The Truth About Heart Disease

Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in America

Americans are consuming less animal fat than ever before, but rates of heart disease are at their highest. Are saturated fats and cholesterol really to blame?

Myth: The Lipid Hypothesis

1. Saturated fat raises cholesterol
2. Cholesterol causes heart disease

The belief that saturated fats and cholesterol are to blame for heart disease is a major problem. Cholesterol and saturated fat have actually never been proven to cause heart disease (Framingham Heart Study). Saturated fats have minimal effect on cholesterol. As Gary Taubes writes in his book, Good Calories, Bad Calories, “Since the mid-1950’s, researchers have known that the total amount of dietary fat has little effect on cholesterol levels” (19). Further proving the irrelevance of saturated fat and cholesterol as the cause of heart disease, Taubes writes, “The Masai nomads of Kenya have some of the lowest blood-cholesterol levels ever recorded… they live exclusively on [full-fat, raw] milk, blood and occasionally meat…”(25). The Masai eat around three thousand calories of saturated fats daily, yet they have extremely low levels of cholesterol and zero deaths from heart disease.

Truth: Excess Carbohydrates Cause Heart Disease

Unlike cholesterol, triglycerides have been proven to be a major cause of heart disease.  All carbohydrates are converted to glucose (sugar). Excess glucose is converted to triglycerides and stored as fat. The average American consumes 1/3 his or her body weight in sugar (carbohydrate) each year. Sugar inflames and damages the arteries, while cholesterol attaches to the damaged areas like a bandage. Dr. Mary Enig, author of Know Your Fats, writes, “Cholesterol is used by the body as a raw material for the healing process. This is the reason the injured areas in the arteries (as in atherosclerosis) or the lungs (as in tuberculosis) have cholesterol along with several other components in the ‘scar’ tissue that is formed to heal the ‘wound’ (58). In simple terms, Cholesterol repairs the body from sugar damage.

Cholesterol to the Rescue

In conclusion, a heart attack is caused by excess sugar clotting the blood and preventing blood and oxygen from circulating to the heart. Elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels are just a result of having too much sugar in the blood. Cholesterol should not be blamed, but praised. In fact, the body cannot function without cholesterol. It is found in all body tissues and is essential to life. Instead of avoiding foods high in cholesterol and saturated fats, avoid consuming sugar, processed foods and excess carbohydrates.

I highly recommending watching the movie Fat Head by Tom Naughton!