DIETARY CHOLESTEROL
DESTROYER OF HEALTH AND CLOGGER OF ARTERIES?
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“We got the dietary guidelines wrong. They’ve been wrong for decades. We told people not to eat eggs. It was never based on good science. We got fatter and fatter. We got more and more diabetes.” Dr. Steven Nissen, Cardiologist and Chairman of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Cleavland Clinic from Lisa Szabo’s article in USA Today (Panel Could Scrap Advice on Dietary Cholesterol)
“I have been telling patients this very thing for the better part of two decades. Metabolically speaking, dietary fat is rather inert. In other words, consumption of fat (excluding Trans Fat) is not what ignites your body’s fat storage machinery. That award would go to refined carbs.” Dr. Russell Schierling from last year’s post (THE LATEST ON LOW CARB DIETS)
The small anti-fat / anti-cholesterol movement was given life by Ancel Keys landmark (and now debunked) “Seven Countries Study” that was published in 1970, but began in the early 1950’s. For this study, Dr. Keys traveled the world (sort of like DR. WESTON PRICE) looking for evidence of a link between dietary fats and heart disease. Although he went to a total of 22 countries to collect data, data only from seven was ever published. Why on earth would a person choose not to publish 2/3 of their research? Easy. Because it didn’t fit his hypothesis. The studies created via this practice of picking and choosing which data to publish and which not to publish has a name —- INVISIBLE AND ABANDONED — and unfortunately, is epidemic in American academia (the link is the first of a three part series on the topic — just make sure to have a barf-bag handy if you click it).
As you already know, most of the scientific community followed Keys lead. Before long we had our culprit for our nation’s swelling waistlines and hospital bills (not to mention our burgeoning rate of mortality) — the “Great Satan” that could be scape-goated for everything. The war was on; and in similar fashion to the way that publishing research that goes against the status quo will get you blacklisted today, so it was then as well. It shows us that Cardiologist, Dr. Robert Atkins’ first book (Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution), published in 1972, was even more brilliant and daring than anyone at the time believed.
The last set of guidelines on how much cholesterol we should be consuming was issued five years ago and warned us not to consume more than the equivalent of an egg (300 mg) a day. All of this begs the question of whether or not we can we trust the people / organizations who present us the guidelines for other health-related issues as well. What about how much Cholesterol we should have in our blood (HERE)? What about Saturated Fat (HERE)? How about the guidelines concerning Diabetes (HERE)? Or dietary salt (HERE)? Or Obesity (HERE)? And if we can’t trust the government to give us good guidelines in these areas, what would possibly make us think they can do any better when it comes to vaccinations (HERE)? Such is the nature of EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE. As I’ve said many a time, “Science” is all too often whatever the corporation with the deepest pockets says it is.
For the record, if you want to effectively deal with almost every health problem under the sun (including High Cholesterol), you need to start by addressing UNBRIDLED INFLAMMATION — a concept that is not ‘new’ by anyone’s standards. HERE is a post that might interest you as well.
