The Cholesterol Myth: Why Red Meat and Fat Are GOOD For You!
Before I dive into this hot topic…. here’s a BIG IMPORTANT LEGAL DISCLAIMER: I am very passionate about this topic and do not want to shy away from educating you on this critically important information. That being said, DO NOT stop taking any prescription medication recommended by your doctor without consulting your medical care team and discussing your unique circumstances, health status, and risk factors.
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The percentage of people who have had a heart attack without conventional risk factors for cardiovascular disease is notable. Studies have shown that a significant proportion of heart attack patients do not have the conventional risk factors typically associated with cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, or a family history of heart disease.
So what gives?? What are we missing? Where did we go wrong if “everybody knows high cholesterol and blood pressure cause heart disease.” Conventional ‘wisdom’ and even many doctors repeat this ‘fact’ endlessly to the point we have forgotten to look at the true medical scientific evidence. We have to be very careful when we start allowing convention to lead our medical standard of care and not the actual grounded research.
Here are two books I HIGHLY recommend and will summarize these points and create clarity around heart disease:
The Great Cholesterol Myth by Jonny Bowden
Bowden and noted cardiologist Stephen Sinatra, MD—armed with hundreds of scientific references—show why the medical establishment’s belief that fat and cholesterol cause of heart disease is completely wrong.
The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz
The Big Fat Surprise is the first publication to not only systematically argue that the saturated fats in animal foods have been unfairly maligned based on weak, inconclusive evidence, but also to document the highly damaging unintended consequences in our society (the rise of both vegetable oil and carbohydrate consumption).
More than a dozen scholarly review papers over the past five years have confirmed Teicholz’s conclusions on saturated fat. For average people, the implication is that we have been needlessly avoiding meat, cheese, whole milk and eggs for decades and that we can welcome, guilt-free, these “whole fats” back into our lives.
Key Points:
Here are some of the key points regarding cholesterol and the fat fallacy:
1. Cholesterol is misunderstood. In conventional medicine, cholesterol has been wrongly vilified. Cholesterol is an antioxidant (it heals inflammation and protects our arteries and hearts from damage) and is essential for numerous bodily functions, including hormone production (estrogen, testosterone, vitamin D, cortisol and many more hormones are all made out of cholesterol), and is not the primary cause of heart disease.
2. Early research on fat was flawed. The lipid hypothesis, which links dietary fat and cholesterol to heart disease, and highly recommended Mediterranean Diet was based on flawed and selective research. Ancel Keys' Seven Countries Study is frequently cited for its methodological weaknesses and selective data. Originally it was a 22 country study to which he threw out the data of the countries that did not fit his hypothesis, leaving 7 remaining in the non-peer reviewed publication.
3. There isn’t a strong link between saturated fat and heart disease. Multiple recent studies have shown no consistent association between saturated fat intake and an increased risk of heart disease. Natural saturated fats have been unfairly demonized.
4. The danger of polyunsaturated fats. The push to replace saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) like vegetable and seed oils may have unintended negative health consequences. Some PUFAs can promote inflammation and are less stable, leading to the production of harmful compounds when heated, and oxidative stress in the body.
5. You do not have different ‘types’ of cholesterol, there is only one cholesterol molecule and we need all types of cholesterol transportation to carry that molecule to the tissues. This transportation system is called lipoproteins: HDL, LDL, VLDL, etc. While some lipoproteins have been labeled as “good”, like HDL, and others “bad”, like LDL, we need all sizes of these proteins to move cholesterol around the body.
6. Cholesterol does not ‘cause’ plaques in the arteries, it is there to try and heal and repair the arteries from the root cause. Inflammation is a key factor. Chronic inflammation, rather than cholesterol, is a primary contributor to atherosclerosis. Factors like a high-sugar diet, refined carbohydrates, trans fats in processed and fried foods and nutrient deficiencies like vitamins A, E, D, and K (all found in dairy, butter, and animal fats) are detrimental to heart health.
7. Historical diet patterns were not linked to heart disease. Traditional diets, such as those of the Inuit or the Maasai, which are extremely high in animal fats and meat, do not show any heart disease, suggesting there must be other factors at play.
