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More on Good Fats and the Cholesterol Myth

Anyone not in the Home for the Befuddled has been knocked upside the head about the horribleness of trans-fats so I won't belabor this point because you already know how to read the labels of anything you purchase in a box, bag, can, jar or wrapper scrutinizing the teeny, tiny 4 pt type looking for the horrifying words: Partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated fats. And, if you see the dreaded words, you already know to throw it quickly back onto the shelf and scurry along to a healthier aisle.

You already know that bad fats cause cancer, heart disease and diabetes; they decrease immune function, interfere with enzymes needed to produce hormones, and cause obesity; artificial trans-fats can also interfere with your body's use of the good omega-3's and have been linked to an increase in asthma. Even the Institute of Medicine has said that your consumption of trans-fats should be "as low as possible." But, wait. There are actually some good trans-fats out there that I want to talk about.

They are naturally occurring (made by nature and therefore good) trans-fats. They are not artificial (made by humans and therefore bad). Jack LaLanne has said for years, "If man makes it don't eat it; if nature makes it, eat it." Period. End of story. That's actually all the nutritional advice you will ever need and if you heed it, you, too will be able to pull a rowboat with your teeth for hundreds of yards on your 90th birthday after which you will do 50 one-arm push-ups.

These good trans-fats are called trans-vaccenic acid (VA) and are natural animal fats found in dairy and beef products. These VA's can actually reduce risk factors associated with heart disease, diabetes and obesity, according to a researcher from the University of Alberta. "The benefit was due in part to the ability of VA to reduce the production of chylomicrons which are particles of fat and cholesterol that form in your small intestine following a meal. Experiments on rats showed that VA in the diet could lower total cholesterol by approximately 30%, LDL's by 25% and triglycerides by more than 50%." International Symposium on Chylomicrons in Disease: March 6-8, 2008, Alberta, Canada.

In short, eat good fats to lower your bad fats. This means don't scrimp on your steaks (grass fed, if possible), butter and whole milk yogurts and milks. Even better, try to get raw milk from a farm co-op and make your own yogurts and kefirs. Again, these straight-from-the-farm products are not fussed with by humans, pasteurizing and homogenizing and artificially removing fats to make 1%, or non-fat or whatever. Regardless of what the so-called experts are yelling at you, animal fats are actually your friends. What happens is this: The VA's in the steak and whole milk converts to a fat called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which is a very effective cancer fighting component of animal fat. If you would like to read more about this controversial subject, I recommend a book called Nourishing Traditions by Mary Enig and Sally Fallon.

Here is something else that a "real" fat diet can do for you: It can help you drop weight. As I teach in my healthy eating and weight loss classes, we need fat to lose fat. The "old" fat that is stored in the body's peripheral tissues, like the belly, butt and inner thighs - can't be burned off unless "new" fat is eaten or generated in the liver. (Cell Metabolism, May, 2005)

As Dr. Joseph Mercola opines: "The no-fat or low-fat diet is so last century." But, just be aware that not all fats are created equal and I recommend again that you avoid certain fats, like trans, hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated and also liquid vegetable oils. The LVO's are actually a Frankenfood since they require mechanical pressing and processing to be created. They are very unstable and become rancid quickly, sometimes even before they are opened. These would be your large yellowish oils in the big plastic containers on the bottom shelf in the oil section of the supermarket, like Crisco etc.

What are the best fats to eat? Choose only fats that would have been available to you in pre-industrial times, when oil-pressing machines, chemicals and other technology used in creating the modern fats were unavailable. Since virgin coconut and extra virgin olive oils (EVOO's) require no machines to be processed, they are the good oils. These two oils plus organic butter or ghee are the only oils I have in my house. I cook with them and eat the coconut oil out of the jar with a spoon. Fish oils are fine, too.

Stop worrying about your cholesterol levels! This is a Big Pharma hype and the statins are not only unnecessary but dangerous for many, many people. I remember in the 70's when a cholesterol level of 350 was just fine and dandy, then someone discovered statins and mysteriously the acceptable cholesterol levels dropped to under 200, which created another new and very profitable market for Big Pharma. There hasn't been much difference in the incidence of heart disease either, since the advent of statins. In fact, in the low and no-fat craze of the 80's and part of the 90's, heart disease actually rose.

What If you have high cholesterol - like I do - and either can't or won't take a statin? You could do as I do: Take a lot of fish oil (4 grams + per day) to keep the LDL's oxidized and non-sticky. Since cholesterol is part of my immune system, I actually LIKE all the cholesterol circulating in my arteries - patching up injuries on the arterial intima , creating lots of good hormones, synthesizing my sunshine into vitamin D, cleansing my blood and keeping the Big C at bay. Studies have consistently shown that older women with high cholesterol are actually healthier and live longer. I also take natto kinase and pycnogenols, eat a lot of garlic and ginger, and drink a cup of green tea every day. Other herbs for the heart and circulation would be hawthorn and ginkgo biloba and cayenne.

Look at it all this way: The cholesterol is like the fire truck which speeds to the fire in your house (injury in the artery) and sprays water (cholesterol patch) on the fire to put it out so your house doesn't burn to the ground (so you don't have a heart attack or stroke). So, why would we want to get rid of the fire trucks? Why would we want to lower our ability to fight the fires in our arteries? It doesn't make any sense to me. Just keep your arteries pliable and healthy. I think that's the best answer.

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