In the U.S. dietary kingdom, saturated fat is most feared - fingered as the cause of coronary heart disease and stroke. According to the American Heart Association (AHA) website, the AHA has been warning us away from saturated fat since 1957. At the urging of AHA board members Ancel Keys and Jeremiah Stamler in 1961, the AHA officially endorsed a low fat, high carbohydrate diet - recommending that we replace saturated fat with margarine, polyunsaturated vegetable oils, and hydrogenated vegetable shortenings like Crisco.
Since then, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have spent billions of dollars reinforcing the American Heart Association's saturated fat is bad message. For the last thirty years, USDA low fat Dietary Guidelines (1980 to 2010) have recommended that we limit saturated fat to less than 10 percent of calories and cholesterol to less than 300 milligrams a day - the exact numbers in the American Heart Association's 1961 anti-saturated-fat diet.
During this period, nonprofit organizations like the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) joined in. In 1984, CSPI launched its anti-saturated fat attack, prompting fast food restaurants and movie theatre owners to replace the traditional more saturated fats like beef tallow and coconut oil with the new fangled hydrogenated vegetable oils - containing the same toxic trans fatty acids first recommended by the AHA in 1961.
In the decades after 1980, food companies spent tens of millions advertising "low fat, low cholesterol" products - containing the government-recommended trans-laden vegetable oil, sugar, and high fructose corn syrup. Throughout this period, the Food and Drug Administration recognized trans fatty acids, sugar and high fructose corn syrup as 'safe' - and the natural saturated fats in butter (there are 8) as 'bad'.
It wasn't long before the American Medical Association, America's schools and universities, and Registered Dietitians preached low fat. As a result, the majority of Americans lowered their fat intake from 40 to 34 percent of calories and switched to the highly processed vegetable oils. Today, we have become the fattest people in the world eating the least amount of saturated fat in our history.
After 50 years of Egg-beaters, low fat cheese, margarine, skinless chicken breasts, and highly processed soy and Canola oils, one third of Americans are obese; 25 percent are diabetic or pre-diabetic. Instead of going down as promised, the incidence of heart failure - the number one Medicare expenditure - more than doubled since 1987 (the year statin cholesterol-lowering drugs were approved in record time).
According to the American Heart Association, expenditures for coronary heart disease will triple during the next 20 years - and heart disease is already the number one Medicare expenditure! Given the current $14 trillion dollar deficit, how can we continue to fight a senseless, expensive war against the very foods the healthier French and Swiss embrace: Butter, cream, pasture-raised meat, eggs, and whole fresh milk?
Why aren't we healthier? Is it possible that the science proving a connection between saturated fat and heart disease was never there in the first place? Can excess omega 6 linoleic acid and excess sugar be the culprits? If saturated fat was never the dietary villain it was made out to be, can we expect our experts in the AHA, USDA, and Big Food to admit they were wrong?
Don't hold your breath!
And never forget the ever expanding definition of"High Cholesterol" - which results in the healthiest people I know being magically told by their doctor that they are now diseased and need to start taking statins (e.g., Zocor, Lipitor, etc.) As such, when you hear your physician tell you that your "cholesterol" and/or triglycerides are too high and that they recommend you start taking statins, - ask if the same results would have been considered "too high" five or ten years ago. (That's the ever expanding definition of "High" Cholesterol.)
If you're taking statins you should not drink, as they are very hard on your liver. Also, pay attention to the main statin warning about flu like symptoms and muscle aches. I - and some of my siblings - have this exact reaction to statin drugs and if I took them long enough, I’m fairly certain I’d soon have severe liver problems. (That’s what that warning’s all about.)
Side note: Tylenol/acetaminophen is also very hard on your liver. Same alcohol warning. If I or a loved one are ever prescribed mild pain medications, I advise/ensure that the doctor be asked for those medicines mixed with aspirin or ibuprofen rather than those mixed with acetaminophen. (Hint: if it ends with “CET” it’s got Acetaminophen in it.) Thus, if you wish to avoid acetaminophen, ask for vicoprofen (Hydrocodone and Ibuprofen) over Vicodin/Lortab (Hydrocodone and Acetaminophen); or, Percodan (oxycodone and aspirin) over Percocet, (oxycodone and Acetaminophen) etc. (My favorite RX information website is Rxlist DOT com.)
Finally, if you or a loved one is taking statins or acetaminophen, or has liver problems, do some research on Milk Thistle. It’s damn near magic. (It’s also in all the OTC hangover remedies you see... because it works!)
IMHO: On a cost analysis basis, the best overall supplements are:
- Vitamin C
- Milk Thistle (CoQ10 is also good but relatively more expensive.)
- Fish Oil
- 100% Psyllium Husk Powder
I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV. I write this because 98%* of the folks who read this site are open-minded good people who deserve good health. So please do your own research on all of this.
R.C.
*P.s., To the 2% disinformationalists and PTB Monitors, please ignore the above and you'll do fine living on McNuggets, Crisco and Margarine. Heh heh {After all, since it's just been revealed that they've been monitoring Antiwar dot com - see 8/21/11 article at this link - [Link]- we KNOW they gotta be "monitoring" SOTT!) And, sadly, probably also the majority of SOTT's readers. I mean, they gotta keep busy, eh what? Even when it's obviously for the purpose of simply justifying to their worthless selves their stealing our taxes.) RC