipoprotein molecule. In this form it
is carried in the bloodstream to be processed by the cells. These lipoproteins have different
names, such as VLDL, LDL, and HDL, etc., which indicate their density , (i.e., VL = very light; L=
light, H=heavy). The density of lipoproteins depends on their ratio of the fat to the protein
component. As such, VLDL - (very low density lipoproteins) have the most fat and therefore
have the lowest density (they float on the surface). The molecules which have the lowest fat
contents are HDL (high density lipoprotein). The LDL (low density lipoprotein) is intermediate to

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Cholesterol

VLDL and HDL in respect to fat to protein ratio.

VLDL: Is a form of lipoprotein that transports cholesterol and triglyceride molecules through the
blood. VLDL readily converts into LDL (low density lipoproteins) for further transport of
cholesterol, which is considered as a major pro-atherogenic lipoprotein.

LDL: This lipoprotein is also referred to as bad cholesterol because it carries excessive
cholesterol to the tissues where it can accumulate and may lead to atherosclerotic plaque
formation. In the case of excessive accumulation of cholesterol inside cells and in some genetic
diseases, LDL is blocked from entering the cells and its elevated levels are detected in the
blood. Therefore conventional medicine considers it as the major risks for atherogenesis.
Conventional approaches ignore the connection between cholesterol metabolism and
weakened vascular walls. According to medical guidelines issued in 2003, the optimum blood
LDL levels should be <100 mg/dl.

HDL: Also known as good cholesterol, HDL carries cholesterol and fat molecules away from
the arteries and plaques deposits and transports them back to the liver. Since HDL has the
potential to remove cholesterol from arterial plaque deposits, the more HDL is in the
bloodstream, the more cholesterol can be removedfrom the plaque. HDL levels lower than 40
mg/dl are considered a higher risk of atherosclerosis. The average HDL-cholesterol for men is
about 45 mg/dL, and for women it is about 55 mg/dL.

LDL/HDL ratio: The ratio of LDL (bad cholesterol) to HDL (good cholesterol) provides a clearer
picture of an individuals risk of the development of atherosclerosis than the amounts of
individual lipoproteins. On average it is recommended to target LDL/HDL ratio to be about 4.5,
although ideal ratio is considered to be 2 or 3.

Lipoprotein (a): Lipoprotein (a) is a lesser known lipoprotein yet it has more potential for
developing atherosclerosis. This cholesterol carrier is composed of an LDL molecule bound
together with an additional protein Apolipoprotein-a (Apo-a). The presence of Apo-a makes the
entire molecule very sticky and therefore more likely to attach to various structures, including
weakened blood vessel walls. Most of the laboratories consider normal values of lipoprotein (a)
to be below 15 mg/dl. Lipoprotein (a) contributes more than LDL to plaque build up in the blood
vessels.
According to Dr. Rath's research , the lipoprotein (a) molecule is ten
times more dangerous a risk factor for atherosclerosis, heart attack and stroke than LDL and it
can be regulated naturally by vitamin C.

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Triglycerides (TG): Dietary fats are the main source of triglycerides in the blood. Since
cholesterol and other fats cannot dissolve in blood, dietary fatty acids are stored and
transported in the form of triglycerides and for the same reason they are considered as a risk
factor of atherosclerosis. Conventional medicine considers normal triglyceride levels should be
less than 150mg/dl.

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