We’ve all heard it before. Limit your saturated fat intake to lower cholesterol so you can decrease the risk of heart disease. Unfortunately thats a huge misconception based on a little something called the 'lipid hypothesis'.
Hypothesis; a word you probably recall hearing back in elementary school when you were assigned your first science experiment.
Let's review the definition of 'hypothesis' according to Google...
Hypothesis; a word you probably recall hearing back in elementary school when you were assigned your first science experiment.
Let's review the definition of 'hypothesis' according to Google...
hy·poth·e·sis
hīˈpäTHəsis/
noun
noun: hypothesis; plural noun: hypotheses
So essentially, an educated guess. Yup! Decades of guidance from health experts, medical associations and Doctors alike have been suggesting the same unproven dietary advice based on a hunch. But how is this possible? There is no way we are being influenced to eat a certain way based on something that was never actually proven, right?
Well, ask yourself this: If the lipid hypothesis was in fact proven, why is it still called the lipid hypothesis???
hīˈpäTHəsis/
noun
noun: hypothesis; plural noun: hypotheses
- 1.a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.
"professional astronomers attacked him for popularizing an unconfirmed hypothesis"
synonyms:theory, theorem, thesis, conjecture, supposition, postulation, postulate,proposition, premise, assumption;
- PHILOSOPHY
a proposition made as a basis for reasoning, without any assumption of its truth.
- PHILOSOPHY
So essentially, an educated guess. Yup! Decades of guidance from health experts, medical associations and Doctors alike have been suggesting the same unproven dietary advice based on a hunch. But how is this possible? There is no way we are being influenced to eat a certain way based on something that was never actually proven, right?
Well, ask yourself this: If the lipid hypothesis was in fact proven, why is it still called the lipid hypothesis???
Let's start with getting to know cholesterol...
Most people understand cholesterol to be a toxic substance that sneaks into your arteries after eating a fatty, greasy meal. This then leads to clogging of the arteries which causes series of coronary artery diseases (CAD), including heart attacks, high blood pressure and strokes.
However, most of the public is unaware of how essential cholesterol actually is in our bodies. Yes, essential. Meaning that it's presence in our body is mandatory in order to sustain life.
Now, let's take a look at (just some of) the many jobs cholesterol has in our body:
Most people understand cholesterol to be a toxic substance that sneaks into your arteries after eating a fatty, greasy meal. This then leads to clogging of the arteries which causes series of coronary artery diseases (CAD), including heart attacks, high blood pressure and strokes.
However, most of the public is unaware of how essential cholesterol actually is in our bodies. Yes, essential. Meaning that it's presence in our body is mandatory in order to sustain life.
Now, let's take a look at (just some of) the many jobs cholesterol has in our body:
- Cognitive Brain Function: 25% of total cholesterol in the body resides in the brain and is responsible for synapse formation-- aka those things that fire off, allowing you to think, learn new things and create memories. Alzheimer's anyone?
- Production of Hormones: It is essential for the production of many hormones, including reproductive ones. Did you know Testosterone is a cholesterol based hormone? I wonder how many men who are Rx Statin medications for cholesterol are also being Rx things like Viagra for erectile dysfunction? Just a thought.
- Allow for Cellular Interaction: The human body contains trillions (thats 1,000 x 1 billion= just 1 trillion) of cells that form tissues. Those tissues make up organs, which then form organ systems, which make up the human body and every last one of those cells contains cholesterol. This is one of the factors that allows for our cells to interact with one another and communicate.
- Self Sufficient: Cholesterol is so essential that the body will produce it all by itself. So even if you consumed zero cholesterol in your diet, your body knows better than you, and the liver will produce it anyway as a means to survive.
So then why the bad rap? Well, lets take a look into history. While the lipid hypothesis, or cholesterol theory can be dated back over 100 years ago, it was Ansel Keys' famous "Seven Countries Study" in 1958 that can be credited for the fat phobia that plagues us today.
Based on his published findings, Keys claimed that there was a direct link between heart disease related death and the amount of fat in the diet. Therefore, if saturated fat raises cholesterol, and cholesterol causes heart disease, we should stop consuming saturated fat in order to reduce the risk of heart disease in our world.
