Do you want to be healthy? Weigh less? Have more energy? Lower your cholesterol? Archives of Internal Medicine (July 1992): “… the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower the person’s serum cholesterol … the people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories, weighed the least and were the most physically active. Dr Mary Enig from the Weston A. Price Foundation explains that “weight gain and cholesterol levels had an inverse correlation with fat and cholesterol intake in the diet.” Dr Enig was among the first researchers to raise concerns about trans fats from vegetable oils in the 1970s but was ignored by peers more intent on running down animal fats.
Does this information totally confuse you? It need not. Ultimately what it is saying is that a moderate amount of saturated fats – whether from grass fed cattle or sheep or as butter or full fat milk – is beneficial to health. Makes perfect sense if you also consider that our body is programmed to recognise animal fats and it uses these fats to help it detoxify substances such as heavy metals (mercury, lead, cadmium and others abounding in our society). The low-fat options or vegetable spreads usually contain in part or all, hydrogenated and altered fats – transfats – which our body cannot recognise or remove therefore causing a negative impact on blood lipids (cholesterol) composition and cell membrane function. It is for this reason that these transfats actually cause problems in our body.
In addition, regarding cholesterol one need only realise that the liver makes up to 80% of the cholesterol the body needs. Kind of tells you how important this substance is. If we eat more, our liver makes less. If our cholesterol is elevated, it is probably because the body is making more to protect your body from toxins or free radicals. So it seems counterproductive to stop cholesterol when our body is making it to protect us.
But, I hear you say – what about cholesterol and atherosclerosis and plaque build up? It is not the cholesterol level that causes the build up in your blood vessels but rather the level of inflammation in your body. A measure of this inflammation is homocysteine – if this is elevated, then the risk of cholesterol sticking to your blood vessels increases. Always ask your GP to test your homocysteine levels. If they are not up to date with the wealth of information regarding homocysteine since Kilmer McCully’s observations in 1969, then they may like to read Steven R. Lentz, MD, PhD, Department of Internal Medicine, C303 GH, The University of Iowa and the AMA Journals on this topic.
Your health is in your hands. For a comprehensive health assessment and unbiased* food recommendations, arrange an appointment today – call 07 5530 1863
* I give nutritional advice based on facts and knowledge of the body’s biochemistry.