“Big business, government agencies and medical organizations have campaigned deceptively against cholesterol, meat, eggs, butter and other traditional foods, leading to huge profits from sales of potentially more harmful margarine, refined foods and trans-fatty acid products. Scientific data contradicting that public health policy was supressed and censored from publication for many years.”
by Mary G. Enig, Ph.D. and Sally Fallon
Here’s the report - it’s a summary of the last 50 years’ worth of research into dietary causes of heart disease, cancer, etc. and how it has been misrepresented by the U.S. government and major corporations. Turns out atherosclerosis is a natural process & people all over the world have it as they age - yet they’re not dying of heart disease.
Hubby the Biochemist finds it credible - anyone else familiar with this? Sounds to him like one way big businesses managed to wipe out the family farm while reaping huge profits from those expensive cholesterol-controlling drugs.
I didn’t read the whole article. Much to long to hold my interest. All I will say is that in the last 20 years, during which time there has been a huge explosion in cholesterol drugs and hypertensive meds, there has been a greater than 30% decrease in death from coronary disease and strokes (same process in brain). Further, numerous studies have shown a correlation between lowering cholesterol and lower risk of death from strokes and heart attacks. Its not a small correlation. This is the very reason all the cholesterol drugs were approved. You can argue all you want about what causes high cholesterol and whether trasn-fatty acids are worse for heart disease than cholesterol, but there is no doubt in my mind about the beneficial effects of cholesterol lowering drugs, especially the so called “statins”. In fact, I would go so far as to say this class of medications is one of the greatest medical innovations of the latter half of the 20th century.
Could you do the same thing with medication? Yes, probably. There is very credible evidnce that with extreme diet change (by the standards of most Americans at least) to a complete vegetarian lifestyle along with exercise and lower stress, you can also greatly reduce your cholesterol and your risk of heart disease. Is it realistic to think this is going to happen in this country? No, not in my opinion.
The article is correct in saying the rise in vascular disease and death is mainly a result of more aging of the population and the elimination of many infectious diseases and environmental threats that at the turn of the centruy would kill people at a much younger age. To go further and state that cholesterol meds are worthless and a fraud, if that is indeed what it says, is just ludicrous.
I’m going to push Hubby to sign up & post on this under his own name; he is totally fired up about this issue. He’d really like to find out what other scientists think, so I know he’s looking for debate. But IUHomer before you call something “ludicrous” I believe you really ought to read the whole thing.
Feh. Many people with high cholesterol (myself included) have it because of a bum liver, which does not effectively metabolise fats. I’m on medication (zocor), and I exercise and watch my diet very carefully. With all that, my cholesterol is still well over 200. Without meds, it skyrockets to over 300.
Eve:
“Dr. Frederick Stare, head of Harvard University’s Nutrition Department, encouraged the consumption of corn oil—up to one cup a day—in his syndicated column. In a promotional piece specifically for Procter and Gamble’s Puritan oil, he cited two experiments and one clinical trial as showing that high blood cholesterol is associated with CHD. However, both experiments had nothing to do with CHD, and the clinical trial did not find that reducing blood cholesterol had any effect on CHD events.”
“a 1964 study involving 1700 patients that also showed no definite correlation between serum cholesterol levels and the nature and extent of coronary artery disease. In other words, those with low cholesterol levels were just as likely to have blocked arteries as those with high cholesterol levels. But while studies like De Bakey’s moldered in the basements of university libraries, the vegetable oil campaign took on increased bravado and audacity.”
IUHomer
'Dr. White noted that heart disease in the form of myocardial infarction was nonexistent in 1900 when egg consumption was three times what it was in 1956 and when corn oil was unavailable. When pressed to support the Prudent Diet, Dr. White replied: “See here, I began my practice as a cardiologist in 1921 and I never saw an MI patent until 1928. Back in the MI free days before 1920, the fats were butter and lard and I think that we would all benefit from the kind of diet that we had at a time when no one had ever heard the word corn oil.” ’
“Judging from both food data and turn-of-the-century cookbooks, the
American diet in 1900 was a rich one—with at least 35 to 40 percent of calories coming from fats, mostly dairy fats in the form of butter, cream, whole milk and eggs. Salad dressing recipes usually called for egg yolks or cream; only occasionally for olive oil. Lard or tallow
served for frying; rich dishes like head cheese and scrapple contributed additional saturated fats during an era when cancer and heart disease were rare. Butter substitutes made up only a small portion of the American diet, and these margarines were blended from coconut oil, animal tallow and lard, all rich in natural saturates.”
