Cholesterol — Your Life Depends on It!
“Eating foods that contain any cholesterol above 0 mg
is unhealthy.”
— T. Colin Campbell, PhD, author of The China Study.
Many in the medical establishment say they are waging a war against cholesterol.
Yet cholesterol is a health-promoting nutrient that just could
save your life! Think this is an exaggeration? Consider the following.
The War on Cholesterol
According to Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein,
winners of the Nobel Prize in 1985 for their discovery of the receptor
that brings cholesterol into cells, the debate about the role of
cholesterol in health and disease is a war.
They wrote the foreword to a recent book by Daniel Steinberg, MD,
PhD, called The Cholesterol Wars.
In it, they call themselves and others "who condemn cholesterol
as the culprit" the "anti-cholesterol forces." They
liken scientific advances in our understanding of this vital nutrient
to "powerful new weapons" that have aided the "anti-cholesterol
forces" just "like modern armies."
The War on Good Food
According to Brown and Goldstein, the next "battle"
of the "Cholesterol Wars" will be fought over what age
someone should be before they start cholesterol-lowering therapy.
The ideal therapy, they say, is a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet
rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids.
That means the following: no butter, no eggs, no liver or other
organ meats. A diet of dry plant foods, with small amounts of corn
oil, soybean oil, and perhaps a few capsules of fish oil.
As you will learn on this site, this diet is not only bland and
boring, but it is missing the most nutritious and health-promoting
foods the earth has to offer! Not only that, but it may just be
polyunsaturated fats, rather than saturated fats or cholesterol, that contribute
to heart disease, cancer, liver damage, and aging.
I personally hurt my health following a diet of plant foods alone, and recovered after learning the value of nutrient-dense animal foods. You can learn more about me and my story here.
The War on Your Brain
Short of dramatic changes in diet, these anti-cholesterol warriors
recommend starting cholesterol-lowering statin drugs between the
ages of 20 and 40 — although other experts are now recommending
these drugs be given to children as young as eight years old.
As you will learn on this site, one of cholesterol's most important functions
is to support learning and memory — that is why the brain is so rich in
cholesterol, and that is probably why statin drugs lower cognitive function and seem to occasionally cause a disorder known as
transient global amnesia.
In low-risk populations, over 600 people need to take a statin to save one
from a heart attack. In high-risk populations, over 60 people need to take one.
Yet the rate of side effects like muscle pain is much higher, and the worst side
effects — failing memory, depression, irritability — are chalked up to
personality or age and never recorded.
The War on Your Wallet
These drugs cost a lot of money. Who is going to pay for it? Either you, your
insurance company, or the government. Whichever way, your wallet gets hurt.
If health insurance companies start paying for everyone to go on statins in
their teenage years, the cost of health care will go up.
If the federal prescription drug plan pays for it, tens of billions of
dollars per year will be added to the national debt, which is already spiraling out of control. The government will borrow this money from
lenders, and at least a portion will be created by the Federal Reserve. As that extra money leaks into the
economy, the purchasing power of your dollar will steadily disappear — something
that has already been happening for decades.
Science is a Search for Truth, Not a War
Those who wage "war" on cholesterol may have impeccable scientific
credentials but the war they are waging is not the path of science. Science is not a war
against molecules. It is a search for truth.
On this site, I look for the truth about cholesterol, and I publish what I
find. I also cover many related topics on the blog. I hope you find this search for truth as fascinating as I do, and I hope
you enjoy the site!
Wishing you the best of health,
Chris Masterjohn
Read more about the author, Chris Masterjohn, PhD, here.
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