Cholesterol controversy: Part II
What about eating cholesterol making your cholesterol go up? That was debunked clear back in the 1990s, yet it is still perpetuated. According to a report from the Harvard School of Public Health, "The amount of cholesterol in food is not very strongly linked to cholesterol levels in the blood." We now know that blood levels of cholesterol are mostly determined by metabolism - how the body makes, uses and disposes of cholesterol. In fact, cholesterol is so essential, the body makes most of its own. The brain and liver make about 1,500 mg/day, yet the "experts" recommend an upper limit dietary intake of cholesterol at 300mg/day! If the body makes that much of its own, it's obvious that we need a lot. And we do.
The other subset of that fallacy is that eating saturated fat raises cholesterol. Nutrition researcher and author Nina Planck notes, "According to Dr. William Castelli, director of the Framingham study, 'the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate ... the lower the person's serum cholesterol.' When Castelli made this astonishing admission in 1992, it didn't make news." Eating fat causing elevated cholesterol levels was a hypothesis that has never been proven. It has now been shown that hydrogenated fats (such as margarine or other tub spreads), vegetable oils, and excess Omega 6 fats raise bad cholesterol, in part because of their damaging effect on tissues.
Other dietary insults such as sugar, coffee, alcohol and certain processing agents contribute to elevated LDLs while, as we've discovered, good fats such as olive and coconut oils and butter actually lower LDLs. They contribute to healing, rather than having a negative effect on the body.
The question we should be asking, relative to cholesterol and heart disease, is that if high LDLs are indeed a predictor of heart disease (and I don't mean from an "all cholesterol is bad" standpoint), what is wrong that is calling the LDLs into action?
The better indicators of cardiovascular disease (CVD) are elevated triglycerides, blood sugar, C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and homocysteines. These readings are much more useful, as they are quintessential components to cardiovascular disease. If these inflammatory markers contribute to CVD, what causes them to rise?
One element is a deficiency in B vitamins, with vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid taking center stage. Eating foods such as meat, liver, fish, whole grains and green vegetables can help. Other foods such as eggs, oysters and the above particularly are good for lowering homocysteine levels. Blood sugar and triglyceride levels are best managed by eliminating most sugar from the diet, including refined carbohydrates.
Although on the surface I've made CVD sound like an easy cure, there is more complexity that needs addressing. Please, I am not recommending you abandon your cardiac medications - only that if you want to truly address your heart or inflammatory issues, that you look beyond conventional thought into what you can actively do to change your health status.
Holly Carling is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist, Doctor of Naturopathy, Clinical Nutritionist and Master Herbologist with more than 32 years of experience. She is currently accepting new patients and offers natural health-care services and whole food nutritional supplements in her Coeur d'Alene clinic. Visit Carling's website at www.vitalhealthandfitness.com to learn more about Carling, view a list of upcoming health classes and read other informative articles. She can be reached at (208) 765-1994 and would be happy to answer any questions regarding this topic.