How low should cholesterol be lowered? Vytorin is a drug that contains both Zocor and Zetia and lowers cholesterol very powerfully. Most cardiologists believed this is really beneficial because the risk for heart attack goes down substantially. However, when a study was done on this and looked at all cause mortality, it was probably slightly increased!
Cholesterol is not the root cause of heart attacks and strokes. Inflammation is the culprit that oxidizes cholesterol and causes it to be deposited into the wall of our arteries. So a much better treatment would be to lower the level of inflammation in the body. We could not live without cholesterol. We need it to make vitamin D, many hormones, cell membranes, and neurotransmitters.
Our best defense against inflammation is to live a healthy lifestyle: diet, exercise, sleep, stress management, weight control.
