damaging to your blood vessels than saturated fat. How
damaging? Just picture taking a microscopic crème brûlée
torch to your arteries, and you’ll get the idea. The end result
of atherosclerosis looks exactly like fried chicken skin, as
physician Cate Shanahan vividly describes in her insightful
book Deep Nutrition. You’ll be dead, but, hey—you’ll have
lower cholesterol.
Cholesterol and the Brain
It’s time for a reality check. Cholesterol is a vital nutrient for
the body, and particularly for the brain, where 25 percent of
the body’s total cholesterol content can be found. It’s a
critical component of every cell membrane, where it
provides structural support, ensures fluidity of nutrient
transport into and out of the cell, and may even serve as a
protective antioxidant. It’s essential for the growth of
myelin, the insulating sheath that surrounds your neurons.
(Myelin becomes a casualty in multiple sclerosis, an
autoimmune condition.) It’s also important for maintaining
brain plasticity and conducting nerve impulses, especially at
the level of the synapse; depletion of cholesterol at this level
leads to synaptic and dendritic spine degeneration.^5
Dendritic spines, the branch-like touch-points that facilitate
neuron-to-neuron communication, are thought to be the
physical embodiment of memories.
Dr. Yeon-Kyun Shin, an authority on cholesterol and its
function in the brain, recently published findings in the
journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences