For years we’ve been told lower is better. But cholesterol is actually the starting material your body uses to make every hormone and especially as women age, we don’t want it too low.
The cholesterol story we’ve been told
Let’s talk about cholesterol, because it has gotten a bad rap.
For years, we’ve been told that lower cholesterol is better. That the goal is to drive your number down as far as possible. That high cholesterol is the enemy we’re fighting with diet changes, with statins, with constant vigilance.
But especially as women get older, we don’t necessarily want cholesterol to be as low as possible. Absolutely not.
Let me explain why.
Why cholesterol matters so much for women
Cholesterol is incredibly important for hormone production. In fact, cholesterol is the mama.
She’s the starting material your body uses to make all of your steroid hormones, including:
— Progesterone — your calming, balancing hormone
— Estrogen — your feminine, protective hormone
— Testosterone — your energy and libido hormone
— DHEA — the master precursor hormone
— Cortisol — your stress and daytime energy hormone
— Aldosterone — the hormone that helps regulate your sodium, potassium, and fluid balance through your kidneys
Every single one of these hormones starts with cholesterol.
So here we are, busy trying to drive our cholesterol numbers lower and lower, when our bodies actually need cholesterol to function. Especially as our hormone production naturally shifts with age.
Crazy, right?
Instead of just one number — look at the whole picture
Rather than focusing on cholesterol alone, I like to look at the entire picture:
— HDL (your “good” cholesterol)
— LDL (your “bad” cholesterol)
— Triglycerides
— Blood sugar
— Insulin
— Thyroid function
— Inflammation markers
— Other cardiovascular risk markers
One number in isolation doesn’t tell us the full story of your health. The relationships between all of these markers tell us something much richer about what’s really happening in your body.
Can cholesterol be too high? Yes, but let’s look closer
Absolutely cholesterol can be too high. If your total cholesterol is climbing above 240, that’s a signal to take a closer look.
Notice that number, 240. That’s a much bigger number than you may have been told. Many women are told to be worried when their total cholesterol is 200 or 210. But my concern threshold is higher.
And when I see numbers above 240, I don’t panic, I investigate what’s driving it. Because elevated cholesterol is a symptom. Your body is telling us something is out of balance.
So the question isn’t just “how do we lower this?” — it’s “why is this elevated?”
The surprising root causes of high cholesterol
Here’s what I actually look at when cholesterol is elevated:
Thyroid function
This is one that most women don’t know about. When your thyroid hormone is too low, your body may not clear LDL cholesterol from your bloodstream as efficiently. So cholesterol rises.
Sometimes an elevated cholesterol number is actually giving us a clue about an underlying thyroid issue.
Blood sugar and insulin
When blood sugar and insulin are out of balance, your body processes fats differently. Insulin resistance drives up cholesterol and sugar plays a big role in this.
Inflammation
When inflammation is elevated, it can affect the way your body handles cholesterol and other blood fats. And inflammation within your blood vessels is actually part of the process that can make cholesterol-containing particles more likely to become involved in plaque formation.
In other words, the inflammation matters as much as the cholesterol itself.
Diet and fiber
Fiber is one of the simplest, most powerful tools we have. Eating more vegetables and other whole fiber-rich foods or taking a fiber supplement, can bring cholesterol numbers down surprisingly fast.
Simple shifts in the types of fats and carbohydrates you’re eating can also make a big difference.
Genetics
Some women are genetically predisposed to higher cholesterol numbers. Knowing this changes how we approach the whole picture, not to panic, but to be strategic.
The questions that get to the root cause
When I see cholesterol numbers that are higher than I like, I’m not just asking how do we lower the cholesterol?
I’m asking why.
- Could it be thyroid?
- Could it be blood sugar or insulin?
- Could it be inflammation?
- Is it diet or lack of fiber?
- Is it genetics?
Those are the questions that help us get to the root cause. And when we support the root cause, cholesterol often shifts naturally, along with everything else.
The takeaway for today
Cholesterol isn’t the enemy.
Your body really needs it. It’s the starting point for every single hormone that makes you feel like yourself. And instead of chasing the lowest cholesterol number possible, we want to understand why your numbers are what they are — and look at your whole health picture.
Elevated cholesterol is just another sign that something in your body may need some additional support. So let’s take a deeper look at what might be going on.
Small steps. Big change.
Key takeaways
— Cholesterol is the “mama” — the starting material for progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, DHEA, cortisol, and aldosterone
— As women age, we don’t want cholesterol too low — the body needs it for hormone production
— Instead of looking at cholesterol alone, look at HDL, LDL, triglycerides, blood sugar, insulin, thyroid, and inflammation
— Total cholesterol above 240 is a signal to investigate — not to panic
— Elevated cholesterol can point to thyroid issues, insulin resistance, inflammation, or low fiber
— The question isn’t “how do we lower it?” — it’s “why is it elevated?”
Ready to look at the full picture?
If you’ve been handed a cholesterol number without context or if your doctor is pushing medication without ever asking why, you deserve a deeper conversation. One that looks at your whole body, your hormones, your thyroid, your inflammation, your lifestyle and your real story.
That’s exactly what we do inside NHS Circle. We help women understand what their lab numbers really mean, connect the dots between symptoms and root causes, and take practical steps toward lasting health.
Small steps. Real support. Every week.
Love,
Robin xo
