Cholesterol in Midlife
I've sat across from so many women and men with high cholesterol—many of them shocked, confused, or overwhelmed by what it meant. I started to notice a pattern, especially among women in perimenopause… and before I knew it, I was one of them.
Let’s back up for a second:
What Is Cholesterol, Really?
Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that your body needs to function. It’s not the enemy—it actually plays a vital role in:
Hormone production (like estrogen, testosterone, cortisol)
Vitamin D synthesis
Building healthy cell membranes
Digesting fats (it helps make bile acids in your liver)
Your body makes most of its cholesterol in the liver, and the rest comes from food. The key? Balance.
How It Moves: The "Cars" of Cholesterol
Cholesterol can’t float through your bloodstream by itself—it needs carriers called lipoproteins.
LDL ("bad" cholesterol) carries cholesterol to your cells
HDL ("good" cholesterol) carries it away, back to the liver
Too much LDL—or LDL that’s small and dense—combined with inflammation, significantly increases your risk of:
Heart disease
Stroke
Atherosclerosis (plaque buildup in arteries)
Why This Matters (Especially Now)
Heart disease remains the #1 cause of death for both women and men. According to the CDC and American Heart Association, nearly 2 people die every minute from it—that’s over 2,400 deaths per day.
High cholesterol is just one risk factor—but one we can do something about.
The Problem with Standard Testing
Most doctors run a basic lipid panel that includes:
Total cholesterol
LDL
HDL
Triglycerides
Helpful, but limited.
What it doesn’t tell you:
How dangerous your LDL is
Whether your cholesterol is oxidized or inflamed
Your true risk for heart disease
Want to Go Deeper? Ask for These:
Advanced testing can uncover much more. Look for markers like:
LDL-P (particle number)
ApoB
Small Dense LDL
Lp(a)
hs-CRP, Lp-PLA2, MPO (inflammation markers)
With heart,
