Over the years, I noticed many of my patients with high cholesterol also would comment on declining libido. While, to many, the connection seemed to be the medications they were often taking for cholesterol or blood pressure, cholesterol itself is actually the backbone to our hormones, including the ones for reproduction. The estrogens, testosterone, progesterone and many more hormones are actually created from cholesterol. In my practice, I try to look for true answers—causes. This battle began in childhood, as my father suffered several heart attacks over the years. I never did understand why the medication and what seemed like a reasonable diet recommended by his doctors never prevented the attacks.
This personal interest helped me find the understanding behind cholesterol and that it is not by any means a “bad” compound. Its elevation is only a sign that certain functions of the body are not working or rather not converting the cholesterol into the compounds the body is actually in need of. Besides the reproductive/libido hormones, cholesterol also converts to cortisol (blood sugar, immunity and weight), aldosterone (blood pressure and electrolytes balance), DHEA (anti-aging) and many others.
An interesting thing happens when the hormones I mentioned begin to leave homeostasis: Other systems of the body try to take up the slack. Often that job is performed by the thyroid. The thyroid controls metabolism and thus weight. In computers it would be called clock speed. Actually, whenever any hormone of the body leaves its normal level, all hormone systems of the body have to react and shift in order to accommodate. It’s no wonder that high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, low immunity, thyroid problems, poor libido, anxiety/depression, poor sleep and many other symptoms often happen at the same time. They are really all the same problem. We should address causes when we approach our health, not the symptoms.
Source: Dr. David Pollack. Location: Pollack Wellness Institute (formerly Creating Wellness Center) is located at 66 Commack Rd., Commack. For more information, call 631-462-0801 or visit CreatingWellnessLI.com. See ads on pages 13 and 43.
