20 Cholesterol Confusion 3 A Poverty of Animal Fat

The inhabitants of poor countries tend to eat less animal fat and have lower cholesterol than those who live in rich countries. They also tend not to live as long. We can conclude, therefore, that higher cholesterol and greater saturated fat consumption promote longer life spans. Do you buy that one? No? I didn't think you would. But nevertheless, that's the poverty ploy of the cholesterol confusionists. Malcolm Kendrick and the "Perfect Health Diet" couple are among those who are willing to stoop low enough to use this tactic. Their mendacity is confronted in this video.

[Starchaholic]

That's quite an impressive chin Dr. Kendrick has racked up.

[PeanutChoco]

I saw Barry Sears employing a similar tactic, trying to act the people who lost the most weight on The Biggest Loser were the ones most closely staying within "The Zone." These entrepreneurs are quite crafty.

[PrimitiveNutrition]

It's nice to see a study with a null result about anything get published once in a while.
J Nutr. 2011 Jul;141(7):1286-91. doi: 10.3945/jn.110.135087. Epub 2011 May 18.
Conjugated linoleic acid supplementation for 8 weeks does not affect body composition, lipid profile, or safety biomarkers in overweight, hyperlipidemic men.
Joseph SV, Jacques H, Plourde M, Mitchell PL, McLeod RS, Jones PJ.

[ImaSkeptic]

Many years ago, before statin drugs were used, elevated cholesterol was simply treated as HYPOthyroidism. Hypothyroidism often increases total cholesterol levels. So does anorexa, dental surgery, or serious burns. Halogens such as bromide, chlorine, and fluoride interfere with the absorption of iodine (another halogen) within the thyroid gland. Thus you may acquire subclinical or clinical hypothyroidism. We don't need any halogens other than iodine in our diets.

[PrimitiveNutrition]

"I prefer naturally gained nutrients when possible as the body knows what to do with it" Then why are you linking all these studies with supplements?

This comment is all over the place. Do you think I'd find that in counties where they consume the most grass fed beef I'd find the least heart disease? This is just your preferred belief. You say silly things to support it.

[ThePhytoWarrior]

I think you could use Cholesterol confectionist tactics to lay out a complete LSAT exam; for all three sections.

[AntiCarnist]

I highly suggest reading D.M.'s one star Amazon review of Kendrick's The Great Cholesterol Con, as well as his one star reviews of Ignore The Awkward, Good Calories Bad Calories, and Why We Get Fat.

[PrimitiveNutrition]

Deaths from CVD have fallen as population cholesterol levels have fallen.

The animal food industry profits from funding research that is intended to make animal foods look healthy. The pharmaceutical industry profits by selling statins to people with high cholesterol. They don't sell many statins to vegans.

CLA is tested as a supplement, and if it gained enough support, it would be manufactured by the pharmaceutical industry. Big pharma owns some of the biggest supplement companies.

[ImaSkeptic]

I have a general rule of thumb that the more refined a given food is, the worse it is for you. I also take into account the halogens and heavy metals in our environment. I don't consider myself "indoctrinated" by any sense of the word but I do like common sense when it comes to nutrition. Many people are being misled for profit. Yet my mind remains open to anything new that will improve health. I don't really care for the pill industry.

[Goyim]

On that Perfect Health graph, you can clearly see that the Japanese have the longest healthy life expectancy while consuming roughly 25% of their calories from animal foods. I wonder why the Perfect Health Diet couple isn't following the example of the Japanese if they're so invested in that graph.

[PrimitiveNutrition]

For those of you who care, you can watch my Taubes Filter video and see his quotes from his book on screen in which he called elevated LDL a "lipid problem" that could be addressed by diet. He also said elevated cholesterol was a major risk factor for CHD. Either way, this was not his area of training or research. He was a surgeon. And he certainly was no expert on diet.

[PrimitiveNutrition]

CLA is covered in my video Animal Food Odds and Ends Part II. I'm not sure why you think these things.

[mcg]

You are citing the Swiss study incorrectly. They are stating that total/HDL cholesterol ratio is a risk factor, not 'high cholesterol' as you claim in your video.

[ImaSkeptic]

Of course it will be a mixed bag. It is SUPPOSED to be a mixed bag. It's by design. Plausible deniability is big business. Unfortunately most people do not realize it.

[PrimitiveNutrition]

Why are you so intent on promoting CLA supplementation? I thought you said, "I have a general rule of thumb that the more refined a given food is, the worse it is for you."

[PrimitiveNutrition]

A hostile commenter, but at least she's coming up with something...
The first study above is from 2000 (PMID: 11110851) using supplements (not any WAPF-approved food). Glancing it over, with only 47 subjects and no control of dietary intake, this could well have been an unreliable result, and indeed, human trials of CLA on body composition have not been consistent. For example, her study 15321800 showed no effect on body composition, and a very minor effect on lipids.

[ImaSkeptic]

Studies also show that you need healthy fats to help absorb the fat soluable vitamins like A, D, E, and K. Furthermore, if you don't get enough essential fatty acids like Omega-3 EPA/DHA fatty acids found in wild-caught fish or free range grass-fed beef, you can literally die of sudden cardiac arrest. Essential means your body can't make it. I prefer naturally gained nutrients when possible as the body knows what to do with it. If you prefer highly processed man-made trans-fats, go for it.

[AntiCarnist]

Malcolm Kendrick believes that stress as measured by the HPA-axis is a good biomarker for heart disease. But in his book, he states that he sees no connection between fruits and vegetables and the HPA-axis. This is problematic when fruits and vegetables slash heart disease in pretty much every study. Kendrick is also another who believes that statins lower heart disease risk by a mechanism other than LDL lowering. This meta-analysis refutes that claim:

PMID: 16286171

[Goyim]

One has to wonder where Kendrick got his data about the Aboriginals. Such a low cholesterol level seems ancestral, and not consistent with their modern high fat, low fiber diet.

BTW, Kendrick got his data on the European countries from the WHO MONICA Study. MONICA found that 10 year variations in cholesterol accounted for 35% of the risk for coronary events. Why doesn't Kendrick tell us this?

[PrimitiveNutrition]

I suggest folks look at a more recent and thorough look at the evidence in this paper:PMC2826589.

They note consistent findings of induced insulin resistance and increased inflammation from CLA supplementation. "The resulting FFA accumulation in blood, liver, and muscle increases FFA oxidation and FFA-induced insulin resistance ... If energy expenditure is not sufficient to completely oxidize these elevated levels of FFAs, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, and lipodystrophy can result.