MECHANISM ENGINE
What Is LDL Cholesterol?
This was the number that got me put on statins back in 2016. Eight years on statins, off them since 2024, and it’s taken me most of that time to actually understand what LDL is doing, rather than just knowing it was the number my GP wanted lower.
The Wrong Address Delivery
LDL is a delivery service, carrying cholesterol out from the liver to cells around the body that need it for building cell membranes and hormones. Perfectly necessary work. The trouble starts when there’s more stock in the delivery vans than there are addresses ready to receive it, and particles start getting left, effectively delivered to the wrong address, inside artery walls instead of at the intended destination. Once cholesterol’s dropped off there, oxidised, and the immune system reacts, that’s the start of the plaque process. It’s not that LDL itself is the villain. It’s what happens when too much of it ends up somewhere it was never meant to go.
LDL, low-density lipoprotein, transports cholesterol from the liver to tissues throughout the body. Elevated LDL, particularly over sustained periods, increases the likelihood of particles depositing in artery walls, contributing to atherosclerosis. Diet, genetics, and metabolic health, particularly insulin resistance, all influence LDL levels and, increasingly, particle size and number, which some research suggests may matter as much as the total LDL figure alone.
NHS and NICE guidance treat LDL as the primary cholesterol figure used to assess cardiovascular risk and to decide on statin therapy, generally targeting levels below 3 mmol/L, lower for those with existing cardiovascular risk factors.
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Related mechanisms
Educational content only, not medical advice. Never stop or change medication without your GP’s supervision. Neil stopped his own medications in February 2024 on his own initiative and told his GP afterwards, with NHS blood tests to show. That is not the approach recommended here. Speak to your GP before changing your fasting pattern, diet, or medication.
What this is based on
NHS and NICE guidance, cross-referenced against Neil’s own NHS blood test record going back to April 2012. See the full timeline and current numbers.