Lowering Cholesterol With A Diet High In Animal Fat

[tex]

Hi all,

This very interesting article does indeed report the results of a trial where seven patients with severe food intolerances, (and with elevated cholesterol levels), were fed a diet consisting of only meat with a high animal fat content. By the end of the study, the average serum cholesterol reading for the group had fallen from 263 to 189mg/dl, (a huge improvement). Not only that, but their "good" cholesterol had actually improved. Here's a link to the article:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entre ... t=Abstract

As far as I am aware, this is the only research that has been published about the concept of using fatty meat to lower serum cholesterol, since the famous demonstration in the 1930s by Vilhjalmur Stefansson, when he and a cohort lived on a 100% meat diet for a year, to prove to the medical experts of the day, that conventional thinking was wrong:

http://www.biblelife.org/stefansson2.htm

If you've never read this article, (and you have the time - it's a fairly long article), I highly recommend reading it.

The technique appears to work very effectively to reduce cholesterol, but the medical profession as a group doesn't seem to be interested in exploring the concept, presumably because it does not involve any meds, so no pharmaceutical companies are likely to be willing to foot the bill - they make waaaaaaaaaaaay too much money out of their expensive cholesterol suppressing drugs.

Note the last comment in the report, where the author speculates that elevated serum cholesterol levels are probably caused, (at least in part, by some factor in either grains, sucrose, or milk), and not by eating animal fat.

Tex

[Linda in BC]

"Note the last comment in the report, where the author speculates that elevated serum cholesterol levels are probably caused, (at least in part, by some factor in either grains, sucrose or milk), and not by eating animal fat"

I just saw a news story the other night that says researchers now suspect high sugar intake as a significant contributor to high cholesterol readings, and heart disease

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/04/ ... terol.html

Just as was predicted in your quote above...

Linda

[JLH]

Wow, very interesting, indeed. I LOVE sugar. Been avoiding red meat but not completely. Still a wreck about meds and tryglicerides and cholesterol........

[tex]

The mainstream medical community still has a major problem changing their opinion about animal fats in the diet, though. They just don't want to turn loose of that misguided opinion, even though it was never proven in the first place - they just assumed that animal fat was bad for us. At least they're finally getting around to recognizing that the problem might possibly be due to sugar and/or other foods.

Thanks for the link.

Tex

[mbeezie]

I plan on getting my cholesterol checked when I go back to my MD in June. My cholesterol used to run high (230s, despite a very "healthy" low fat diet, normal body weight, exercise etc). At the height of my D it was 189, but I attributed that to D/malabsorption. I am curious now since I am a reformed vegetarian, as my husband likes to call me. I eat lots of meat now and have reduced my grain consumption/sugar consumption considerably. I used to eat < 30% calories from fat and I don't think I am anywhere near that now. I am curious to see what my numbers are.

Mary Beth

[Gabes-Apg]

i have always been a bit of a carnivore, love my red meat.

i think the influcence from animal fats to the diet was in food preperation and cooking, not meat itself.
i also think the influence of GMO type ingredients and preservatives (and evil things like soy for filler) to allow mass production of foods (fast foods, preprepared meals) is the issue.

eating meat and vegetables/salad is not the issue, it is what we add to it.

I remember the day i found out that mcdonalds thick shakes were formulated from pig fat. i never had one ever again!

[tex]

Gabes,

Such undue criticism of pig fat seems like an injustice to the swine of the world. That's so out of character for you.

Touché.

Tex

[tex]

Mary Beth,

My cholesterol has been up close to that number, (230), for years, but I have never made any effort whatsoever to limit my intake of fats, (after all, that's where the flavor is). As I mentioned in a recent post, my last test result was 211, and the only changes that I've made to my diet is to eat less carbs, and a minimum of fiber, (I never did eat much fiber, but I used to eat more than I eat now). Obviously there's more to this than meets the eye, and assumptions based on conventional medical thinking, seem to leave a lot to be desired. Maybe my cholesterol level wasn't due to all the fried fat that I've eaten for all these years, but rather the vegetable oils that were used to fry it in.

I've also been diagnosed with colon cancer twice in my life, (by at least 2 doctors, each time, at least one of which was a GI specialist), and those diagnoses never surprised me, considering my diet, but so far, (thank goodness), they've always been wrong. Of course, after my last surgery, they won't be able to make that diagnosis, any more.

I'll be very interested in seeing your test results, also.

Tex

[Gabes-Apg]

he he he tex


i love eating pork and bacon. and love the movie babe.... (aussie movie about a pig that talks and sings)

the thought of pig fat in a strawbrerry thickshake i just couldnt deal with it.........
if we are going to compare the scum(s) of the medical world to a creature i think it should be something like a fly or a maggot.

anyways - back to the topic at hand. totally agree tex, it is not the actual food that is the issue, dont think cave man had cholesterol issues as they did not cook food in fat, their only fat intake was what naturally occurred in the meat.

Interestingly a couple of weeks ago TK and i were watching the cricket and during the lunch break they showed footage of a match played in the early 1980's. We noticed and commented that the crowd were much much thinner, there were hardly any large frame overweight people in the crowd.
admitttedly alot more people did smoke then and recently there is results of studies that show that less people are smoking and less are dieing from diseases related to smoking but what is happening is obesity rates are up and there is a drastic increase in diabetes, heart disease etc

we discussed the difference with meal preperation, fast foods, GMO foods, preservatives etc.

[tex]

We noticed and commented that the crowd were much much thinner, there were hardly any large frame overweight people in the crowd.

Excellent observation. You're right, when I look back at pictures taken before the 1980's, (and especially back in the 1950's and 1960's), most people looked so thin back then, that they seem almost gaunt by today's standards. There have been a lot of changes since those days, though, not the least of which is the promotion of high fructose corn syrup and soy oil, in the 1980's. We worked a lot harder, and were more active back in those days, too, because we didn't have as many of the conveniences that we have these days, (at least we didn't have them out on the farm).

FWIW, though, I agree that pig fat in a malt or milkshake doesn't sound very appetizing. I never was a McDonald's fan, though, to begin with.



Tex

[Gabes-Apg]

doing research on obesity rates

http://answers.google.com/answers/threa ... 20635.html


http://www.nber.org/digest/apr06/w11584.html
The authors note that the rapid increase in obesity in the 1980s is partly an "unintended consequence of the campaign to reduce smoking." On balance, however, they conclude that "the increase in the per capita number of restaurants makes the largest contribution to the BMI outcome, accounting for 54 percent of the growth" in a pooled sample of m en and women

[JLH]

I think pig fat in MC Donald's shakes is an urban legend, Gabes.......