Seems logical at first. However, there were two problems:
1. Correlation does not equal causation
2. The "Seven Countries Study" actually consisted of 22 countries. Keys simply left out the data of all the countries that did not align with his theory. Tisk tisk...
{via www.fathead-movie.com}
But what about the fact that Ancel Keys lived to be 100 years old? Well, so did my Lebanese Grandparents, but I wouldn't recommend everyone take up chain smoking like they did. Though I will say that they looked a lot healthier in their last days than he did. Also, unlike Ancel Keys, they didn't suffer from strokes and they never once limited their fat intake.
Ironically enough, it was Keys himself that stated in 1997:
Ironically enough, it was Keys himself that stated in 1997:
“There’s no connection whatsoever between the cholesterol in food and cholesterol in the blood. And we’ve known that all along. Cholesterol in the diet doesn’t matter at all unless you happen to be a chicken or a rabbit.”
In fact, if you watch the two first videos I've posted for you here, you will hear from many Dr's and Cardiologists that have come to the realization that the level of cholesterol in the body have absolutely nothing to do with the degree of health in the heart.
At this point, you might be wondering, "If all of the above is true and eating saturated fat doesn't actually cause heart disease, why haven't organizations like the American Heart Association or the FDA intervened and said something?" Well, for one, cholesterol lowering medications (i.e. Statins) are a $29 Billion industry (multiply 1,000 x $1 million and you've got just 1 of those 29 B's). I hate to get all conspiracy theory on you here, but money controls a lot of policy in our world, and the medical industry is no exception.
Second, we are enabling them to remain in business by not doing our own research and changing our lifestyles to maintain healthier hearts that don't need medications to begin with. Educate yourself. Stop being scared of putting natural fat on your plate in exchange for low-fat, man made, food-like products that have done absolutely nothing to decrease the risk of heart disease.
But don't just take my word for it. Do your homework, ask questions and start here in the Educate Yourself section of my website. I have gained the knowledge I have through mere curiosity, so stay curious my friends.
At this point, you might be wondering, "If all of the above is true and eating saturated fat doesn't actually cause heart disease, why haven't organizations like the American Heart Association or the FDA intervened and said something?" Well, for one, cholesterol lowering medications (i.e. Statins) are a $29 Billion industry (multiply 1,000 x $1 million and you've got just 1 of those 29 B's). I hate to get all conspiracy theory on you here, but money controls a lot of policy in our world, and the medical industry is no exception.
Second, we are enabling them to remain in business by not doing our own research and changing our lifestyles to maintain healthier hearts that don't need medications to begin with. Educate yourself. Stop being scared of putting natural fat on your plate in exchange for low-fat, man made, food-like products that have done absolutely nothing to decrease the risk of heart disease.
But don't just take my word for it. Do your homework, ask questions and start here in the Educate Yourself section of my website. I have gained the knowledge I have through mere curiosity, so stay curious my friends.
Resources:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/12/30/cholesterol-levels.aspx
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18615352
http://www.gnolls.org/1086/the-lipid-hypothesis-has-officially-failed-part-1-of-many/http://chriskresser.com/cholesterol-doesnt-cause-heart-disease
http://chriskresser.com/the-most-important-thing-you-probably-dont-know-about-cholesterolhttp://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Understanding_Cholesterol.htmhttp://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/alzheimers_statins.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Countries_Study#Criticism
http://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2013/09/27/statins-do-not-help-you-live-longer-or-do-anything-much-else-for-that-matter/
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/12/30/cholesterol-levels.aspx
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18615352
http://www.gnolls.org/1086/the-lipid-hypothesis-has-officially-failed-part-1-of-many/http://chriskresser.com/cholesterol-doesnt-cause-heart-disease
http://chriskresser.com/the-most-important-thing-you-probably-dont-know-about-cholesterolhttp://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Understanding_Cholesterol.htmhttp://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/alzheimers_statins.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Countries_Study#Criticism
http://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2013/09/27/statins-do-not-help-you-live-longer-or-do-anything-much-else-for-that-matter/
