Low cholesterol: could be fatal

The latest in the ongoing cholesterol controversy is that low cholesterol could be bad for your health.

This extraordinary U turn by the medical profession follows the findings of a massive research project in the US which examined the causes of 68,406 deaths.

The study discovered that low cholesterol levels are linked to higher death rates from causes such as lung cancer, digestive disease, stroke and trauma, including accidents and suicide.

Dr Stephen Hulley and Dr Judith Walsh of the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centre in Washington, and Dr Thomas Newman from the University of California, also found no link between high cholesterol and heart disease in women.

They consider it unwise to treat high cholesterol in women unless there are other reasons for being considered high risk.

The doctors are calling for a halt to cholesterol lowering treatment while they "await convincing evidence that the net effects will be beneficial".

The study was published just before the start of Cholesterol Countdown Week in the UK, a campaign to encourage people to check their cholesterol levels.