Did you know cholesterol is a nutrient, that it functions as an antioxidant and that it’s a critical building block for our bodies?
Yes. It’s true.
It’s the hero, not the villain.
I know. It’s hard to wrap your head around because we’ve been told for so long that it’s bad for us.
Even if you’ve begun recognizing we need the healthy saturated fats God gave us, you’re likely still concerned about your cholesterol numbers.
You think cholesterol is going to lead to heart disease or atherosclerosis (the buildup of plaque in the arteries).
And you believe there is a good and bad cholesterol.
Are you willing to seriously challenge these beliefs?
And to dismiss them once and for all?
You’re asking, “Why have we been told cholesterol is bad for so many decades if it’s good for us?”
“How could the healthcare industry have gotten it so wrong?”
I will attempt to answer those questions further along in this article.
First though, I want to explain how beneficial it is. And why you may want to celebrate your cholesterol levels going up.
Along with the teaching that cholesterol is bad for us, came the replacement of all the good quality God-made fats (butter, tallow, lard, chicken fat, duck fat, goose fat, coconut oil,…)
With manmade vegetable oils (also known as seed oils) and added sugars.
What’s the problem with this?
Catherine Shanahan, MD, author of Deep Nutrition and Dark Calories expresses it this way:
The root cause of everything [every disease] is nutrient deficiency and toxicity.
Those two factors combine to cause a state of cell imbalance that chemists, biologists and pathologists call oxidative stress.[1]
Oxidative stress is recognized as the root cause of aging, every single disease of aging, and of death.[2]
Oxidative stress occurs because of nutrient deficiency.
It makes sense that the fats God made are good for us (the cholesterol rich foods, like bacon, eggs, butter, lard,…) – filled with the nutrients our bodies need to thrive.
Without these healthy fats we become nutrient deplete.
The vegetable oils (doted as cholesterol-lowering and heart-healthy) are both nutrient deplete and toxic.
They do indeed lower cholesterol.
They do so by oxidizing it and causing oxidative stress.
Also, the metabolism of the fructose molecule in refined sugar induces oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress can lead to a whole array of disorders, including:
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Lipid Problems
- Polycystic Ovarian Disease
- Non-Alcoholic Liver Disease (20% of children and 45% of adults today suffer from non-alcoholic liver disease)
- Cancer
- Dementia
- Aging (because it is the cause of wrinkles, cataract, and cardiovascular disease)
- And the list goes on and on
Do you see what I’m getting at?
Vegetable oil and sugar are oxidative stress in bottles and packages.
The best way to slow down oxidative stress and possibly turn your health around is to get off of vegetable oils and sugar.
And celebrate when your cholesterol goes up because it means you’re experiencing less oxidative stress.
[Note. It’s been shown time and again that eating cholesterol rich foods don’t cause your cholesterol levels to go up. In 1992, one of the most comprehensive analyses of this subject concluded the vast majority of people will react to increased cholesterol in the diet by producing significantly less in the body. Our body is innately wise and does what it needs to do to keep us alive. It does so by keeping internal conditions in proper balance. In the same way your body sweats to release heat and lower your body temperature, the process of homeostasis is constantly returning your internal body conditions – including cholesterol – to a state where all biological systems can function optimally.[3]]
And because we need cholesterol:
- Cholesterol is produced by almost every cell of the body.
- Cholesterol in cell membranes makes cells waterproof so there can be a different chemistry on the inside and outside of cells.
- Cholesterol is our body’s own natural repair substance. It’s used to repair wounds, including tears and irritations in the arteries.
- Cholesterol is a building block for many important hormones, including hormones that regulate metabolism and blood sugar, hormones that help us deal with stress, and all the sex hormones such as testosterone, estrogen and progesterone.
- Cholesterol is vital to brain and nervous system functions.
- Cholesterol protects us against depression; it plays a role in the utilization of serotonin, an important “feel-good” neurotransmitter.
- Cholesterol is needed to produce bile salts, which are required for fat digestion.
- Cholesterol is the precursor of Vitamin D, which is formed by the action of ultraviolet (UV-B) light on cholesterol in the skin.
- Cholesterol is a powerful antioxidant that protects us against free radicals in the cell membrane and therefore against cancer.
