How did we get so scared about eating fat? If we eat fat then we believe we are going to get fat. I find it just the opposite- Eat Fat to Burn Fat… and get fat by eating sugar (and manufactured processed non-foods).
We are brainwashed to believe if we eat natural fats, especially saturated fats, as coconut oil, lard and other animal fats that we are going to raise our cholesterol- and high cholesterol leads to heart disease.
Is that a fact or a myth? Are we going to get heart disease if we consume excess fat? What if we raise our total cholesterol… isn’t high cholesterol going to lead to heart disease and then we will die from a heart attack?
Well I believe it is a myth – how can fat that our ancestors lived and survived upon for centuries now was the source of heart disease deaths starting in 1950s?
Well this myth or rather theory started with Mr. Ancel Keys. The author of “The Big FAT Surprise” wrote an entire book (over 300 pages!) of how the fat-cholesterol-heart disease hypothesis developed over the years- the theory that brought us to being scared of eating fats- especially saturated fats- or else we may die of a heart attack…even sixty years later!
The author wrote a research book on this hypothesis and has stellar reviews from top functional medicine specialists and medical doctors – who are all not afraid to think outside of the box and challenge theories that have stuck for decades in our nutritional belief system:
“Nina Teicholz reveals the disturbing underpinnings of the profoundly misguided dietary recommendations that have permeated modern society, culminating in our overall health decline. But The Big Fat Surprise is refreshingly empowering. This wonderfully researched text provides the reader with total validation for welcoming healthful fats back to the table, paving the way for weight loss, health and longevity.” (David Perlmutter, MD, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs)
“A page-turner story of science gone wrong: what Gary Taubes did in Good Calories, Bad Calories for debunking the connection between fat consumption and obesity, Nina Teicholz now does in Big Fat Surprise for the purported connection between fat and heart disease. Misstep by misstep, blunder by blunder, Ms. Teicholz recounts the statistical cherry-picking, political finagling, and pseudoscientific bullying that brought us to yet another of the biggest mistakes in health and nutrition, the low-fat and low-saturated fat myth for heart health.” (William Davis, MD, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight and Find Your Path Bac)
“At last the whole truth about the luscious foods our bodies really need!” (Christiane Northrup, M.D., ob/gyn physician and author of the New York Times bestseller Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom)
So what is the “Big Idea” of this book?
Well the author started to challenge the theory that eating fat = gaining fat as well as eating fat leads to high cholesterol and high cholesterol leads to increased risk of heart disease and dying from a heart attack.
One person was responsible for starting this fear of fat. Ancel Keys.
Who is Ancel Keys? Well you must read this book to get the entire background but the author dug deep into Ancel Keys history, personality, education, research studies in detail as well as his control over other people’s belief system. He knew how to win over top medical professionals, government agencies and most of all- the media.
Ancel Keys is famous for the “Seven Countries” Study – a study with the hypothesis: “the rate of coronary disease in populations and individuals would vary in relation to their physical characteristics and lifestyle, particularly in fat composition of the diet and serum cholesterol levels.
His objective of the study was to “to explore in detail the associations of diet, other risk factors, and disease rates between populations and among individuals within populations, using standard measures by trained survey teams, with blindfolded coding and analysis of data.”
The pilot study was …”in Italy, Spain, South Africa and Japan from 1952 to 1956 suggested that diets, serum cholesterol levels, and heart attack rates varied widely and that methods needed to be standardized. More formal pilot studies were undertaken from 1956 to 1957 in Finland, Italy, and Greece indicating that a desirable wide range of diets and disease rates probably existed and that staff and populations could be effectively recruited and examined.”
The findings of the study- or what there claim to fame of this famous study that changed the way we think of fat since the 1950’s:
The Seven Countries Study was a pioneering endeavour in study design that influenced and enhanced many studies to follow. It showed that serum cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes and smoking are universal risk factors for coronary heart disease. Ancel Keys and his Italian colleague Flaminio Fidanza and their SCS colleagues were central to the modern recognition, definition, and promotion of the eating pattern they found in Italy and Greece in the 1950s and ’60s, now popularly called “The Mediterranean Diet.” They showed together with their colleagues that dietary patterns in the Mediterranean and in Japan in the 1960s were associated with low rates of coronary heart disease and all-cause mortality. The studies in the elderly showed that a healthy diet and lifestyle (sufficient physical activity, non-smoking and moderate alcohol consumption) also is associated with a low risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. A healthy diet and sufficient physical activity may also postpone cognitive decline and decrease the risk of depression.
The Seven Countries Study provided “evidence” that the researchers were not ever going to challenge or review for accuracy but rather set the guidelines up for the American Heart Association and the National Institute of Health based on this one study.
- “for the concept of sick and healthy populations
- that the major cardiovascular risk factors are universal
- for the diet-heart hypothesis
- that cardiovascular disease is preventable
- that a healthy lifestyle may promote different aspects of health”
The author of “The Big FAT Surprise” challenges the results of this study- how did they monitor the patients? What makes them generalize the risk factors for cardiovascular disease is universal? How is cardiovascular disease preventable – just by avoiding fat?
