So, you think people are to ignorant to know and process the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth. You decide you need to tell them something simple enough to follow, and so what if it is unproved - YOU MUST ACT!! So you tell everyone to stop eating cholesterol in your foods (no more eggs), and to stop eating foods with saturated fat. Easy, simple, a prescription anyone can both understand and act on.
Just one problem - it doesn't help anyone to be healthier! This Rx does not result in much "improvement" in your cholesterol numbers, and an even smaller improvement in mortality reduction.
Why, then, would I still see such a poster on the wall of a medical professional's office?!
It's simple enough, in that once enough people said "saturated fat and cholesterol is bad", folks believed it, science be damned. The old model, which seems so banal now that it is hard to believe anyone truly believed it, was that cholesterol was floating around in the blood in excess, and stuck to the arteries like grease clogs a drain. In hindsight, this seems almost impossibly simplistic.
The best understanding at present is that, unlike the poster above's clear message, LDL isn't "bad" per se. Further, reducing cholesterol via statins, oatmeal, or any other "number manipulation" does not improve mortality (as has been addressed in this blog often).
What you can do to measure your health, the best measure known now, is to reduce triglycerides while raising HDL. While you do this, control your glucose levels. To do this, eat meat, vegetable, nuts and seeds, little fruit or starch, and no sugar or wheat. Adjust your intake after measuring glucose levels and re-evaluating TG/HDL levels. With TG under 100, and HDL over 50, and with fasting glucose under 100 and falling, you can be confident you are eating well.
Cholesterol isn't the villain, and never was. This has been known for a long time. It's a shame that an otherwise proud profession cannot catch on.
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