- Cholesterol, especially LDL-cholesterol (the so called bad cholesterol), helps fight infection and toxins. As you grow older, you do want your LDL to go up because you need more protection from cancer, and you need this antioxidant production.[4],[5],[6],[7]
I invite you to pause with me here. Take a deep breath. And allow these benefits to sink in.
Let’s remember God knows best.
He knew what He was doing when He created the world and us and the foods we need to thrive – the eggs, butter, cream, animal fats, coconut oil, vegetables and fruits grown WITHOUT chemicals and pesticides.
What He created was perfect; He did not mess up.
And we cannot improve on anything he made.
“Thank you, God, for providing for us and looking after us.”
* * * * * * * * *
So, let’s go back to the questions about where the misinformation about cholesterol began?
I’m going to give a very brief synopsis. There have been books written on this subject. I list some at the end and highly encourage you to delve into the subject more.
The myth began in the 1950s as men in their prime (men who were aged 40, 50 and 60 at the peak of their careers) began to suffer heart attacks, many dropping dead.
This was a new phenomenon that doctors didn’t have answers for.
President Dwight Eisenhower was one of those men who suffered a number of heart attacks, all the more thrusting the concern and need for answers into the limelight.
Investigations began, and cholesterol was fingered as the culprit, without true scientific evidence ever being presented, primarily from the proposition of a man named Ancel Keys, a biologist and pathologist at the University of Minnesota.[8]
He confidently drew a direct line of causation for fat in the diet to serum cholesterol in the blood to heart disease.
In a 1952 presentation at Mt. Sinai in New York (later published in several papers that together received enormous attention), Keys formally introduced this idea, which he called his “diet-heart hypothesis.”
His graph showed a close correlation between fat intake and death rate from heart disease in six countries… a flawed conclusion as you can see in the image.[9]
Though he was highly criticized by many of his peers, Keys proceeded in promoting his hypothesis.
It wasn’t long before the American Heart Association, which depends on large donations of cash from the vegetable oil industry, jumped on Key’s band wagon.
The Diet-Heart Hypothesis became the accepted nutritional dogma within the medical establishment.[10]
It was adopted by the American Heart Association (AHA) and the National Institutes for Health (NIH). These two organizations set the agenda for the field and controlled most of the research dollars and scientists who didn’t want to end up like George Mann.
“Who was George Mann?,” you ask.
George Mann studied the Masai in Africa. He found a totally different reality than that presented by Ancel Keys.
The Masai men ate only meat, blood, and milk – no vegetables. Over sixty percent of their calories were from animal sources, which meant that it was largely saturated fat.
Their weight and blood pressure were about fifty percent lower than their American counterparts and there were no incidents of heart disease.
Opposing Keys devastated Mann’s career. After speaking out against the diet-heat hypothesis, he was virtually barred from prominent AHA publications.
Mann also believes that Key’s sizable influence at NIH led to the cancellation of his longtime research grant.
“One day,” Mann recalled in an interview with Nina Teicholz, “the woman who was the study section secretary ask me to step out into the hall. ‘Your opposition to Keys is going to cost you your grant.’ And she was right.”[11]
Mann was not the only one with research showing a very different picture, one that does not support the argument against saturated fat.
There was also:
- Gerald Sharper (Samburus in Uganda)
- Vilhjalmur Stefansson (Inuit of Canada)
- Weston A. Price (Switzerland, Gaelic communities in the islands off of the mainland of Scottland, indigenous peoples of North and South America, Melanesian and Polynesian South Sea Islanders, African tribes, Australian Aborigines and New Zealand Maori)
- Aleš Hrdlička (Native Americans of the Southwest)
- Robert McCarrison (Sikhs and Hunzas)
- And others
Thanks to their research we know there’ve been many healthy populations that have survived mainly on animal foods, historically and into the present day.
Not only were these populations free of heart disease, but they were also free of degenerative diseases period.
Preferentially eating the fattest part of the animal and selecting animals at the fattest point in their life cycle appear to have been consistent hunting patterns among humans throughout history.
Meat consumed without fat was commonly understood to lead to weakness. [12]
How is it that we so easily forgot this, or were unaware of it?
And allowed ourselves to be indoctrinated into believing the very foods God gave us to thrive, and had been enjoyed since the dawn of time, were suddenly killing us?