“Although trans fatty acids (hydrogenated vegetable oils) are technically unsaturated, they are configured in such a way that the benefits of unsaturation are lost. The presence of several unpaired electrons presented by contiguous hydrogen atoms in their cis form allows many vital chemical reactions to occur at the site of the double bond. When one hydrogen atom is moved to the other side of the fatty acid molecule during hydrogenation, the ability of living
cells to make reactions at the site is compromised or altogether lost. Trans fatty acids are sufficiently similar to natural fats that the body readily incorporates them into the cell membrane; once there their altered chemical structure creates havoc with thousands of
necessary chemical reactions—everything from energy provision to prostaglandin production.”
“But most of the trans isomers in modern hydrogenated fats are new to the human physiology and by the early 1970’s a number of researchers had expressed concern about their presence in the American diet, noting that their increasing use had paralleled the increase in both heart disease and cancer. The unstated solution was one that could be easily presented to the public: Eat natural, traditional fats; avoid newfangled foods made from vegetable oils; use butter, not margarine. But medical research and public consciousness took a different tack, one that accelerated the decline of traditional foods like meat, eggs and butter, and fueled continued dramatic increases in vegetable oil consumption.”
(Note: member of the “medical establishment” here, I guess)
As far as treating high cholesterol as primary prevention for heart disease (that is, as a preventive measure even in someone without other risk factors for HD), there were three big trials in the 1980s–the WHO Cooperative Trial with clofibrate, the LRCCCP Trial with cholestyramine, and the Helsinki Heart Study with gemfibrozil. All of these studies showed significant reductions in coronary events–25, 19, and 34 percent, respectively. They didn’t show reductions in coronary mortality for the duration of the study, though the latter two studies did not have significant power to detect cardiac deaths. Unfortunately, all three showed increases in noncardiac deaths, though it was only statistically significant in the WHO trial. Still, this raised concern about the safety of these drugs in low-risk patients.
The big landmark trial in this field is the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Trial, reported in NEJM in 1995, which used pravastatin (AKA Pravachol) as primary prevention in patients with high cholesterol. Nonfatal MI and coronary heart disease death were reduced by 31%, and risk of all cardiovascular death was reduced by 32%. Unlike the other studies, mortality from all causes was reduced by 22% (though that was borderline statistically significant).
Other trials have since been done with the “statins”, which include drugs like Pravachol, Lipitor, Zocor, etc., and they all say the same thing–if your cholesterol is high, you should be on a statin if you want to prevent a heart attack. The evidence doesn’t get much better.
(Note: Details here were obtained from UpToDate, a paid online resource.)
Nothing to add to the debate I’m just reading along as I have cholesterol when untreated of 480. I’m always looking for a bit more education about how bad this really is for me.
When at my ideal weight and with 80 MG of Lipitor and Gemfibrozil (forget the dosage - no bottle in the med cabinet to check) I still have a cholesterol of 250-270. I have taken Cholestramine in the past (before they added the gemfibrozil to my regimine) and they are considering adding it as a third medicine to see if we can get things under 200. My problem is bum kidneys that process out too much of the protein in my blood supply thus creating ‘gaps’ that my liver dutifully fills with cholesterol.
One question about this kind of heart disease not being seen before 1928… I was under the impression that this type of heart disease was one that took a long time to develop and that our longer lifespans are why more of these cases are showing up.
Now hold on a second…Is the article in the OP arguing that high blood cholesterol levels might not be bad, or that dietary cholesterol might not be so bad?
“Your body makes saturated fats, and your body makes cholesterol—about 2000 mg per day. In general, cholesterol that the average American absorbs from food amounts to about 100 mg per day. So, in theory, even reducing animal foods to zero will result in only a 5% decrease in the total amount of cholesterol available to the blood and tissues. In practice, such a diet is likely to deprive the body of the substrates it needs to manufacture enough of this vital substance; for cholesterol, like saturated fats, stands unfairly accused. It acts as a precursor to vital corticosteroids, hormones that help us deal with stress and protect the body against heart disease and cancer; and to the sex hormones like androgen, testosterone, estrogen and progesterone; it is a precursor to vitamin D, a very important fat-soluble vitamin needed for healthy bones and nervous system, proper growth, mineral metabolism, muscle tone, insulin production, reproduction and immune system function; it is the precursor to bile salts, which are vital for digestion and assimilation of fats in the diet. Recent research shows that cholesterol acts as an antioxidant. This is the likely explanation for the fact that cholesterol levels go up with age. As an antioxidant, cholesterol protects us against free radical damage that leads to heart disease and cancer. Cholesterol is the body’s repair substance, manufactured in large amounts when the arteries are irritated or weak. Blaming heart disease on high serum cholesterol levels is like blaming firemen who have come to put out a fire for starting the blaze.”
