The Exploitation of the Cholesterol Theory
With this radical shift in what is considered healthy, it was not long before the
food industry began condemning cholesterolrich foods. The experts labeled eggs
and shellfish as bad for cholesterol, while they glorified cereals and pasta. If you
think eating cereal instead of eggs is really good for your cholesterol, think
again.
In the latter part of the 20th century, doctors learned that total cholesterol
alone had no relationship to heart disease. Cholesterol subdivisions—the “bad”
cholesterol (LDL), “good” cholesterol (HDL), and triglycerides— emerged as
more important risk factors. In particular, triglycerides, which are greatly
affected by eating sugar and refined carbohydrates, showed a strong relationship.
Triglyceride levels go up when you eat too many carbohydrates; the hormone
insulin works hard to store all those carbs as fat. This means the best way to
lower your risk for a heart attack is to follow a Paleolithic diet, with no sugar or
refined carbohydrates. The good cholesterol (HDL), another risk, appears to be
protective at higher levels, and the best way to increase your HDL is to eat
saturated fats, such as butter, eggs, and animal products, and to avoid sugar.
When it came to the bad cholesterol, or LDL, research showed it as a weak
risk for heart disease. Many people who have heart attacks have normal LDL
levels, while many people who do not develop heart disease have high levels of
it. It’s confusing, but it can be explained. You see, LDL is affected by both sugar
and saturated fats. The French, for example, have higher LDL levels compared
to Americans, but heart disease is much less common among the French.
Additional research concluded that LDL cholesterol has further subdivisions
wrapped around proteins. The smaller subdivision of LDL is greatly affected by
sugar and refined carbohydrates, and can clog the arteries (Fig. 2.6). The larger
subdivision of LDL, which is affected by saturated fats (like whole-fat dairy), is
fluffy and does not clog the arteries because it is too big to go below the arterial
walls.
Aha, it all makes sense now. Here’s the summation:
• A higher triglyceride level is bad.
• A higher HDL level is good.
• A higher small LDL level is bad.
• A higher large LDL level is harmless.
Figure 2.6: LDL Flow in the Arteries
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