Cholesterol: Myths and Facts
By Jim Hutchison

There are many misconceptions about the role cholesterol plays in the development of heart disease, says Dr. Jiri Frohlich, director of St. Paul’s Hospital Lipid Clinic in Vancouver, B.C. Here are six common myths about cholesterol that might surprise you:

Myth: High cholesterol makes you feel sluggish and causes weight gain.
Fact: It has no symptoms. The only way to tell if your cholesterol is too high is to have a blood test.

Myth: Fit people never have a cholesterol problem.
Fact: About 1 in 500 people—70,000 Canadians—have a gene that causes high blood cholesterol that can lead to early coronary-artery disease. Children from high-risk families—parents or grandparents with high cholesterol or heart disease by age 55 or younger—should be tested after puberty. If the results are abnormal, they should be treated.

Myth: Life without cholesterol would be healthier.
Fact: A key component in everything from healthy cell membranes to hormone production, cholesterol is so essential for life that the liver naturally produces about 1,000 milligrams a day—about twice the average person’s dietary intake.

Myth: Cholesterol-rich foods such as eggs are the biggest culprit in elevated cholesterol levels.
Fact: Foods high in saturated fat, such as fatty meats, cheese and French fries, or those containing trans fats or hydrogenated fats have a greater impact on increasing artery-blocking LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol than foods that are high in cholesterol, such as eggs – eaten in moderation.

Myth: Young people don’t have high cholesterol.
Fact: With the obesity epidemic among our youth, anyone with two or more risk factors should have their cholesterol checked starting at age 20. Several studies have shown that plaque in the coronary arteries feeding the heart muscle with blood can start to build up in a person’s early teens, particularly if he or she is overweight, smokes, is sedentary and eats a steady diet of junk food.