Dennis Prager Show - Dr. Michael Richman on Why Normal Cholesterol Testing Is Flawed
Aired: 2021-04-09
Duration: 04:54


=== Voice Of Reason (02:17) ===

[00:00:00]  I have a guest, a man I have not had on the show, I don't know, about five years?
[00:00:04]  Is that fair to say?
[00:00:05]  Seven years, Dr. Richman.
[00:00:07]  Let me very quickly say, Dr. Michael Richman, who is a board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon and general surgeon, now he's the founder of PaladinMDs, paladinmds.com.
[00:00:23]  He's a patient advocate.
[00:00:25]  But the reason I'm having him on is, first of all, I have talked to you about health all of my career, whatever insight I could bring.
[00:00:36]  In the beginning of my career, I told you carbs, not fat, was dangerous.
[00:00:41]  I was a pretty lonely voice, but I was right.
[00:00:44]  The government was wrong in its stupid pyramid.
[00:00:48]  But as a rule, Ronald Reagan was right.
[00:00:51]  The worst things you could hear are the government is here to help you.
[00:00:55]  Is that his famous statement?
[00:00:58]  Sometimes it's true and it works, but not usually.
[00:01:01]  Dr. Richmond was my doctor when he was practicing medicine directly with patients, and I believe, you can't prove it, but I believe.
[00:01:15]  He prolonged my life, and I thank God, very healthy.
[00:01:20]  He knows his stuff, and what I recommended to you was something he made me aware of, and that is the erroneous way in which people's cholesterol is counted or measured.
[00:01:34]  Dr. Michael Richman, welcome back to The Dennis Prager Show.
[00:01:38]  I'm so glad to be back.
[00:01:40]  It's been a long time.
[00:01:41]  Say it again.
[00:01:42]  I'm sorry.
[00:01:43]  It's been a long time.
[00:01:44]  I'm so happy to be back.
[00:01:46]  Yes, indeed.
[00:01:47]  It is good to have you.
[00:01:48]  So explain in your inimitable way what the cholesterol count is wrong about.
[00:01:57]  Okay, well, first of all, I want to say, even though I haven't been on in seven years, I still have your loyal followers.

=== Measuring the Cars, Not Just the People (02:51) ===

[00:02:05]  I probably get three a month calling me and saying, you saved my life or you saved Dennis's life.
[00:02:13]  I want you to save my life.
[00:02:14]  So it really stuck, all those shows we did.
[00:02:17]  So basically what the issue has been for years, it was first described in 1961. In a paper titled, Triglycerides, Coronary Artery Disease, and Lipoproteins, that we should not be measuring the fat content in the blood.
[00:02:35]  We should be measuring the transport vehicles.
[00:02:39]  Because, obviously, oil and vinegar don't mix.
[00:02:43]  So blood is the vinegar, cholesterol is the oil.
[00:02:47]  So they don't mix.
[00:02:49]  You can't get them together.
[00:02:49]  together.
[00:02:50]  So the body ingeniously packages the cholesterol inside of particles, and those particles drive the cholesterol around the body.
[00:03:00]  So if you remember the analogy I made years ago, we measure the people in the cars, but you need to be measuring the cars, because it's the cars that traffic the cholesterol throughout the body.
[00:03:15]  The definition of LDL cholesterol, the traditional way, is simply the amount of liquid cholesterol And a deciliter of plasma.
[00:03:25]  So take a little bowl and put cholesterol in it.
[00:03:29]  How does that help you?
[00:03:31]  Because it's not soluble.
[00:03:32]  So we still measure the number of people in the cars and not the cars.
[00:03:40]  And now it's even become more mainstream.
[00:03:42]  It's become more accepted because, if you remember, there were only a couple labs doing it.
[00:03:48]  Now LabCorp bought The technology, the NMR, people can get it everywhere.
[00:03:54]  So technically, I can provide guidance and take care of people everywhere now.
[00:04:00]  And it has been shown that normal cholesterol testing misses about 50% to 60% of the variability in the population.
[00:04:10]  So that means 50% to 60% of the people, like you, were told they had normal cholesterol and didn't.
[00:04:20]  Because they were counting the passengers and not the cars.
[00:04:24]  Correct.
[00:04:26]  And now, because more labs are measuring lipids, that's the term, correct?
[00:04:35]  Of the cars.
[00:04:36]  Lipoproteins.
[00:04:37]  Lipoproteins.
[00:04:38]  What's the difference between a lipoprotein and a lipid?
[00:04:41]  Lipid is just a general term for fats.
[00:04:44]  The lipoproteins are the...
[00:04:46]  Proteins that are made in the body that traffic the cholesterol through the body.
[00:04:51]  Alright, we're going to continue with Dr. Michael Richman.