Are You Making These

7 Mistakes About

Fat and Cholesterol?

f all the confusing, contradictory, and flat out bad

advice out there about nutrition, far and away the
one the issue that can work me up into a lather
faster than you can say Krispy Kreme is what the dietary
dictocrats tell us about fat and cholesterol.
Im going to put it bluntly: 99% of what youve read about
or heard on the nightly news about the dangers of fat and
cholesterol is flat our wrong.
And the real irony is that the so-called experts are actually
telling us to avoid the right kind of fats and eat the wrong
kind of fats instead.
Talk about insane

Low-fat diet had no advantages over the usual diet.

So today, Im going to blow the cover off this controversial

topic, and tell you the real truth about fat and cholesterol
the stuff you arent hearing about on the nightly news.
What youre about to learn is going to shock you.

Mistake #1: A low-fat diet is key to losing weight.

It isnt!
The Womens Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial
was very expensive, costing several hundreds of millions
of dollars. The study included around 49,000 respondents
and spanned 8 years.
Fat was thought to cause heart disease, certain types of
cancer, and obesity. It seemed obvious then that cutting
out fat should result in lower risks for heart disease and
cancer and should lead to weight loss.

But it didnt.
Instead, the study showed that a low-fat diet had no advantages over the usual diet. Participants who lessened their
fat consumption weighed the same, on average, as the participants who didnt alter their diet. And they had pretty
much the same risk for cancer and heart disease.[i]
Key Takeaway
Low-fat diets offer no health advantage whatsoever.[ii]

Mistake #2: Foods rich in cholesterol are bad for

you.
Cholesterol isnt bad per se.

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Theyre not.
First, lets clear up the misconception that cholesterol is
bad for you. Cholesterol is essential for human health. We
need it to make sex hormones, cell membranes, vitamin D
(yes, our bodies can produce vitamin D using cholesterol),
and digestive enzymes that help in breaking up fats.

people dietary cholesterol isnt nearly the villain its been

portrayed to be. The biggest influence on blood cholesterol
level is the mix of fats and carbohydrates in your dietnot
the amount of cholesterol you eat from food.[iv]
Key Takeaway
Its okay to eat cholesterol-rich foods such as eggs.[v] For
the overwhelming majority of people, dietary cholesterol
has virtually no significant effect on blood cholesterol.

Mistake #3: LDL cholesterol levels can predict

heart attacks
They dont.
Its been drummed into our consciousness that bad LDL
cholesterol levels in the blood can predict a persons risk
of heart attack. At the same time, we were made to believe
that higher levels of HDL cholesterol help in lowering heart
attack risks.

Dietary cholesterol has virtually no significant effect on blood cholesterol.

Dr. Ron Rosedale, one of the leading experts in the science

of aging, sums it up best: Theres no good and bad cholesterol. Cholesterol is cholesterol. [iii]
According to the Harvard School of Public Health:
Although it is still important to limit the amount of cholesterol you eat, especially if you have diabetes, for most

However, in 2008, a study showed that lowering LDL levels

doesnt always decrease the likelihood of heart attacks. Another study, released in 2011, showed that increasing HDL
cholesterol levels doesnt always lower the risk for heart
attacks. And a number of studies have shown that over half
the people hospitalized with coronary artery disease have
perfectly normal cholesterol levels. [vi] [vii] [viii]
What gives?[ix]
Cholesterol, according to cardiologist Stephen Sinatra,
MD, co-author of The Great Cholesterol Myth is like a
firefighter on the scene of a fire. Its found at the scene of

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the crime, says Dr. Sinatra, but its not the perpetrator.[1]

Use coconut oil for cooking, eat omega-3 rich foods and
supplement with fish oil or flaxseed oil.

Key Takeaway

Mistake #5: Saturated fat is bad for you.

Cholesterol per se doesnt cause heart disease.

Mistake #4: Processed seed and vegetable oils

are healthy.
Theyre not. At least not in the amounts we consume them
in.
Joe Mercola, D.O. says, Of all the destructive foods available to us, those made with heated vegetable oils are some
of the worst. Make no mistake about it vegetable oil is not
the health food that you were lead to believe it was.[x]
This doesnt mean that all vegetable oils are bad. The problem is that were consuming too much of them. Omega-6
oils must be balanced with omega-3 oils in a 1:1 up to 3:1
ratio.[xi] The western diet typically contains a 16:1 ratio.
[xii] Since omega-6s are pro-inflammatory and omega-3s
are anti-inflammatory, this pattern of consumption sets us
up for all kinds of health problems.
To fix this, we have two options: 1) reduce our omega-6 intake and 2) add more omega-3s in our diet. You can help
correct this pro-inflammatory imbalance by substituting coconut oil, Malaysian palm oil, butter, ghee, or other
healthy fats for some of your vegetable oils, and by eating
omega-3 rich foods and supplementing with high quality
fish oil.
Key Takeaway

The amount of fat matters very little, but the source of the fat matters a great deal.

Its not.
For over four decades, weve been led to believe that saturated fats cause heart disease. However, new research
suggests otherwise. Heres what WebMD says about saturated fat:
A recent review of 72 studies found no link between saturated fat and heart disease. The review also showed that

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monounsaturated fats like those in olive oil, nuts, and avocados dont protect against heart disease.[xiii]

Key Takeaway
Use butter instead of margarine.

