Everyone knows it’s important to maintain a healthy diet, things like avoiding fatty meat and fish and whole-fat dairy products. All the experts tell us it’s so, and the nutrition guides on food products help us choose food wisely. Everyone knows what “fat” is. Most of us have also heard of “cholesterol,” but it’s not so clear just what that is. It gets clear when you visit a doctor, have your blood tested, and hear the doctor tell you that your cholesterol levels dangerously high. The doctor says you’ve got to get your cholesterol under control, or else your odds of getting heart disease and dying early go way up.
The doctor will probably tell you that you can help yourself by eating less saturated fat, which causes cholesterol to rise. Depending on how high your numbers are, the doctor may also put you on statin drugs, which lower your cholesterol levels the same way other drugs help lower dangerously high blood pressure. It’s just something you have to do in order to lead a long and healthy life. Are you ready for an incapacitating heart attack, or are you going take a couple pills every day? Is that so bad?
The CDC
Let’s make sure this is really true. Let's go to the federal CDC, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Hey, they've got a whole section on cholesterol! Fortunately the CDC makes clear that it’s a myth that all cholesterol is bad for you. There’s HDL, which is good for you. And then there’s…
LDL (low-density lipoprotein), sometimes called “bad” cholesterol, makes up most of your body’s cholesterol. High levels of LDL cholesterol raise your risk for heart disease and stroke.
They go on to explain exactly why LDL is bad for you:
When your body has too much LDL cholesterol, it can build up in the walls of your blood vessels. This buildup is called plaque. As your blood vessels build up plaque over time, the insides of the vessels narrow. This narrowing can restrict and eventually block blood flow to and from your heart and other organs. When blood flow to the heart is blocked, it can cause angina (chest pain) or a heart attack.
There is something you can do with your diet to help things:
Saturated fats can make your cholesterol numbers higher, so it’s best to choose foods that are lower in saturated fats. Foods made from animals, including red meat, butter, and cheese, have a lot of saturated fats.
But then, in the end, the important thing is to avoid getting a heart attack or stroke. The good news is that that there are drugs to help:
Although many people can achieve good cholesterol levels by making healthy food choices and getting enough physical activity, some people may also need medicines called statins to lower their cholesterol levels.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Is the government united in the effort to reduce bad cholesterol. Let’s make another check, to the appropriately named Department of Health (HHS).
Apparently the whole world, according to WHO, is sure that heart disease is a huge killer:
Cardiovascular diseases—all diseases that affect the heart or blood vessels—are the number one cause of death globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
They’re also sure that, in addition to diet, cholesterol has a firm place on the list of heart-harming things:
Your health care provider can assess your risk for cardiovascular disease through preventative screenings, including weight, cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, and blood sugar.
The American Heart Association (AHA)
How about the professional organization of heart doctors – what’s their position on cholesterol? It’s pretty clear:
LDL cholesterol is considered the “bad” cholesterol, because it contributes to fatty buildups in arteries (atherosclerosis). This narrows the arteries and increases the risk for heart attack, stroke and peripheral artery disease (PAD).
Harvard Medical School
Better check with the people who train the best doctors. Let's make sure this is really up to date.
Here's what they have to say:
Too much LDL in the bloodstream helps create the harmful cholesterol-filled plaques that grow inside arteries. Such plaques are responsible for angina (chest pain with exertion or stress), heart attacks, and most types of stroke.
What causes a person's LDL level to be high? Most of the time diet is the key culprit. Eating foods rich in saturated fats, trans fats, and easily digested carbohydrates boost LDL
OK, but what if for various reasons diet doesn't get things under control?
Several types of medication, notably the family of drugs known as statins, can powerfully lower LDL. Depending on your cardiovascular health, your doctor may recommend taking a statin.
Conclusion
The science has spoken. The leading authorities in the field of heart health speak it clearly, without reservation and without qualification. Heart attacks are a leading cause of death everywhere. Blood plaques cause heart attacks. Blood plaques are caused by having too much LDL, the bad cholesterol, in the blood. Your LDL is raised by eating too much saturated fat. You can reduce your chances of getting a heart attack by strictly limiting the amount of saturated fat you eat and by taking drugs, primarily statins, that reduce the amount of LDL.
Why wouldn’t any sane person at minimum switch to low-fat dairy and lean meats, if not go altogether vegan? And then, to be sure, get their blood checked to make sure their LDL level is under control. The only one who can keep you healthy is YOU, blankity-blank-it! And if you by chance run into some crank telling you otherwise, you shouldn’t waste your time.
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