Cholesterol misunderstanding

The Cholesterol Misunderstanding

By Carl Andrews Published by Yahoo Link: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/9102621/ the_cholesterol_misunderstanding.html?cat=51 !

There is a bias in Western society for solving problems by singling out a scapegoat. One single entity which can be labeled the definitive cause of the problem.

From watching many commercials on TV and reading articles in magazines, one would be led to think that cholesterol is a bad culprit, responsible for heart disease, a poison that somehow has gotten into our foods, evil beyond measure, and the definitive cause of the problem. It is a way of simplifying life and avoiding responsibility for making wise judgments in our day-to-day choices. And it is a way of creating simple solutions that can be marketed with effective scare psychology. “Weʼre going to help you get rid of the bad guy!” ! !

Cholesterol is actually not responsible for heart disease. Cholesterol is a natural part of a wide variety of traditional and modern foods. It has been known for a long time that the body uses cholesterol, among other things, to manufacture a wide variety of essential hormones. Cholesterol was, until recent years, listed as an essential nutrient included in a proper diet. However, recently, it has been discovered that the human body manufactures most of the cholesterol that it needs, and so it is now uncertain whether dietary intake is essential or not. This opened the door for cholesterol to become the scapegoat is has now become.

Cholesterol is normally made and used by the body for essential metabolic processes.

This is not unlike the scenario for many vitamins and minerals, so far. Hardly the image of a demon poison, is it? Now, vitamins are known to have toxic levels. Sure, just like Vitamin A-Z, if you get too much of it, and it will make you sick. However, they donʼt put labels on foods saying, “extra low in Vitamin A, now, do they?” They assume that you will be reasonable and take a BALANCED intake. I emphasized the word balanced because this has not been included in American advertising campaigns for ʻlowcholesterol foodsʼ, or anti-cholesterol drugs. You would assume from these that cholesterol must be eliminated as much as possible. The American public probably has a picture of Cholesterol as something that, when you eat it, automatically sticks to the walls of your arteries and clogs them up until you have a heart attack. !

This is hardly the case. Let's look more closely at the facts and the research to really see through the anti-Cholesterol fad, and start considering what dietary limits are reasonable. Eskimos, for example, eat one of the highest cholesterol diets of any peoples, and yet they have a very low incidence of hardened arteries or heart disease.

So what actually causes hardening of the arteries and veins, and heart disease? These happen because of buildup of plaque. Plaque contains other elements besides cholesterol: triglycerides, connective tissue, and sometimes calcium and fibrin. In fact, fibrin usually forms the initial ʻstreaksʼ in the arterial wall before cholesterol appears there. Research has shown a correlation between high levels of pesticides and herbicides in the body and plaque buildup. Also between high sugar intake and plaque

buildup. And between high intake of refined carbohydrates and plaque buildup. So, it is quite apparent that the overall dietary habits have an influence on plaque generation ... but the greatest amount of research evidence shows that diets high in meat consumption are highly correlated with heart disease and plaque buildup. For instance, one of the early studies, by West, R. and Hayes, O. made a comparison between vegetarians and non-vegetarians in a Seventh-Day Adventist Group. Published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the study concluded that the vegetarians had lower serum cholesterol and much lower incidence of heart attacks.

Cholesterol breaks up into fractions which ride on the backs of protein molecules in the body. Therefore, when ingested, it is unknown what percentage of Cholesterol enters the bloodstream. The matter is further complicated by the fact that Cholesterol is involved in so many complex biochemical reactions in the body that it is not possible to accurately predict where it all comes from and goes to. These are the kinds of questions researchers have been trying to answer. Unfortunately, the answer depends on who the subjects studied are, and who is doing the study. Some people have very high cholesterol intake and very low blood pressure and almost no plaque buildup, while others ingest only very modest levels of cholesterol and yet have very high blood pressure and serious plaque buildup.

Different people eating the same type of cholesterol will end up with different types of cholesterol complexes traveling in their body, depending on what types of proteins predominate. Some of these complexes are associated with plaque formation, while others seem to protect against it. This is probably why some research has shown a correlation between high cholesterol intake and plaque buildup, and other research has shown no correlation.

It could just as easily be concluded that people with more anxiety eat more fatty foods because it helps to soothe their arteries with Cholesterol.

I believe that only when we realize that Cholesterol alone is neither good nor bad, can we attain a realistic approach to heart disease. That is to accept as a fact that meat in large quantities is the real culprit in heart disease and arterial sclerosis. Other dietary changes that reduce cholesterol have not been proven to necessarily prevent heart disease. Meat has cholesterol, but it also has specific protein complexes, and unless it is from an organic farm meat has higher levels of pesticides and herbicides than plant foods. One study found common grocery-store meats to have 12-14 times the levels of certain pesticides and herbicides as commonly eaten vegetables.

Is Cholesterol toxic at ingestible levels? Is a certain kind of Cholesterol very damaging, and other kinds O. K.? Is plaque buildup on the arterial walls caused by large amounts of ingested Cholesterol getting into the Blood? The answers to these questions are really: UNKNOWN. The results of ingested cholesterol seem to depend on stress levels.

Research has shown a high correlation between high–stress lifestyles and the health of arterial and capillary walls. Apparently, the easier your lifestyle, the less likely plaque buildup will be.

One study showed that ingesting daily doses of lecithin lowered the incidence of heart attacks. Egg yokes have cholesterol, but they also have a lot of lecithin in their yokes.

Some foods apparently help keep cholesterol low in the blood stream, including complex carbohydrates and fiber in most grains and vegetables, especially beans and peas. We also know that anthocyanins and procyanins (flavonoids present in the skins of most fruits, sometimes called “vitamin P”) stabilize collagen, scavenge free radicals, and otherwise contribute to healthy arteries and capillaries. Some foods, like onions, seem to have particularly strong effects to pull cholesterol into solution rather than let it stick to artery walls.

So, in conclusion, what is the best way to reduce your chances of heart disease?

A multi-pronged approach. Reduce meat intake, increase vegetables and grains, especially onions. Find ways to reduce stress in your life. Get mild exercise like walking frequently. Lose weight. However, worries about your dietary cholesterol intake are not based on good science.

References cited: Nichols, A. et al. “Independence of serum lip levels and dietary habits”. JAMA 236: 1948, 1976.

Pinckney, E & Pinckney, C. :The Cholesterol Controversy”. pp 19–27.

Mann, S. “Diet-Heart, end of an era”. New Eng J Med 297: 644-650 1976.

Williams, R J. “Nutrition against disease”. New York. Bantam Books, 1971. p 260.

Bordia, A et al. “Effects of the essential oils of garlic and onion on alimentary hyperlipenia”. Arter Scler 21: 15-19, 1975.

Ruy, J. and Hickle, J. “Serum-cholesterol and triglyceride levels in Australian adolescent vegetarians”. British Med J. 2:87, 1976.

West, R. and Hayes, O. “A comparison between vegetarians and non-vegetarians in a Seventh-Day Adventist Group”. Am J Clin Nut. Vol. 21. pp 853–563, 1968.

Sacks, F. et al. “Plasma lipids & lipoproteins in vegetarians and controls”. New England J Med. 292. pp1148–51, 1975. !