Still Afraid of Fat? Time to Rethink that.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAHas anyone read The Big Fat Surprise, by Nina Teicholz? It’s getting a lot of press because it’s a great book!  She goes through step by step details of how meat, full fat dairy, eggs, cholesterol, and saturated fats came to be demonized in America.  What happened?  Let’s just say it’s Big Phuvernment in full swing.

You all, we’ve been duped.  Yep.  There’s ZERO scientific research that CONCLUSIVELY links eating fat and cholesterol with heart disease, yet that connection is accepted as gospel.  Study after study demonstrates no correlation between our level of blood cholesterol and any degree of atherosclerosis.  Study after study shows no link between lowering our cholesterol through diet or drugs, and avoiding heart disease. We wouldn’t know this from talking to our doctor or watching TV commercials.  It’s time to rethink how we make decisions about our own health.

Here’s a few lines on the results of a UCLA School of Medicine study which looked at 136,900 patients in 2009:

A nationwide study conducted by UCLA School of Medicine found that 75 percent of patients hospitalized for a heart attack had LDL cholesterol within the so called safe range – below 130 mg/dl. (21 percent of the patients were taking a statin cholesterol-lowering drug.) Even more astounding, 50 percent of patients had LDL less than 100 mg/dL – considered optimal levels! The mean LDL cholesterol among the hospitalized patients was 104.9 mg/dL.

Read that again! Seriously!

Study after study has shown that lowering cholesterol doesn’t make us live longer or better or have less heart disease. Actually, there are several studies showing that really low cholesterol is linked with more infections ( cholesterol is vital to our immune system), a lack of sex hormones ( all steroid hormones are derived from cholesterol), and associations with aggressive behavior and suicides.  Low cholesterol can be bad for our health – ever heard your doctor say that?

If you’re looking for an interesting non-fiction read, this is it.  It’s time that everyone discovers that  (1) Fat’s not bad for us, and (2), fat is actually GOOD for us. Here’s a few of the many benefits of fats;  read and consider how DECADES of low-fat advice has impacted our health:

Every singe cell in our entire body has a membrane that’s partially composed of saturated fats and cholesterol.  They provide a support structure that allows nutrients in, trash out, and information to be passed cell to cell properly.  That’s important.

Our brain matter is about 60% fat and cholesterol.  ( If you haven’t read Grain Brain yet, you should! )  Fat has many functions up there;  one of them is making memories. Our memories come from our synapses, and synapse formation is almost entirely dependent on cholesterol.  Our brain’s own cells produce a lot of the cholesterol needed for this.  Statin drugs, which shut down our own natural cholesterol production, are famous for interfering with memory.

What about LDL, surely that’s definitely bad, right? It depends.  There’s several types of LDL; one type bind directly to dangerous bacterial toxins and inactivates them, preventing them from doing any damage in the body. We need that particular LDL!   A diet rich in cholesterol has been demonstrated to improve recovery from acute or chronic infections, so the next time you get sick, focus on healthy fatty foods:  eggs, liver, butter, and fatty broth.

There is an LDL that’s small, dense, and prone to damaging arteries, it’s called VLDL, and our body makes that in response to high amounts of carbohydrates in the diet.  (Triglycerides, a fat that’s highly correlated with heart disease, also rises in response to high amounts of carbs.)

Maybe you believe that eating fat doesn’t cause heart attacks, but can you believe that eating fat doesn’t necessarily make you fat?  Notice I say “necessarily”.  A diet full of processed foods, crappy carbs, hydrogenated fats, old polyunsaturated fats left in a deep fryer for days, and a pile of chemicals that create smells, flavors, textures, and colors – just like real food – will make anyone fat as a tick. And sick too. ( This includes our children. )

A diet full of healthy animal fats, coconut oil, olive oil, butter, and cream, along with copious amounts of vegetables, good proteins, some fruit, some nuts and seeds, and some full fat dairy ( if you can tolerate that), will absolutely NOT make you fat.  The opposite will happen, I promise! How?  You’d be feeding your body what it needs to make new cells, repair cells, and function correctly.  When your body has what it needs to build and repair, it runs smoothly. Your weight normalizes, you have energy, your immune system is strong, and you think better!

Bonus?  Fat satiates.  The food cravings that drive constant eating or binges?  Gone on a high fat diet. That’s because a high carb, high crap diet leaves your brain searching for nutrients.  You won’t be able to ignore the messages demanding that you eat now if you’re not feeding your body the nutrients it needs to be normal and healthy.

Confused, dubious, but hopeful that fat could actually be good for you?  If you’re in the mood for a Big Read, buy The Big Fat Secret.  If you need something quicker, easier to read, and much more direct about fat and cholesterol’s relationship to heart disease, and the dangerous side effects of statin drugs, buy Cholesterol Clarity.   I recommend this to clients, family and friends all the time, it’s excellent.

Want to implement a high fat diet, but you’re not sure how?  Get in touch with me. If you’ve been on a low fat/high carb bandwagon, you’re going to need help making the switch, mentally and physically ( in your kitchen ).  If you’ve been struggling with your weight and your health, this is the answer you’ve been looking for, honest.  Real Whole Food, with plenty fats.  Honestly, try it for a month.  See the difference it can make in your mood, your thinking, and your life – it’s profound.

The Big Take Away:  We all need to be our own best health care provider.  To truly be healthy, fit, and full of energy, it’s up to us to read, to learn, and to question the main stream establishment.  Big Phuvernment stands for the union of Big Government, Big Business, and Big Pharma.  Medicine today is very drug and money oriented.  As a matter of fact, the US spends more on health care than any country in the world, with horrible results.  It’s time for us to stop following blindly, and start taking control of our own health.

2 comments

  1. Dennis Hunt says:

    Another excellent post Debbie! I think I’ll go out and kill a whale and just bath in the fats:).

    Dennis

  2. Debbie says:

    Good idea Dennis! I’ve heard whale fat is great for your skin!