Intuitively, I no longer buy this. Especially going back to what I said just a bit ago.
God doesn’t mess up.
Do you know the best way to stop worrying about your cholesterol levels?
Stop having them tested.
I know I have left a lot of questions unanswered because I am writing an article and not a book.
And I don’t have all the answers.
I challenge you to do your own research and really dive into understanding the problems created by the fear of cholesterol propaganda.
And what you can do to turn your own health around and that of our population as a whole.
Look at the books I list below.
Nina Teicholz in her book The Big Fat Surprise goes into great detail concerning how the misconception about cholesterol came into being.
She explains in great detail the clinical studies and how they were misrepresented.
Prepare yourself to be able to educate your doctor, or a friend or relative who is still worried about his or her cholesterol numbers.
Think about it.
If we don’t get involved and do something, what’s going to happen to our society?
Oxidative stress is happening not only on an individual level but on a societal level.
As mentioned above cholesterol is a building block for estrogen, testosterone, DHEA and progestins, all of the hormones involved in procreation.
Lowering it as a population is having serious consequences, driving down both sex drive and fertility and contributing to the plethora of degenerative diseases and chronic health issues you see today.[13]
You may be asking: “Why is the AHA and groups like it still backing and promoting our switch to these oils from the more nourishing fats that our ancestors enjoyed?
Dr. Catherine Shanahan says:
They can’t admit they were wrong. They were the ones who promoted this in the first place.
And note, the AHA is not a government organization. It’s a nonprofit run by doctors. This is the organization that educates all other doctors about what a healthy diet looks like. If they were to admit they’ve been wrong for 70 years, there might be legal culpability because they’ve caused heart attacks. If people started investigating, they would see that it was all based on a lie and a conflict of interest.
Get involved in calling these agencies out on what they’ve done wrong and continue to do wrong.
Here is a list of people and foundations who are already doing so. You can do an internet search for them and see what they’re doing and how you can get involved:
- Catherine Shanahan
- Nina Teicholz
- Zoë Harcombe
- David Diamond
- The Weston A. Price Foundation
Thank you for listening, my friend, and for your interest in seeking and knowing the truth.
To get more specific help on your wellness journey, book a Free 30-Munute Discovery Call today.
Let’s talk about where you are at now, what’s your goal or desire and what’s keeping you from achieving that goal.
Peace and grace,
Karen
Other resources for you on your journey to truth:
- The Big Fat Surprise, Nina Teicholz
- Put Your Heart in Your Mouth, Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride
- Deep Nutrition, Catherine Shanahan
- Dark Calories, Catherine Shanahan
- The Cholesterol Myths, Uffe Ravnskov
[1] Oxidative Stress (OS) is not a disease but a condition that can lead to or accelerate disease. OS occurs when the available supply of the body’s antioxidants is insufficient to handle and neutralize free radicals of different types. The result is massive cell damage that can result in cellular mutations, tissue breakdown and immune compromise.
Free radicals are highly unstable molecules that interact quickly and aggressively with other molecules in our bodies to create abnormal cells. They are capable of penetrating into the DNA of a cell and damaging its “blueprint” so that the cell will produce mutated cells that can then replicate without the normal, inherent controls to stop them. Free radicals are unstable because they have unpaired electrons in their molecular structure. This causes them to react almost instantly with any substance in their vicinity.
[2] https://www.westonaprice.org/podcast/overcome-your-fear-of-cholesterol/#gsc.tab=0
[3] Teicholz N. The Big Fat Surprise. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks 2014, pp. 23-24
[4] Ravnskov U 2000. The Cholesterol Myths. New Trends Publishing.
[5] https://www.ravnskov.nu/cholesterol/
[6] https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics-category/modern-diseases/#gsc.tab=0
[7] https://www.westonaprice.org/podcast/overcome-your-fear-of-cholesterol/#gsc.tab=0
[8] https://www.westonaprice.org/podcast/overcome-your-fear-of-cholesterol/#gsc.tab=0
[9] Teicholz N. The Big Fat Surprise. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks 2014, p. 27
[10] Ibid
[11] Ibid
[12] Ibid
[13] https://www.westonaprice.org/podcast/overcome-your-fear-of-cholesterol/#gsc.tab=0
