A recent patient of mine was a girl in her early 20s. She was seeking advice on an everyday health issue and I advised her to take up some yoga practice. From the first lesson I was surprised to observe her flexibility and asked her if she had ever done yoga before. She said she had not, which gave me food for thought. During her third lesson I was inspired to ask her if she knew anything about her cholesterol levels. She said she had once been told that they were very low, but she had not been given any advice as to how she should address this issue. I then asked her if she was troubled by joint problems, and she confirmed that she did in fact tend to dislocate joints very easily. She also became easily overtired.

I was then led to think about a number of other patients in a similar situation. What they all had in common was low energy levels, with a tendency to be weak and feeble. It struck me that while flexibility is good, being too flexible can lead to its own room set of problems.

With so many people jumping on the statin bandwagon to lower cholesterol one rarely hears about the dangers of having a cholesterol level that is too low, but there have in fact been many studies that have shown how a very low cholesterol level may be unhealthy. One such study found that men with LDL levels between 91 and 135 had six times the likelihood of developing Parkinson’s disease as those with levels above 135. In another study pregnant women with very low cholesterol were found to be giving birth to babies of low weight. In yet another men with levels below 150 had four times the risk of cerebral haemorrhage compared to men with levels above 190, and also as cholesterol dropped the risk of stroke increased significantly.

Cholesterol is a natural fat with many vital roles to play in the maintenance of good health. It is an essential building block of the cell membranes, acting as a kind of glue. It is also used by the body to make hormones, and it is an important component in the health of the brain and central nervous system. It also helps in the manufacture of bile and in the production of vitamin D from sunlight. In fact, it is involved in the metabolism of all fat soluble vitamins. Cancer, liver disease, hyperthyroidism and a long list of other diseases have all been associated with low cholesterol.

While I do not claim any expertise in this matter, I have been sufficiently intrigued through my own observations of clinic patients to want to know more about the dangers of excessively low cholesterol levels. I would therefore be interested to hear from any readers who feel they may be affected – please write in with your story.

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