Cholesterol Clarity: What The HDL Is Wrong With My Numbers?

[eldon54]

FTA: "Seeing the U.S. population grow sicker and fatter while adhering to official dietary guidelines has put nutrition authorities in an awkward position."

Kind of a followup to the news about the big study published in March in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine about saturated fats not causing heart disease. Gives a background history as to why we started avoiding saturated fats to begin with. As usual, one libtard do-gooder was all it took.

[KevinInNM]

Another article, based on that same study, but with some of the history behind the madness.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/...trending_now_1

[Gabriel Suarez]

From the article -

The problem is that carbohydrates break down into glucose, which causes the body to release insulin—a hormone that is fantastically efficient at storing fat. Meanwhile, fructose, the main sugar in fruit, causes the liver to generate triglycerides and other lipids in the blood that are altogether bad news. Excessive carbohydrates lead not only to obesity but also, over time, to Type 2 diabetes and, very likely, heart disease.
The real surprise is that, according to the best science to date, people put themselves at higher risk for these conditions no matter what kind of carbohydrates they eat. Yes, even unrefined carbs. Too much whole-grain oatmeal for breakfast and whole-grain pasta for dinner, with fruit snacks in between, add up to a less healthy diet than one of eggs and bacon, followed by fish. The reality is that fat doesn't make you fat or diabetic. Scientific investigations going back to the 1950s suggest that actually, carbs do.

If anything, high total cholesterol levels in women over 50 were found early on to be associated with longer life. This counterintuitive result was first discovered by the famous Framingham study on heart-disease risk factors in 1971 and has since been confirmed by other research.

[von Clausewitz]

Never mind...

[M1A's r Best]

If I eat a breakfast of fried or scrambled eggs and bacon the morning of a physical, my cholesterol numbers are good. If I fast from the night before till after the blood samples are taken, my numbers are high.

A guy that retired a few months back told me that his cholesterol numbers came down when his wife stopped buying margarine and started using butter for cooking, baking, smearing on bread, etc.

[Shooter Ready]

This discussion is a reminder that health care, like many other things, is not like the Word of God (i.e. The Bible). Health care is frequently changing, with old recommendations replaced by new teachings when the former is discredited and/or improved.

For purposes of this cholesterol discussion, a recommendation should be based on the total picture: are you in good health, have you had adverse events, what is your genetic risk, and so on. I'd like to think I'm healthier than most, but upon further reflection, I could stand to lift a bit more and eat a bit less. Fortunately, I'm still a better driver and more attractive than average (jk).

[alistar]

This discussion is a reminder that health care, like many other things, is not like the Word of God (i.e. The Bible). Health care is frequently changing, with old recommendations replaced by new teachings when the former is discredited and/or improved.

Unfortunately, the process of indoctrination at medical schools and during post graduate training does not encourage independent thinking and any challenge to practices that are extremely lucrative for academicians and the medical-industrial complex often results in marginalization. This is not a new phenomenon in medical culture, unfortunately:

"Despite various publications of results where hand-washing reduced mortality to below 1%, (for women in childbirth at the time, mortality was 10-35% from sepsis) Ignaz Semmelweis's observations conflicted with the established scientific and medical opinions of the time and his ideas were rejected by the medical community. Some doctors were offended at the suggestion that they should wash their hands and Semmelweis could offer no acceptable scientific explanation for his findings. Semmelweis's practice earned widespread acceptance only years after his death, when Louis Pasteur confirmed the germ theory and Joseph Lister, acting on the French microbiologist's research, practiced and operated, using hygienic methods, with great success. In 1865, Semmelweis was committed to an asylum where he died at age 47 after being beaten by the guards, only 14 days after he was committed." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignaz_Semmelweis

Since the late 70's I have counseled patients not to fear butter or eggs or meat, and have often suggested that "healthy" fruit juice is no better than soda (maybe slightly), and not to buy into the cholesterol hypothesis. This and other heresies has resulted in me no longer being welcome to teach at the medical school I graduated from.

I have theories as to why heart disease has become epidemic, but cholesterol levels are not high on my list. However, as with the mammogram industry and all the foundations that promote it to "save lives" despite increasing evidence to the contrary, it is very unlikely that true scientific inquiry will trump profits.

[Blasst]

He did what I expected, but I just wanted to read it spelled out. I've been a fan of coconut oil (and sometimes butter) in coffee for awhile now (since the bulletproof coffee thread).

Yep....same here. Certified junkie for bulletproof coffee. Get the grass fed butter from whole foods and add a little whipping cream and some of the brain octain oil and your energy and brain function are unreal all day.

[P.D.]

An observation or two if I may.

Firstly, all carbohydrates are not created equal. Simply put, there are fast metabolizing Carbs, the ones that have a high Glycemic Index (G.I.) and slow metabolizing Carbs (low G.I.). Even the Paleo diet recognizes the difference by allowing consumption of slow (Low G.I) Carbs. Also, not all fats are created equal, and more importantly we need fat in our diet for our bodies to function properly.

Secondly, and this is not news, the average American diet is carbohydrate-centric, and "fast" Carb-centric at that. Look at the average fast food restaurant menu - or any restaurant menu for that matter, and what do you see? Bread, potatoes, sugars and starches (rice pasta, etc.).

There are a number of reasons for this most of which have been mentioned on this website before. The thread about the book Death by Food Pyramid in particular is one of note. The book is worth reading. Link to an on-line edition: http://www.ebook3000.com/mobile-eboo...th_212317.html

All this being as it is, it is important for each of us to educate ourselves about nutrition, recognize that the average American diet is a major contributor to poor health, poor fitness, disease and, potentially, mental debilitation (may contribute to Alzheimers and other forms of dementia) and a shortened life span. With that, a Paleo diet is a good choice although it may be difficult for some individuals to maintain. The same holds true for the typical "bodybuilder in training" diet that you might find in one of the bodybuilding magazines; "Flex", "Muscle & Development", etc. An alternative to either of those that is easily maintained is a form of diabetic-friendly diet that is low Carb, low G.I. and protein rich.

[Gabriel Suarez]

Bringing this one back so it will be read