According to Nina Teicholz, There has never been solid

evidence for the idea that these [saturated] fats cause disease. We only believe this to be the case because nutrition
policy has been derailed over the past half-century . . .[xiv]
Still, these studies arent the final word. Right now, not everyone agrees that saturated fats are harmless, Elizabeth
Klodas, MD writes for WebMD.
Key Takeaway
Its okay to eat butter, cheese, and meat. But because toxins, steroids, and other undesirable compounds are stored
in the fat, its very important to get your animal products
from healthy animals, such as grass-fed beef. The amount
of fat matters very little, but the source of the fat matters
a great deal.

Mistake #6: Margarine is better than butter.

Its definitely not!
Margarine and butter serve the same purpose in baking,
cooking, and as spreads.
Butter has been demonized because it contains saturated
fat (which we now know isnt really bad) and cholesterol
(which the body needs).
Margarine, on the other hand, is a processed food product
that contains processed vegetable oils and trans fat, both
of which are bad for your health.[xv]

Butter has been demonized because it contains saturated fat.

Mistake #7: Low-fat, processed foods are better

options.
Theyre not.
Fat tastes good. When food manufacturers removed fat
from their products, they were faced with a big problem.
No one is going to buy food that tastes like cardboard. To
make low-fat food palatable, food manufacturers had to
load them up with sugar. Voila! They had tasty products to
sell.
The problem is that sugar is a way bigger risk to our health

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References:

than fat ever was.

[1] Dr. Sinatra does recommend testing cholesterol particle size. Particle size is extraordinarily important, because
research shows that small dense LDL cholesterol is inflammatory and toxic to blood vessels.
[i] Low-fat Diet Not a Cure-All, Harvard School of Public
Health, Retrieved December 8, 2014.
[ii] Low-Carb Diets More Effective than Low-Fat Ones For
Losing Weight, Fighting Heart Disease, Kukil Bora, International Business Times, Published September 2, 2014,
Retrieved December 8, 2014.
[iii] Exposing the Cholesterol Myth, YouTube, Retrieved
December 8, 2014.
To make low-fat food palatable, food manufacturers had to load
them up with sugar.

[v] Eggs: Healthy or Not?, John Berardi, Ph.D., Huffington

Post, Published July 17, 2013, Retrieved December 8,
2014.

Key Takeaway
Low-fat doesnt necessarily mean healthy.

Conclusion
The big takeaways for many people with cardiovascular
disease possibilities are to lose weight (if overweight), get
daily exercise and watch salt, sugar, refined carbs and excessive alcohol in the diet and work on stress or anger management as they all play a role in the progression of these
diseases.

[iv] Fats and Cholesterol, Harvard School of Public Health,

Retrieved December 8, 2014.

[vi] Lipid levels in patients hospitalized with coronary artery disease: An analysis of 136,905 hospitalizations in
Get With The Guidelines, Amit Sachdeva, MD, Christopher P. Cannon, MD, Prakash C. Deedwania, MD, Kenneth
A. LaBresh, MD, Sidney C. Smith Jr, MD, David Dai, MS,
Adrian Hernandez, MD, Gregg C. Fonarow, MD, American
Heart Journal, Published May 9, 2008, Retrieved February
2, 2015.
[vii] Lack of Association Between Cholesterol and Cor-

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onary Heart Disease Mortality and Morbidity and AllCause Mortality in Persons Older Than 70 Years, Harlan
M. Krumholz, MD; Teresa E. Seeman, PhD; Susan S. Merrill, PhD; Carlos F. Mendes de Leon, PhD; Viola Vaccarino,
MD; David I. Silverman, MD; Reiko Tsukahara, MD; Adrian
M. Ostfeld, MD; Lisa F. Berkman, PhD, The Journal of the
American Medical Association, Published November 2,
1994, Retrieved February 2, 2015.

[xiv] The Questionable Link Between Saturated Fat and

Heart Disease, Nina Teicholz, The Wallstreet Journal, Updated May 6, 2014, Retrieved December 15, 2014.
[xv] Butter VS Margarine Why I Trust Cows More than
Chemists, Kris Gunnars, Authority Nutrition, Retrieved
December 15, 2014.

[viii] Serum Cholesterol Values in Patients Treated Surgically for Atherosclerosis, H. Edward Garrett, MD; Evan C.
Horning, PhD; Billy G. Creech, PhD; Michael De Bakey, MD,
The Journal of the American Medical Association, Published August 31, 1964, Retrieved February 2, 2015.
[ix] Cholesterol Conundrum, Francie Diep, Scientific American, Published October 12, 2011, Retrieved December 8,
2014.

For more information, please visit

Rockwell Nutritions blog at

http://rnblog.rockwellnutrition.com/.

[x] The Surprising Toxic Effects of Vegetable Oil, Dr. Joseph

Mercola, Mercola.com, Published June 28, 2005, Retrieved
December 11, 2014.
[xi] What Is The Omega 3 Omega 6 Ratio And Why Do We
Need To Know?, Healthy Omega 3 Fish Oil, Retrieved February 5, 2015.
[xii] The importance of the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 essential fatty acids. Artemis Simopoulos, Biomedicine &
Pharmacotherapy, Published October 2002, Retrieved December 11, 2014.
[xiii] Is Butter Back? The Truth About Saturated Fats, Amy
Paturel, WebMD, Published July 16, 2014, Retrieved December 15, 2014.

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