Anshu Bahanda: This is Anshu Bahanda on Wellness Curated. Thanks for joining me on this podcast. My mission is to empower you with health and wellness so that you can then go and empower others. Hello, Dr Sharma.
Dr Anil Sharma: Hello.
AB: Thank you for being here with us. As I was telling everybody, you’ve been doing yogic neurotherapy for 35 years now, and there are a lot of chronic as well as acute ailments and issues and diseases that you’ve helped people with. Today we’re going to tackle the issue of cholesterol, which is more common than I had known. And I was really surprised by how common it is. So, Dr. Sharma, tell me, what is wellness to you?
Dr AS: Wellness is if the body is working harmonically inside… [like] the production of the hormones, enzymes, steroids, antibiotics, and your immune system, everything is working in harmony. If you think drugs are from outside, it’s not wellness. So, the body should produce its own hormones. They should synthesize all the chemicals within with the help of natural foods, vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, and everything. So, that’s how… The body is a chemical factory, basically. If it is working on its own, that’s wellness.
AB: Okay, that’s lovely. Now tell me, let’s talk about cholesterol. So, what is cholesterol and can you explain good and bad cholesterol both?
Dr AS: See, good and bad cholesterol is just like— LDL is bad cholesterol and HDL is good cholesterol. That everybody knows. What everybody should know… what they don’t know is why cholesterol is so important for the body. Because cholesterol is the raw material for so many things in the body. If your cholesterol goes high, that means the body is not using your cholesterol to make those hormones and steroids and folic acid, and vitamin D. So, low cholesterol is more harmful than high cholesterol. Suppose, if your body is not having any cholesterol and it’s also not converting the other fats into cholesterol, then your body may die.
AB: I see.
Dr AS: But if you have high cholesterol, you have the risk of clots and like plaques in the heart and the arteries and blockages in the arteries. So, high cholesterol means your body is not using the cholesterol. So good cholesterol means HDL, HDL clears the arteries. LDL blocks the artery. So, this is the differentiation between good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. Nowadays, everybody knows what bad cholesterol is— saturated fats. Whereas good cholesterol is like nuts, oils, almonds, and Omega-3 is good cholesterol.
AB: Okay, so you’re telling me that if the cholesterol is low, that’s more dangerous than if the cholesterol is high? High can be dealt with. Can low be dealt with?
Dr AS: Low? Then you have to take it. Or that means your liver is not… See 70% of the cholesterol is synthesized or converted into this folic acid by the liver. Liver health is the most important for cholesterol. And then comes the hormonal system, your thyroids; thyroids use the cholesterol to make T3 T4, your pituitary uses cholesterol to make TCH and TSH. Then your adrenal gland needs the cholesterol to make the hydrocortisone, adrenaline, and other steroids. Ovaries and testicles need cholesterol to make the hormones. The estrogen resistance and other hormones. The body uses cholesterol to make all these hormones. And vitamin D is also manufactured by using cholesterol. So, when we go into the sunshine, the ultraviolet rays go into our skin and convert the cholesterol into vitamin D.
AB: Okay, so you’re saying the role of cholesterol is to be used as raw material for the hormones, for vitamin D, for the liver.
Dr AS: That’s for the skin. Under the skin, it’s used by ultraviolets. In the liver, it’s used to make folic acid.
AB: Okay. Yes.
Dr AS: Sometimes we are given supplements of the folic acids because our liver is not converting cholesterol into folic acid properly.
AB: Okay, and tell me, how is cholesterol synthesized in the body?
Dr AS: The first thing is the liver. 70% of the cholesterol, whatever we eat or whatever, the liver requires. Because a very large quantity of the cholesterol is required by the liver to convert into folic acid. Folic acid is required to mature the red blood cells. This is also a mechanism in the body. The bone marrow manufactures the red blood cell, but if it is not matured, then it will die quickly. Normal red blood cell’s life is around 120 days, four months if it is matured. If it is not matured, it will die within one week.
AB: Within a week. I see. Okay.
Dr AS: As the bone marrow produces the red blood cell into the bloodstream, the folic acid produced by the liver or what we take from the outside matures the red blood cells. This is the mechanism in the body. So, if somebody is anemic, that means the body is not converting the folic acid properly, so maybe their cholesterol level is high. So, this is how it’s synthesized. Then the thyroid and other glands, the endocrine glands— take the cholesterol from the bloodstream and then they synthesize it into the other hormones. Thyroid, T3, T4, adrenal gland steroids, adrenaline, and other things. This is how the cholesterol is synthesized…means used and converted into different enzymes and hormones.
AB: Right. Okay, so now tell me, is there a mechanism for reducing cholesterol naturally? The excess cholesterol?
Dr AS: Yeah. So, why does cholesterol excess? First thing is that if you take in more fatty food, then the cholesterol rises. The second thing is sedentary life. Like you’re taking too much of alcohol, too much of smoking. The liver is bad. It’s not easy. Third thing is the genetic condition. In some genetic conditions, your endocrine glands and your liver are not consuming enough cholesterol or converting more other fats into cholesterol. This is a genetic condition. And the fourth thing, you are not exposed to the sunshine much. So, cholesterol levels go up, like in this country. When they don’t have sunshine. So, some amounts of cholesterol levels go up.
AB: Okay, but I’m hearing more and more about genetic conditions Dr Sharma, a lot of researchers are saying we’re doing everything right, but because of our genetics, the cholesterol is going up.
Dr AS: Yes. So, in that, the individuals are different if somebody has a liver problem. So, first they should check whether their liver is fatty liver, enlarged liver, or some AST and SGOT, SGPT is raised. If the liver is not proper, then I will show two points for the gallbladder and liver so they can stimulate the liver and get control of it. But that stimulation has to be done every day.
AB: Every day?
Dr AS: Every day for the first four to six weeks, then you can go to an alternate day. And then when it’s under control, then twice a week, if you do. It’s just like an exercise. Do you go to the gym twice or thrice a week to do physical exercises?
AB: Yes.
Dr AS: We are diverting the blood towards the liver and exercising the liver cells, pumping the extra blood in the liver to work more. They will start working on their own and use the cholesterol and convert it into folic acid.
AB: So, for how long would you say people have to do it every day? Because that’s quite a commitment.
Dr AS: Yes. If you have a genetic condition, that means your genes are not allowing the liver to function properly. So, they are not allowed. So you have to pump and push the liver to work more. So, it’s a fight between genes and you. So, you have to fight more because they are not alone.
AB: So, all the people who have the genetic condition of cholesterol, it’s because of the liver.
Dr AS: Because of the liver. And some people, those who have an underactive thyroid, should do the thyroid points as well. But the liver is the main than other conditions. For some people with menopause, estrogen, and progesterone is low, ovaries are not used, then ovary points are also there. So, it’s individual to individual, but the main two points are of the liver.
AB: Okay, so thank you. Thank you for your help. Take care. Thank you. Bye-bye.
Dr AS: Thank you. Bye-bye.
AB: Thanks for joining us. Hope you enjoyed the Wellness Curated podcast. Please subscribe and tell your friends and family about it. And here’s to you leading your best life.