These quotes and previous all from
The Oiling of America
Mary G. Enig, Ph.D. and Sally Fallon
(note that my Hubby is a researcher doing environmental work involving lipids, so this caught his eye but he’s not an M.D. doctor, he’s a Ph.D. doctor) (and now he has visions of sausages dancing in his head)
Things may have changed in the twelve or so years since I was studying dietetics in college, but dietary CHOLESTEROL has never been implicated. A diet high in saturated fat, a lifestyle low in exercise, and genetics have always been the culprits. It’s the uneducated (in these matters) public, along with a few physicians with no training in dietetics, who falsely equated dietary cholesterol with serum cholesterol. The rest is history. And the blameless egg industry has suffered.
I’m not a doctor or a scientist, but my initial reaction to the paper is that its conclusions are unscientific. I’d be interested to hear what others think. If I’m understanding the author, the premise seems to be that heart disease “parallels” the introduction of monosaturated and hydrogenated oils. It compares heart disease levels in the 1900s with levels later in the century. The problem I’m having with that conclusion is that it’s ignoring all the other possible factors. One obvious thing would be the invention of the automobile. People probably walked a lot more and engaged in more manual labor at the beginning of the 20th century as opposed to later in the century; couldn’t a more sedentary lifestyle also account for an increase in heart disease? The whole thing smacks of unsupported speculation: “People got less heart disease when they ate a lot of eggs and meat; therefore we should eat lots of eggs and meat.” That’s just taking one factor that changed and assuming it’s the cause, without controlling for any other factors.
The other thing I’m having a problem with is this alleged “conspiracy” to promote hydrogenated oils. I think it’s pretty common knowledge these days that trans-fatty acids are bad; I wasn’t aware of any efforts to cover up that fact. On the contrary, it seems to be making headlines, as in the infamous “Oreo cookie lawsuit”.
whew reading most of that article was painful! ugly large font on white background was a bit of an eye strain.
Anyways the gist of the article states that (bad) cholesterol levels in the blood will not necesarily result in Congestive Heart Disease (CHD)
Also, this report also states that what the medical establishment deem as “bad” dietary cholesterol does not corrolate to CHD or cancer and in fact studies have shown that vegetable oils and hydrogenated fats result in higher cases of colon cancer and CHD despite lower levels of bad serum cholesterol.
The report states that despite the lowering of the intake of animal fats since the 1900s cases of CHD has steadily increased. This seems to coincide with the steady increase of the intake of vegetable oils and hydrogenated fats like margerine. This study does not localize itself to just to the US but thru most of the world.
Serum cholesterol levels are correlated with CHD morbidity. So are inflamatory markers (highly specific CRP in particular is used)
Statins (drugs like Prevachol) which lower serum cholesterol robustly, and may have a direct effect on inflamation as well, lower both CHD events significantly and lower overall mortality as well.
Low fat diets have a modest effect on serum cholesterol and have not been conclusively shown to lower CHD risk although there was some slight positive trending and a positive result garnered in one meta-analysis. Trans fatty acids are very bad. Butter is very bad. (Butter and stick margarine resulted “in the worst lipid levels.”) Liquid vegetable oils are okay. Monosaturated fats are good. Dietary cholesterol in excess of 200 mg/d can raise serum cholesterol so moderation is encouraged. Excessively high carbohydrate diets have a poor effect on lipid levels.
Hubby should read this report and then sign on to discuss.
Bottom line is moderation in your butter and meat, avoid the processed crap, eat whole grain when you can, use liquid veggie oils such as olive or canola, get your fruits and veggies in, have a few eggs here and there (in moderation and not fried in butter), excercise regularly and vigorously, do not smoke, and take your statin if indicated - it works - better than a low fat diet does.
Thanks so much for the responses you guys - DSeid I think that’s probably what he was looking for in terms of a rebuttal. I’ll see if I can’t prod him online; I’ve so enjoyed the SDMB community (even tho I get my butt kicked now & then).
At any rate it seemed like information worth sharing - potato chips now frighten me. Back when I worked at KFC we used vegetable oil, but it was the kind that started out in solid form.
I’m just reading along as I have cholesterol when untreated of 480. I’m always looking for a bit more education about how bad this really is for me.