Cholesterol: Truth and Myth
With all the attention dedicated to cholesterol-lowering drugs in America, one might understandably conclude that we are the worst, or among the very worst ranking offenders of high cholesterol, and the issues thought to be caused by it.
It turns out that serious studies have shown that not only are we nowhere near the top of the list but rather we are 鈥渕iddle of the road鈥� at best.
The World Health Organization has found us a mere 80th in average total cholesterol.
To give some perspective, in Columbia, men were found to have an average of 244 mg/dl (200 is borderline high). Women in Israel, Libya, Norway, and Uruguay were found tied at about 230.
With all the press and advertising we get in this country on risk factors of high cholesterol, many of us would assume we have the highest average in the world. Not even close.
When the topic of cholesterol is mentioned, eggs are often the first food to be demonized.
Well, it turns out that a very interesting bodily behavior is worth noting in regard to eggs, and other high sources of dietary cholesterol: the more we take in by diet, the less the body manufactures to compensate. You heard that right: manufactures. Cholesterol is a vital nutritional building block, and if we don鈥檛 eat it, we will make it.
While it is not recommended to eat eggs every day, they are a clean source of protein, and so it is generally recommended to eat a few a week, meaning perhaps 6 to 12 depending on your activity level and consequential protein needs.
In his book, 鈥淭he Cholesterol Myths,鈥� Uffe Ravnskov reports several myth-busting revelations. Animal fat is perhaps the most heavily debated 鈥渃ulprit鈥� in high cholesterol, and subsequently heart disease. But Ravnskov says, 鈥淭here is no evidence that too much animal fat and cholesterol in the diet promotes atherosclerosis or heart attacks. For instance, more than twenty studies have shown that people who have had a heart attack haven鈥檛 eaten more fat of any kind than other people, and degree of atherosclerosis at autopsy is unrelated with the diet.鈥�
This conclusion is shared by numerous serious leading medical researchers and doctors. Dr. Stephen Sinatra, and Dr. Johnny Bowden, prolific authors on health and nutrition, both agree that 鈥淭he hypothetical link between high levels of total cholesterol and heart disease has NEVER been proven. It蘑菇视频 a diagnosis conjured up to serve drug companies who want to sell cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.鈥� The well-respected Dr. Joseph Mercola says 鈥測our total cholesterol level Is NOT a great indicator of your heart disease risk.鈥� This is in sharp opposition to the dominant practice of prescribing cholesterol-lowering drugs by the majority of doctors.
If it isn鈥檛 cholesterol, then what is a reliable link to heart-disease risk? Current research indicates it is inflammation. This is measurable by a test called 鈥淐-reactive protein鈥�. This is thought to be far more reliable than cholesterol levels.
CRP level is used as a marker of inflammation in our arteries. Furthermore, there is a long list of detrimental effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs, including reduced capacity to utilize the all-important Vitamin D, according to Mercola.
Mercola further reports that 鈥淒ozens of studies also support a connection between low or lowered cholesterol levels and violent behavior, through this same pathway: lowered cholesterol levels may lead to lowered brain serotonin activity, which may, in turn, lead to increased violence and aggression.鈥�
So how might we lower inflammation ? First, understand that how we got here was the low-fat craze that resulted in high sugar foods to replace the much-maligned fats. Basically, food manufacturers removed the fat, and piled on the sugar because removing the fat removed the flavor. So processed foods marketed as 鈥渓ow-fat鈥� were in fact very high in sugar, which spikes insulin and causes us to store the sugar as fat. Some specific recommendations per Mercola and other leading people in the field to lower inflammation are as follows:
n Oxidized cholesterol (cholesterol that has gone rancid, such as that from overcooked, scrambled eggs)
n Eating lots of sugar and grains
n Eating foods cooked at high temperatures
n Eating trans fats
n A sedentary lifestyle
n Smoking
n Emotional stress
The deconstruction of the fat-fear has been in hot debate for over 30 years. A good source of information is the group who call themselves 鈥淧aleolithic鈥� eaters. They believe that we have not changed significantly as a species since the cave men, as far as dietary needs. Of course, the vegan crowd will swear up and down that they are entirely wrong to eat any animal protein.
As a 鈥渘utritional agnostic鈥� who has tried a range of diets from Vegan to Atkins, I am currently leaning toward agreeing that animal fat (quality animal fat) is not the evil that it was once portrayed as. I am far more persuaded that refined sugar, and commercial sick animals, and GMOs are to be blamed for the current American health crisis.