cholesterol - what those numbers (don't) mean

[mc]

This interview with Rick Cohen, M.D., of Bioletics on cholesterol may be of particular interest for the more paleo, higher fat lower carb types in the house.

mc

 

[moribstatam]

A low cholesterol diet plan can really help to reduce cholesterol accumulation, which possibly brings about heart illness as well as other health problems. Our body does indeed produce cholesterol, but an excess within the our blood is often the consequence of a diet elevated in animal foodss like red meat, eggs and whole fat dairy products. Shifting our diet plan to low cholesterol foods like whole grains, fruits and veggies and nuts can not only reduce the cholesterol ingestion but additionally actively fight existing cholesterol

 

[Pushers]

Shifting our diet plan to low cholesterol foods like whole grains, fruits and veggies and nuts can not only reduce the cholesterol ingestion but additionally actively fight existing cholesterol

I don't understand... Why would you want to "actively fight existing cholesterol"? What possible reason could you have to fight a naturally occuring, vital, substance? It's like saying you want to actively fight red blood cells.

 

[DLS]

... is often the consequence of a diet elevated in animal foodss like red meat, eggs and whole fat dairy products....

Statements like this and on the site your post links too have been pretty well trashed in recent literature (say over the last 6-9 years). According to Harvard's Institute of Health "it is a myth that all that cholesterol goes straight to your bloodstream and then into your arteries. Not so. For most people, only a small amount of the cholesterol in food passes into the blood"

Your linked site provides a rehashing of old information and cites no sources (authoritative or otherwise) for the assertions made. One example of misinformation is the suggestion that eating only egg whites is more healthy than eating whole eggs. Whole eggs have been shown to be beneficial in reducing LDL and boosting HDL in persons with total cholesterol numbers over 200. (Mayo Clinic, Harvard etc.) These studies have shown that egg consumption has no connection to heart disease. It was this discovery that has led researchers to question the cholesterol to heart disease link and the prevailing information is eroding that thinking.

By not eating the yolk you forgo large amounts of vitamin D, choline, which has been linked with preserving memory, and lutein and zeaxanthin, which may protect against vision loss. One egg provides 25% of the RDA for vitamin D and 90% of the RDA for choline.

You also lose what eggs are best know for .... that is 6 grams of perfect protein (meaning it contains all 22 amino acids necessary for human protein synthesis), and it is the only food to do so. This (and several other essential fatty acids) primarily comes from the yolk.

I know your post was not an attack on eggs per se, but a general statement about lowering consumption of cholesterol, I only spent this much time on eggs as an example of the problematic statements made. I would suggest going to the original post and really taking the time to read the article accessed by the provided link. It's much more in tune with current thinking about all of this ... and may actually provide some insight as to how you may increase your health!

Hope this helps.

 

[vanessa walters]

Cholestral issues are in my father's line; I eat mostly low(er) fat foods; take fish oil; read food labels, more fiber and regular workouts (including kettlebells' workouts). My doctor approves of what I am doing. I do 'treat' myself now and then; some food items such as potato chips and sigh....butter I have to keep out of my house; they taste too good for me, to leave them alone. I have tried and failed to eat these 2 foods in moderation; so out of the house. My cholestral counts are better; I have NO urge to resume how I used to eat before; I have NO desire to begin taking cholestral medications!