CHOLESTEROL MYTH: DIETARY CHOLESTEROL SHOULD BE AVOIDED IN THOSE THAT HAVE HIGH CHOLESTEROL

Fact:

Dietary cholesterol used to be the main culprit with saturated fats following close behind. In current research, we are seeing a trend of elevated cholesterol levels with a low-fat/low-cholesterol diet that is high in refined carbohydrates! So what do we do? In the 80’s we used to stress a low-fat diet as “Heart Healthy” but as we are seeing that healthy fats can actually support a balance in our cholesterol levels. Also, when products go fat-free or reduced-fat, they typically put refined sugar in its place to improve the flavor and texture.Refined sugars can increase our cholesterol levels more than dietary cholesterol can and some foods with dietary cholesterol such as fish, grass-fed beef, etc. are anti-inflammatory and can actually decrease your risk for heart disease and stroke! Saturated fats that we consume from animal products are in the form of stearic acid, when we consume these fats our liver converts it to monounsaturated fat, does this sound familiar? YES! Monounsaturated fat is the same healthy fat that we consume in olive oil. In up-to-date research, it is now supported that stearic acid has no effect on total or LDL cholesterol but may raise the HDL, that’s right the good guy! But, if you are going to eat meat for heart health, you do want to consider the diet and living conditions of the animal as you want an anti-inflammatory food, low-stress and grass-fed or pasture-raised vs. stressed, confined, and corn-fed!!

So who is the culprit today? Processed foods! Trans-fats, refined sugars, avoid these foods as much as practical!
Check out our Naturally Nourished Food-As-Medicine for Optimal Health Cookbook for heart healthy and anti-inflammatory recipes and tips!