Thursday, February 4, 2010

Even the Mass Media Catching On to Saturated Fat

http://www.menshealth.com/men/nutrition/food-for-fitness/saturated-fat/article/b675909829731110VgnVCM10000013281eac
"If Atkins means eating lots of meat, eggs and cheese, won't all that saturated fat wreck your cholesterol levels and put you on the road to heart disease?  Well, no. There's no good evidence of that. And there's plenty of evidence that the opposite is true--that eating more saturated fat lowers the risk for heart disease. That's what a recent Harvard University study found: People who had the highest saturated fat intake also had the least plaque buildup on their artery walls. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition described the findings as an "American Paradox."  In the Stanford University study that made recent headlines, women on the "fatty" Atkins diet ended up with the healthiest cholesterol levels and the best blood pressure readings, compared to those on other diets, notably the famous Ornish low-fat diet."
The paradox here, if there is one, is how so many smart people - doctors, nutritionists, health researchers - could have gotton it so wrong with regards to fat, cholesterol and heart disease.  In fact, the mounting evidence is that for the last 30 years, they've been giving the opposite of the right advice. 
One note - with regard to women and the last sentence above - no one really knows what a good or bad level of cholesterol is.  The studies show different results for different age groups of women.  One thing is certain - there's absolutely no evidence that high cholesterol is unhealthy for any age women.  If anything, the reverse is true and especially for older women. 

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