3 Reasons Not To Worry About Your Cholesterol Numbers

By:  Maria



It's inevitable.

The mere mention of recommending fats like coconut oil and avocado; quality protein like red meat and whole eggs in a healthy diet, will raise eyebrows and also elicit questions about cholesterol.

Isn't that bad for cholesterol? Aren't those foods putting me at risk for heart disease?

We have been pummeled with decades worth of mainstream indoctrination telling us that eating saturated fat causes heart disease via high cholesterol.

It's time for change.

#1 Eating saturated fat doesn't raise cholesterol levels in the blood

There have been many studies examining the association between saturated fat consumption and cholesterol levels in the blood (serum cholesterol). Only one showed an association, but even that association was feeble. With one exception (whom is mentioned at the bottom), no one does a better job explaining this than Stephan Guyenet here.

#2. Eating cholesterol-containing foods typically does not raise serum cholesterol

Ok, so the word typically must have you saying "ah-ha!". Not so fast cowboy. Although it's true that 30% of the population had an increase in HDL and LDL cholesterol when consuming eggs, it warrants a closer look. Raising levels of HDL is a good thing. Raising levels of a type of LDL from saturated fat, turns out to be a good thing as well! Many people do not realize that LDL comes in two forms: the small, dense LDL (bad) and the large, fluffy LDL (good). The small, dense LDL oxidizes and causes inflammation, whereas the large, fluffy LDL does not. So guess what happens when you eat eggs? The large, fluffy LDL increases (good!) and the small, dense LDL decreases (good!).

Read more here.

#3. High cholesterol isn't a strong risk factor for heart disease

Stop laughing. This is where it gets good. I'm not a scientist, so I will leave this to the real experts. Bottom line, however, is this: mainstream media, your doctors, neighbors, family and friends all seem to think that total and LDL cholesterol numbers are the most important numbers when it comes to determining heart disease risk. The truth is, they have been only weakly associated and even some of those associations have been questionable. If high cholesterol was a strong risk for heart disease, how can we explain the French, Austrians and other European nations where cholesterol numbers are the highest in the world, but heart disease is the lowest? Or perhaps women - on average, they have lower heart disease rates than men, but higher cholesterol numbers.

Another favorite of mine that has done some comprehensive research on the subject of cholesterol is Chris Masterjohn. Read more here.

Note: This article assumes you are eating a diet rich in quality proteins and healthy fat sources, no industrial seed oils and avoiding food toxins. If your numbers are above 300mg/dl, there may be an indicator of inflammation or metabolic derangement that should be addressed. This article is not meant to take the place of medical advice and/or treatment from your physician.