There are a few money making scams where big pharma and the medical fraternity are in cahoots and that really irks me. The cholesterol issue is one of them.
Lowering cholesterol levels may impair brain function, since cholesterol is essential for synapse formation and maturation and plays an important role in the regulation of signal transduction through its function as a component of the cell membrane.
Better memory functioning is associated with higher total and LDL cholesterol levels in the very elderly and HDL cholesterol has been correlated with deficits and declines in memory in midlife.
The idea that saturated fats cause heart disease, was introduced in the 1950s, based on weak, unproven evidence. Subsequent clinical trials attempting to substantiate this hypothesis could never establish even a causal link. However, these clinical-trial data were largely ignored for decades. Subsequent re-examinations of this evidence have been published, which have largely concluded that saturated fats have no effect on cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular mortality or total mortality.
The diet-heart hypothesis was first proposed in the 1950s by Ancel Keys who influenced Paul Dudley White, a cardiologist and the personal doctor for President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
He was one of the founders of the AHA, and Eisenhower hosted fundraisers for the group.
Thus, from 1961 on, the AHA recommended that all men (and women) decrease their consumption of saturated fat, and replace these fats with polyunsaturated vegetable oils, to “protect” against heart disease Eisenhower started using margarine rather than butter.
For decades, people have avoided fat- and cholesterol-rich items, such as butter, nuts, egg yolks, and full fat dairy, instead opting for low fat substitutes like margarine, egg whites, and fat-free dairy in hopes of bettering their health and losing weight.
This is due to the misconception that eating foods rich in cholesterol and fat may increase your risk heart disease.
Research has dis-proven this notion, myths surrounding dietary cholesterol and fat continue to dominate headlines, and many healthcare providers continue to recommend low fat diets to the general public. This was and still is one of the biggest lies of our time High LDL-C was found NOT to correlate with plaque build-up in lean, fit people on a low-carb diet. This lean population “hyper-responds” to low-carb, seeing their LDL-C rise dramatically. So, quite reasonably, they worry about heart-disease risk. But studies show that any worry is unfounded.
To sell statins, we’re told cholesterol damages arteries—in reality quite the opposite, it repairs arterial injury. Statins hence don’t prevent death, but 20% of its users end up with muscle, liver, or nerve damage. Commercial divers aren’t allowed to dive if they take statins because of the mental side effects.
The primary approach to treating heart disease is to prescribe cholesterol lowering statin drugs (to the point, over a trillion dollars have now been spent on them). So, the cholesterol scam:- just follow the money !
My mom is a good example. She ate a lot of fat and butter and her mind was was as sharp as anything until the day she died at the age of 97. Make the effort to check on the people with dementia in their old age, most of them follow the low fat philosophy. The AHA really did us a great disservice!
Getting enough healthy fats is essential for growth and development. Young kids need enough fat in their diet for normal brain development. Fat helps the body to absorb fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, and K), which can only be absorbed if there’s fat in a person’s diet. Besides supplying fuel for the body, the human brain is nearly 60% fat by total weight, and must constantly be provided with fat (both saturated and unsaturated) throughout life to provide a balance of structural integrity to its cells.
Cholesterol and fatty diets are not the problem:- Sugar Is The Problem.