To this day people continue to look at cholesterol as a measure of their health. What they don’t realize is that this is based on 50 year old science. New science has began to look more at HDL, LDL, triglycerides and calculations based off of these numbers. New tests such as a nuclear medicine particle size tests (NMR Lipoprofile test) can be done to look at the particle size of your cholesterol rather than the total number which essentially tells you nothing. There are no studies to show that people with high cholesterol have increased rates of cardiovascular disease and death, actually it’s quite the opposite. It’s unfortunate in this day and age where a person readily has the tools to learn more about their health but tend to fall back on the lies they have grown up with in the past. Ready to accept whatever they’ve been told without question. The body is very complex and assuming that a total measure of good health could be based off of one number is ludicrous.
I’ve brought together some research to help you to understand what good markers of health actually are and where your skepticisms should lie, because cholesterol and saturated fats are not the enemy. If anything this lie has driven our population to have increased rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, cancer rates, Alzheimers and autoimmune diseases. We have become so unhealthy that even our children are having huge increases in obesity, diabetes and cancer rates. It used to be rare to see an overweight child, now it has become socially acceptable and studies are showing that the rates have tripled with 1 in 5 school age children being categorized as obese.*
Increases in consumption of omega 6 fatty acids (vegetable oils) have dangerously increased rates of cardiovascular disease. Vegetable oils are being promoted as heart healthy when in reality they make it easier for LDL to oxidize and turn in a small dense LDL (the bad kind) which causes inflammation leading to heart attack and stroke. Here’s a little history and background in relation to fat, cholesterol and cardiovascular disease.
Seven Countries Study
Ancel Keys, an American psychologist, introduced that eating low fat is good for your health in the 1950’s with his theory that dietary saturated fat raises cholesterol levels and gives you heart disease. He produced a study in 1958 named the “Seven Countries” study. His results were based on the data that he chose to look at while he ignored any of the data proving his theory incorrect. He studied 22 countries in an attempt to prove that saturated fat intake was related to heart disease. While the study showed in all 22 countries that sugar was related to heart disease only 7 of the countries showed saturated fat related to heart disease. Based on those 7 countries he was able to publish his theory. Over the next two decades the scientific evidence supporting his theory remained unproven and since that study was done people have continued to fear fat and instead eat more carbohydrates resulting in an increase in obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Sugar and Inflammation
Logically it might make sense that eating fat will cause it to build up in our arteries and cause a blockage since it appears sticky and thick when its observed, but this is not the case. Inflammation from sugar and grains causes inflammatory cells in the arterial walls (coronary artery disease). Sugar is highly addictive and highly inflammatory. So addictive in fact that it has been said to be more addictive than cocaine! * In one study researchers learned that eating sugar and high fructose corn syrup directly increased triglycerides, decreased particle size and reduced HDL. When the scientists removed sugar from the diet a reversal of all of this was seen *.
Cholesterol
When the inflammatory cells in our artery eventually rupture they cause a blockage. The HDL (high density lipoprotein) cholesterol in your blood comes to essentially repair the rupture*. Because this cholesterol had been found in the plaque when it was studied, scientists blamed it for the actual blockage. Would you blame the firefighter for coming to put out the fire? Or blame the fire itself? Make sense?
Cholesterol is important for every cell in your body to function. It helps to build and maintain cell walls, make hormones, help your metabolism work efficiently and helps you to absorb the nutrients from your food. Your Liver makes 75% of the cholesterol in your body while 25% comes from your diet.
Cholesterol travels on little boats called lipoproteins. The lipoproteins are what your doctor is talking about when they start talking about HDL (high density lipoprotein) and LDL (low density lipoprotein).
When your doctor measures your cholesterol they are measuring “total cholesterol”. This is a measure of all of the HDL and LDL. Which is why it essentially tells you nothing. Having a high cholesterol level if the majority of the cholesterol is HDL or large fluffy LDL would be a good thing. Whereas your doctor, with traditional training, would treat you with a statin to decrease this number.
HDL
HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol otherwise known as the “good”cholesterol is the one you want to have a high number of. Ideally over 45. HDL cholesterol travels the body and returns any unused cholesterol back to the liver to to be either eliminated or reused. (Think of it like the street sweeper). It clears away all the LDL to prevent plaque build up. It is highly anti-inflammatory protecting against atherosclerosis and other inflammatory diseases *.
LDL
LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol generally known as the “bad” cholesterol is not all as bad as you mat think. It is broken down into two types of particle sizes small dense and large fluffy. With the small dense being the potentially dangerous particles and the large fluffy being the good cholesterol. LDL is a slower moving lipoprotein and because of that is more at risk of getting stuck when it travels through the blood stream. When it gets stuck it starts to oxidize making it easier to enter your arterial cell wall and cause plaque (atherosclerosis). Larger fluffy LDL cholesterol does not have the same ability as small dense LDL to enter the arterial wall. This is why it’s important to request a particle size test from your doctor. And rather than looking at the total LDL-C, which really tells you nothing and is based off an equation, (Friedewald equation: LDL=total chol – (triglycerides/5)- HDL), you would look at the number of the different particle sizes which would tell you more. And even this research is continuing to change with studies looking at whether the small dense LDL is really as bad as we think. With looking at the majority of current studies, showing small dense LDL as bad, you may wonder where does the increase of these particles come from, and the answer is carbohydrates. Choosing a low carb diet will decrease your small dense LDL numbers. And thus decrease your chances for cardiovascular disease.
Triglycerides
Eating carbohydrates, especially a lot of carbohydrates based in sugar and starch directly raises triglyceride levels. If you are looking for one number to directly indicate what your cardiovascular health looks like this would be the best one. The higher the triglyceride level the more likely you will also have a higher small dense LDL number as well. When triglycerides are increased it puts you at a greater risk for cardiovascular disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes. The keto diet or LCHF (low carb high fat) uses good fats to reduce triglycerides and LDL while increasing HDL.
In summary, with increasing your HDL (generally above 45mg/dL or 1.16 mmol/L) and decreasing your triglycerides (below 100 mg/dL or 1.129 mmol/L) and keeping your CRP (under 1 or 2 mg/L or 0.0 mmol/L) your risk for blockage is very low. Your LDL or cholesterol may rise but these results are not the ones you should be focusing on even though this is likely all your doctor will focus on. Remember cholesterol is good and LDL (large fluffy) are also good. This is why focusing on these particular numbers doesn’t tell you a lot of useful information.
