The Great Cholesterol Con

[barn babe]

Malcolm Kendrick's new book "The Great Cholesterol Con" is out debunking the myths about cholesterol and heart disease. This book is easy to read, quite accessible, and does a great slash-and-burn of the diet/cholesterol/heart disease hypothesis. There's not much here to disagree with.

Kendrick has easily laid to waste the ideas that fat and especially saturated fat have anything to do with heart disease. The studies he cites indicate that once somebody decided that saturated fat caused heart disease, nothing would change their minds. The researchers have managed to twist their "findings" to fit their hypothesis in every way imaginable.

Kendrick takes on statin therapy with as much vigor as he does cholesterol. He has an entire chapter that details the reality of the statin situation, that these meds only work for a very small number of people.

If you want the alternative viewpoint on cholesterol and heart disease, a viewpoint that is generally not conveyed in the mainstream media, this book is an informative, often humorous, and easy-to-understand read.

(Crossposted in "Heart" forum)

[live4fitness]

WOW thanks for the info. I am so glad this ONE guy has written a book about how all those hundreds and thousands of books about  diet/cholesterol/heart disease are all lies. This is great I will believe this one guy because he MUST know more than anyone else.

again, THANKS SO MUCH for opening all our eyes.

[barn babe]

It's not the only book out there on this topic. There is actually quite a bit of research questioning the mainstream thinking on cholesterol and the low fat diet, and it's pretty compelling. Open-mindedness doesn't appear to be  a strong suit of yours, however.

In other news, it looks like you hired yourself an editor, at least for the spell-checking. Your grammar still stinks, unfortunately.

[Persephone55]

Have you ever read the contra-indications on cholesterol meds (statins)
They cause liver cancer, kidney failure and "fatal events" among just a few. I always wondered exactly what a fatal event was. All my drs are always trying to push these damm drugs on me and I simply will not take them. I eat healthy get flax seed and vinegar with "mother", excercise and call it good. I personally am glad someone is questioning the validity of these drugs. And as it happens, I worked at a University with an economics professor who was often called as an expert witness. He explained to me how research "facts" can and are scewed to meet the criteria of whomever will profit.

[barn babe]

The first bit of evidence anybody should question is how "healthy" cholesterol levels have been systematically lowered over the years. A "healthy" total cholesterol used to be something like 230. But the total cholesterol number that they have deemed appropriate for medicating has been lowered several times over the years. Who is behind this?  Somehow, we have been led to believe that continuing to decrease what is considered a "healthy" total cholesterol is evidence-based by studies indicating that heart disease and heart attacks are not found in populations with these cholesterol levels. In fact, there is NO evidence that people with low total cholesterols are immune  from heart disease and myocardial infarctions.

It's all bunk.

Follow a low-carb diet. If you can, push your carbs lower and lower until you gradually get to 50 carbs or less per day. We could probably stop type 2 diabetes in its tracks in this country if this is the only change people made in their diets. I've been on an essentially zero-carb diet for several years (zero carb meaning 5 grams of carbs or less per day), and prior to that time was on Atkins (about 50-75 grams carbs per day) for 15 years.

Here's a good website by a medical doctor who does not believe in the cholesterol hypothesis. In fact, he reads the current medical literature about cholesterol, fats, heart disease, diet and nutrition, and tears apart the research that's out there. He has good arguments and evidence for why saturated fats are not harmful. He also responds to comments and questions.

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/?m=20070516

[Persephone55]

unfortunately when riding a bicycle 30 miles I cannot lower my carb intake. Although I do use rice as pretty much my only carb. I have been working with body builders. It is a long story but the jist is I was in a coma for two weeks and they did not put a feeding tube in cause the thought I would die and that I was brain dead. So I woke up weighing 67 lbs. Every since then my weight blew up and no amount of dieting could reduce it. I have finally become healthy enough to do real excercise and so I am weight lifting, riding my bicycle and jogging on the tread mill. I learned the hard way you HAVE to have calories to build muscle and have the energy for long rides. I have a friend who is 85 rides an 18 speed touring bike and always eats pancakes and peanut butter before a long ride. (Oh and the 30 somethings cannot keep up with him)!

[barn babe]

I ride further than 30 miles without carbs. I do zero carb and can run about 18 miles before I need any carbs on board, and even at that point, I control the carb intake very carefully just for the remaining mileage.

Nobody is going to argue with you that you need calories for exercise. But those calories sure as sh*t don't need to be carbs. I'm doing the Alcatraz Triathlon this summer, I'm doing a marathon in September in which I'm planning to BQ (Boston Qualify), and I just swam the Golden Gate. I won't need carbs for any of this except the marathon, and only then at the 18-20 mile mark.

Don't buy into the hype that you need carbs for exercise. You don't. There is some research  out there indicating that fat-adapted people do just fine with long vigorous exercise. There's not a lot of research on it because in our society we diss low-carb diets in general, and the prevailing dogma is that we *require* carbs for exercise. It's baloney.  And I'm an example.

It takes a while for your body to get adapted to burning  body fat instead of glucose (carbs). It could take as long as six weeks for some people. But if you stay with it, the rewards are amazing. : ) If you want to burn your body fat, stop eating carbs, or go as low as you can go.

Here's Steven Phinney on low carb and exercise. He's the guy from UC Davis who did the low-carb research on the professional cyclists and found that they did not have any problems with their performance once they fat-adapted.  

http://hoe.kgnu.net/hoeradioshow.php?show_id=184

Good luck with your training.

[Persephone55]

Again long story but my stomach and everything else is full of calcified e-coli. It is almost impossible for me to digest proteins, they just sit in my stomach. Without carbs I get so sick I cannot do anything

[barn babe]

I'm really sorry about your condition. : (

For myself, I would probably go into a massive depression if I ever had to eat a high-carb diet again. I think it's unhealthy.  I've been off carbs for over 15 years and never felt (or looked) better.  

Sounds like it works for you, though. Good luck with the weight loss and the exercise.  Maybe you can keep us posted of your progress.  I would be interested in reading about how you are doing.