Thoughts on Cholesterol

 One of the most frequent questions I am asked is about cholesterol. Those on a healthy diet rarely have elevated cholesterol--but there is the rub. Healthy diets are rare in the United States. An illustration is the problem of the chicken. One hundred years ago a serving of chicken provided less than 2 grams or 16 calories of fat. Today a single serving of chicken provides 23 grams or 200 calories of fat. Chickens today are giants compared to what they were 100 years ago. They are obese giants. They are so fat they can hardly move even if they wanted to.

Cholesterol is only found in animals. The plant comparison is phytosterols or plant fats which actually inhibit the absorption of animal fats and help to reduce cholesterol levels. These plant fats have been shown in some instances to be as effective or more effective than statin drugs at lowering cholesterol even though physicians rarely recommend a plant based diet to lower cholesterol. Doctors assume patients simply won't switch to a plant based diet.

If cholesterol is elevated reducing intake of animal fat will almost always reduce cholesterol levels. If cholesterol levels are too low the body has a very efficient mechanism for synthesizing cholesterol to preserve healthy cells and brain function. This natural regulation is far better than relying on a high intake of obese animal fats to obtain cholesterol. If animal products are being consumed one should look for the lowest fat possible.

A high fiber, plant based low fat diet is the most effective way of keeping cholesterol within reasonable bounds and preventing heart disease and other diseases associated with overloading the body with animal fats.

Cholesterol becomes particularly harmful when it is oxidized in either the food we eat or in the body. In 1976 a study was conducted feeding rabbits oxidized cholesterol or unoxidized cholesterol. Lesions of the arteries of the rabbits were found after only 7 weeks of exposure to oxidized cholesterol while none were found in the animals given cholesterol that had not been oxidized.In 1979 researchers evaluating cholesterol research suggested that "oxidized cholesterol is 500 times more damaging than pure cholesterol.

Oxidized cholesterol can come from foods (aged meats, powdered eggs, processed dairy products, Ghee, fried foods, etc) or the cholesterol can be oxidized within the body spontaneously. Plant foods are high in antioxidants and can help prevent spontaneous oxidation of fats within the body. The study of NeoLife Carotenoid Complex found that these fat soluble antioxidants dramatically reduced the oxidation of cholesterol in the blood.

References:

Smith, Ronald S., Nutrition, Hypertension & Cardiovascular Disease, Second Edition, Portland, Or: Lyncean Press, 1989, pp14-15.

https://juliecoffey.com/does-chicken-make-you-fat/

Pictures of how chickens have gotten fatter!