(08-11-07) Low Cholesterol in Moms Linked to Poor Pregnancy Outcomes

A new study published in the October 2007 issue of Pediatrics shows a strong correlation with low total cholesterol in pregnant women and the health and size of their babies.

Women with serum cholesterol less than 151 were nearly 3 times more likely to have pre-term, low-birth-weight babies, and twice as likely to bear microcephalic babies. That means babies with tiny heads; a condition not comptabile with life.

http://www.medpagetoday.com/OBGYN/Pregnancy/tb/6831#ayk

The mechanism remains "speculative, but biologically credible," say lead researchers Drs. Merialdi and Murray, because cholesterol is a precursor of placental progesterone critical to maintaining pregnancy and is a major component of plasma membranes in the placenta.

Cholesterol is the "mother hormone" and precursor of all downstream steroid hormones including pregnenolone, progesterone, estrogens and testosterone. Hormones, like nerve tissue (including the brain) are fat-based structures, which is why it is critical to have "good fats" in our diet on a regular basis.

Restricting good fats, and using drugs to inhibit cholesterol synthesis, has not been tied to reduction in mortality, even in those with established heart disease. This is particularly true for women, who generally don't develop cholesterol-based "plaque" in the arteries. A whopping 69% of patients coming to the emergency department with a first heart attack have cholesterol under 200. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15925732&dopt=AbstractPlus

So, artificially lowering your cholesterol will not save you from heart disease. This study of nearly 10,000 pregnant women in North Carolina correlating low cholesterol to poor birth outcomes is one more indicator that messing with nature has bad consequences.

Source: NewsTarget, Friday, October 26, 2007 by: Dr Emily A Kane

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