You’ve Been Lied To: The Fat Myth
Pop question: What causes heart disease?
Chances are the “answers” bacon, butter, egg yolks, red meat and oil come to your mind.
Hold up.
Breaking news: Everything the government and food industry told you to believe about fat is wrong.
Last week, an article in JAMA Internal Medicine leaked into all the major news sources and the truth is out:
In the 1960s, the sugar industry paid Harvard scientists to publish a study blaming fat and cholesterol for coronary heart disease while largely excluding sugar.
“Shhh…don’t tell them.”
And the study did not end there. Throughout the 1960s and 70’s the food industry made a BIG push with continued “research” to cover up sugar’s role in heart disease and poor health, while continuing to point the finger at fat.
Enter the later 1980s, 90s and earlier 2000’s, and most of us were singing the “eat a low fat diet for a healthy heart and lifestyle” claim.
Buzzzzz.
Wrong.
The real dirt: Sugar and hydrogenated fats (found in processed and packaged foods—not in bacon, butter, red meat, coconut oil, avocado, nuts and more) are leading players in our nation’s continued heart disease epidemic.
KID OF THE (HIDDEN) SUGAR + LOW FAT + PROCESSED FOOD GENERATION
If you’re an American and a participant in the 1960’s generation to today, chances are you’re an “alumnus” or participant in the hidden-sugar, low-fat, processed food diet.
Raised on Pop-tarts and Frosted Flakes, PB & J’s and Lunchables, and Rice-a-Roni, Hamburger Helper, and spaghetti and meatsauce, most of us have lived, to date, to tell about it.
However, over the past 50 years, you’ve only had to turn on the news or read the paper to know that our nation’s health has been on the decline.
WHAT SUGAR REALLY DOES TO YOUR BODY
One word: Inflammation.
Sugar (and hydrogenated fats) both cause an inflammatory response in your body.
Your body doesn’t know how to deal with the influx of foreign chemicals and non-nutrient dense foods entering your digestive system, so it goes:
“May day, may day, may day!!!”
Inflammation essentially leads to your body getting “hot” and attacking itself.
Think about stubbing your toe for instance.
It throbs. It gets red. All blood flows to the area. And it hurts—perhaps you even break it.
For awhile, your body is focused on trying its best to cope and deal with the uncomfortable situation—and imbalance occurs, as your pain receptors fire up and your body adjusts to soothe the stubbed toe.
In the case of sugar and heart disease, a steady intake of sugar, leads to an inflammatory response, not only in your digestion, but also brain, arteries, hormones and other organs as well.
Unfortunately, the average American consumes 2-3 lbs. of sugar EVERY week—that’s about 7-8 times the “maximum” allotted amount of sugar recommended to consume (25 grams per day).
Much of this sugar come from hidden sources, making up 80-percent of our food supply in our grocery store aisles (like salad dressings, ketchup, deli meats, baked goods, sodas and energy drinks, snack bars, yogurt and smoothies).
Translation: There’s a whole lotta inflammation going on.
UNDERSTANDING WHY FAT IS GOOD FOR YOU
So you know sugar is not great for you…and you hear all about how “fat is good for you.” (In fact, this theory has increased in popularity over the past 5-10 years).
But WHY is fat “so good” or “healthy” for you?
“Uhhh…uhhh.”
(Cricket. Cricket.)
That’s ok, I’m glad you asked.
Here are a few things fat does for you when you eat it:
- Acts as a lubricant for your digestive system (makes things easier to pass)
- Balances blood sugar (keeps headaches, hanger and shakiness at bay)
- Provides us with vitamins to help digest and absorb other nutrients
- Balances cortisol (stress) levels
- Creates hormones and balances hormones
- Increase and maintain a healthy libido
- Enhances mental clarity and brain function
- Satiates you (keeps you from feeling ‘empty’ or hangry)
- Tastes really good
In other words: Fat does a body good.
BUT WHAT ABOUT HIGH CHOLESTEROL LEVELS?!
Doesn’t eating fat cause high cholesterol—and isn’t that what causes heart disease?!
Ah! Yes, the whole “eat fat” thing is still so hard to believe.
We’ve been told for years that cholesterol is linked to heart disease.
But is it?
Nope.
Despite the fact that 1 in 4 people take expensive statin medicines and aim to eat a “low fat” diet, 1 in 4 Americans will still die this year from heart disease—the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S.
In fact, the American Heart Association reports that 85 million Americans currently suffer from heart disease.
So, if heart disease is not caused by cholesterol, where is it coming from?
Inflammation in the body.
(Read: Sugar, prescription medications, NSAIDs, leaky gut, processed foods, caffeine).
ANOTHER LIE
One more point on this topic: “High cholesterol” levels were changed to sell you more drugs and get you to eat more low fat (processed) foods.
Did you know prior to 2004, “(bad) high cholesterol” was considered anything above 240 mg/DL for total cholesterol?
Fast forward to today, and that number has shifted to “high cholesterol” defined as anything above 190 mg/DL.
You can thank Pure Pharma (the drug industry for that).
With the introduction of new statin drugs (like Lipitor) into the market in 2004, the U.S. government’s National Cholesterol Education Program panel advised those at risk for heart disease to reduce their cholesterol numbers to new specific, very low, levels.
The 2004 guidelines recommended people specifically strive for LDL levels (the “bad” cholesterol) of less than 70-100.
Their solution?
“Eat a low fat diet, and take more cholesterol-lowering drugs.
The truth:
1.) “High cholesterol” is really a side effect from inflammation in the body (i.e. sugar, prescription medications, NSAIDs, leaky gut, processed foods, caffeine).
2.) And, moreover, there is NO strong influence between dietary cholesterol and blood cholesterol in the first place
The Bottom Line: Red meat, eggs, butter, olive oil, nutbutter, coconut oil and more, as part of a balanced diet, do not cause high cholesterol or inflammation.
Check out this article here and here for more on this matter.
EAT THESE
Phew! Ok…so you now know fat (even saturated fat) does a body good.
So what to do about it?
Incorporate 1-2 healthy fats with every meal. Try one of these:
- Avocado
- Coconut oil
- Macadamia nuts, almonds, walnuts
- Nutbutter, no sugar-added
- Chia seeds
- Flax seeds, flax oil
- Sunflower seeds and sunflower seed butter
- Hemp seeds, hemp oil
- Avocado oil
- Olive oil
- Walnut oil
- Grass-fed butter
- Ghee
- Duck fat
- Non-hydrogenated lard
- Beef tallow
- Coconut butter
- Coconut flakes, unsweetened
- Pumpkin seed oil
- Palm Shortening
- Olives
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Avocado oil mayo
- Fatty wild-caught fish
- Grass-fed organic fatty meats
- Pasture-raised egg yolks
Boom.
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