The study wasn’t all black and white for everyone – but those who challenge the results of the study and future studies on cardiovascular disease-heart disease were shunned upon. If another researcher or professional challenge the diet-heart hypothesis then they were often looked down upon and their nutritional research career was nearly over- lack of funding and support for any of their own studies to challenge Ancel Keys findings were not accepted.
The theory of high levels of cholesterol in the blood leading to build up of plaque will lead to coronary heart disease because of too much saturated fats can be a little contradictory if you review the history of these research studies over the last six decades. Other researchers started to look at the relationship to cholesterol levels and the amount of fat in the heart- the amount of blockage – and didn’t find any correlation to cholesterol levels in the blood and blockage in the arteries.
I questioned how natural oils found for centuries could suddenly be to blame for causing higher cholesterol levels and heart disease- and why is high cholesterol levels bad for us? The author, Nina, looked at each study and conclusions from both sides of the fat-cholesterol-heart disease hypothesis starting back in the 1950’s… she was keeping an open mind to decide for herself what the findings really told us and which studies had noticeable flaws that were hidden and kept secret from the public or media.
The challenge these researchers discovered in sharing contradictory evidence against the fat-cholesterol-heart disease theory is to getting anyone to listen to them, publish their research or even fund any studies. The big road block was The American Heart Association and the leaders behind the leader in the fear of fat -Ancel Keys. No one was able to stand up and get respect when challenging Ancel Keys and team’s accuracy in their research study, including the famous Seven Countries study- instead their career was almost over if they stood up for their believes. Ancel Key’s crew was on a mission to demonize the saturated fats in our diet and scared everyone in eating any fat – thus lead to the industry creating vegetable oils, fake fats and non-fat processed foods. Soon we had a multi-million dollar industry-endorsed by major foundations and organizations that we all trusted as the American Heart Association.
We were told that our cholesterol levels were too high and we needed to test our cholesterol levels to lower risk for heart disease. The advice was for the same for every individuals – avoid saturated fats as tropical fats and animal fats. The “Prudent Diet” was developed to help us lower cholesterol and food guidelines were established to support the theory was “saturated fats cause heart disease”. Instead of eating natural fats as coconut oil and animal fats, we were quickly bombarded with synthetic imitation fake foods…fat-free and processed foods are what was saturating the food industry market as well as the marketing industry focused on scaring us from eating any animal fats or tropical fats – and promoted vegetable oils as “healthy” instead.
Perhaps Ancel Keys and his followers were being too narrow minded and closed minded!?
The bad fats that should be avoided are these man-made oils as transfats.
A few big “ah ha’s” that I learned about fats from this book-
- The research studies starting back in the 1950s were filled with errors, contradictions and assumptions.
- The presentation of the outcome of many research studies were manipulated.
- Man-made vegetable Oils are not healthy for us
- Natural saturated fats are actually good healthy fats
- We can’t always believe the guidelines from foundations and organizations supported by major companies as Proctor & Gamble or General Mills.
Almost ten years ago, I started thinking outside of the box and paying attention to who is funding nutritional research and campaigns. The major risk factor for heart disease is not about avoiding saturated fats but rather avoiding manufactured oils, processed foods, flours and sugar. We were telling people to eat “fake foods” instead of cooking and eating real healthy sources of fats for decades to only see an increase in chronic diseases.
We should be consuming healthy sources of saturated fats as clean sources of animal fats, egg yolks, coconut oil, lard and grass-fed butter sources! A non-fat or fat-free diet is not a food plan or diet we should follow- for many reasons besides the research Nina has discussed and reviewed in her book “The Big Fat Surprise”.
If you want to learn more about Cholesterol and myths then I would review Jimmy Moore’s book “What the HDL?
It maybe the small dense LDL cholesterol may be the “bad” cholesterol that we need to fear as well as other risk factors as inflammation markers as C-Reactive Protein and triglycerides. We should let go of the fear of eating grass fed butter, cheese and meat- just make sure it is a good source and not from factory polluted farms!
I wish we could trust our leaders who establish our eating habits as:
- American Heart Association
- American Diabetics Association
- National Institutes of Health
Sometimes we need to dig a little deeper into research, details and funding sources before we make our own personal decision. We need to own our own health and
I congratulate the author, Nina, in taking on this task in writing this book and digging deep into all the studies and personalities behind the fat-cholesterol-heart disease hypothesis.
What causes heart disease if cholesterol isn’t the culprit? Well we have many risk factors than contribute to heart disase but that is another blog post and research article. The research is still firmly committed to the lipid-hypothesis that Ancel Keys started converting everyone to believe back in the 1950’s so the funding is difficult to get to break that theory. The same foods that have been demonized for decades and told to avoid for health benefits are actually the real foods that provides the nutrients and essential fatty acids that we do need for our whole health. It nutrition research, health care organizations and food industry a conspiracy? A multi-billion dollar industry is supported by these fat-cholesterol-heart disease hypothesis as well as pharmaceutical industry… none of these companies make money from us if we eat a whole foods diet and eat right for a type. We don’t all need a high-fat diet but we do need more healthy fats, good sources of proteins and quality vegetables as well as follow the tips in The WHOLESTIC Method program.