8. Clinical trials have been misinterpreted. Some significant clinical trials that supposedly supported the lipid hypothesis are criticized for their design flaws, biased interpretations, and overemphasis on statistical significance rather than clinical relevance. Also, significant other factors have been left out of the narrative. While stain drugs trials do in fact show some reduction in the incidence of heart disease what we don’t talk about is those same studies showed significant increase in cancer rates of the same study participants!
9. Industry influence on dietary guidelines. Rather than basing our dietary recommendations on well-sourced scientific evidence, the creation of dietary guidelines demonizing cholesterol in particular was heavily influenced by food industry interests and political pressures post World War II when we were trying to repurpose the industrial war complex into civilian life. No one food industry would be singled out if the focus was on a molecule versus a food type and the sugar industry worked hard to be sure it was left out of the conversation. This led to a boom in low-fat, high-carb, industrial processed foods and cheap seed and vegetable oils (margarine, crisco, canola, corn, soybean, safflower and linseed oils) which have worsened public health.
10. There’s a problem with low-fat diets. Low-fat diets, long recommended for heart health, may actually increase the risk of cardiovascular disease by increasing carbohydrate intake, which can lead to insulin resistance, obesity, and metabolic syndrome.
More On Statins:
Statins may provide limited benefits for certain populations, particularly for primary prevention in individuals without a history of heart disease. The reduction in cardiovascular events may be marginal for many users.
Statins are associated with various side effects, including muscle pain and weakness (myopathy) due to causing nutrient deficiency, liver damage, increased blood sugar levels, and potential development of type 2 diabetes.
Some evidence suggests that statins may negatively impact cognitive function, potentially leading to memory loss and confusion, and can be associated with depression, increased aggression and even suicidal ideation in some people. This is particularly concerning given the rising rates of depression, acts of violence, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Statins can deplete the body of essential nutrients, such as Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), which is crucial for energy production and heart health. Low levels of CoQ10 can lead to muscle weakness, pain and fatigue.
The focus on lowering cholesterol might overshadow other more significant factors in cardiovascular health, such as inflammation, oxidative stress, and lifestyle factors like diet and exercise, and prevention or reversal of diabetes!
The reported benefits of statins are often presented in terms of relative risk reduction, which can be misleading. The absolute risk reduction is frequently much smaller, making the benefits seem more significant than they are.
As mentioned above cholesterol is a precursor to essential hormones, including sex hormones and cortisol. Lowering cholesterol excessively (below 160mg/dL) might disrupt the balance of these hormones, potentially leading to hormonal imbalances and associated health issues.
Statins address the symptom (high cholesterol) rather than the underlying causes of cardiovascular diseases. Focusing on lifestyle changes might be more effective for long-term health. Lifestyle changes can include:
Eating whole foods
A home cooked diet
Daily moderate exercise
Time spent outside in nature
Stress management
Increasing the quality of love, support in your life, combating loneliness
First thing’s first: listen to this week’s podcast. I go WAY deeper into all of these points and explain the historical path that lead us to this massively misrepresented area of health.
Please, please, please reach out to me for a consultation if this issue is a concern of yours. It is so important that you get the correct information to support you, your heart, and your health.
What You Can Do Now:
Here are some actions you can take now to address this nuanced issue:
If you are on a statin, take 200mg CoQ10 every day
Live this quote “Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much.” - Michael Pollen
As you have heard me say over and over: Eat 6 cups of veggies a day and add 6-12oz grass-fed, free-range red meat 5-7x a week.
Lower your blood sugar and Hemoglobin A1c
By the way, the Med Diet is A LOT cleaner eating than it looks at first glance. While it allows grains and dairy, it limits sweets, sugary drinks, processed red meat, and alcohol, and essentially is rooted in ‘everything in moderation’. What I don’t like about how it is discussed in medicine is we don’t emphasis enough that the people studied for this diet cooked EVERYTHING from scratch at home with their multigenerational families and traditional cooking styles.
It may not be as much about the ingredients as their entire way of LIFE! Living with family in community, daily outdoor exercise, being in nature and eating a whole foods diet, cooked from scratch everyday.
So, if you want to keep some grains, legumes and flours in your diet, learn to cook, or cook more and you can eat the pasta and bread you make from scratch with your grandparents ;)
(Want more? Get a 56-min answer to ‘What causes heart attacks?’ that will blow your mind. Listen here!)