FARK.com: (7074419) Only 13% of Americans now have high cholesterol, other 87% now running on pure saturated fat

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		Only 13% of Americans now have high cholesterol, other 87% now running on pure saturated fat (cbsnews.com)		62
		More: Interesting, saturated fats, Americans, bad cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, smoking rates, U.S. adults, cholesterol, dark chocolate

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2567 clicks; posted to Geek » on 27 Apr 2012 at 2:16 PM | Favorite | share:

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Aarontology		2012-04-27 11:16:34 AM

And yet, half the country blows a disgustingly fat gasket when the First Lady suggests eating healthy.

Humean_Nature		2012-04-27 12:19:28 PM

From TFA: Too much total cholesterol is a risk for heart disease.

Except that it isn't. Not only has this scientific misconception been repeated over and over for six decades, but the article itself notes that a 13% high cholesterol rate is out of step for a country full of fatties with weak hearts.

unlikely		2012-04-27 12:22:13 PM

[CSB]
Conversation with my doctor:

Doc: I'd like to talk to you about your cholesterol.
Me: What? I fence four nights a week, I swim at least two mornings a week, and I...
Doc: It's not quite what I mean. Your LDLs are good, only 87.
Me: That sounds high, actually, but ok... why are you concerned then?
Doc: Your HDL is pretty low. 47. It's not in the danger zone but I'd like to see it above 60 or so.
Me: Um... how do I do that?
Doc: Eat more fish.
Me: I'm allergic to fish. You're the one that ran the test.
Doc: Oh yeah, I forgot. And most of the Omega-3 supplements have at least some fish-derived oils... better safe than sorry.
Me: So I'm screwed?
Doc: Well... I don't normally recommend this, but do you drink alcohol?
Me: Remarkably little. A glass of wine on special occasions sometimes?
Doc: You need to think about starting. A glass of wine is good, red wine has other benefits too. But for this any alcohol will do. One drink a day minimum from now on.
Me: Seriously?
[/CSB]

namegoeshere		2012-04-27 12:30:02 PM

Isn't olive oil good for the HDL? I eat a lot of the stuff. Then again, I eat a lot of eggs and dairy.

I would be very curious to see my numbers.

BKITU		2012-04-27 01:04:00 PM

I don't do drugs. I drink in moderation. I don't philander. I pay all our bills on time. I save for the future. I don't gamble money we can't afford to lose. I am, however, helpless in the presence of shiat like Slim Jims and potato chips. Fats and salt are like crack to me.

Now, if I'm being a good boy and eating Real Food -- basically stuff from the outside aisles at the grocery store -- my total cholesterol is in the 160-180 range. And I eat a metric farkton of bacon and eggs and real butter. Like I said: fats and salts. But I also eat my veggies and have a salad most days for lunch.

It's when I get sloppy and start ordering pizza and going to Jack in the Box and getting boxed convenience dinners all the time that my cholesterol gets fuggered up. When I'm doing that, my cholesterol jumps 50-60 points.

Processed junk and trans fats, man. That's the bugaboo. Eat real food. Avoid fast food french fries. You can eat tasty, fatty, salty stuff, but make sure it's actual food first.

AdolfOliverPanties		2012-04-27 01:34:37 PM

I'm a 13 percenter!

Total cholesterol 219
HDL 16
LDL 114
Triglycerides 290

(these were not fasting level numbers so they are a little skewed)

In other words, two years of sitting on my ass (probably exercised 30 times in two years!) and eating fast food probably 7 times a week or more has done a number on my 46 year old blood levels.

Last week and a half, zero fast foods, no sweets besides fruit, exercise every other day (working on getting that to every day) and taking flaxseed oil and multivitamin pills.

We'll see where I am an a couple months.

/dumbass

AdolfOliverPanties		2012-04-27 01:35:26 PM

Amend that to HDL 26. Not much better, but 16 is ridiculous.

ModernLuddite		2012-04-27 02:24:39 PM

I have a genetic predisposition toward insanely high cholesterol. No family history of heart problems. All my relatives lives to be 95 or more. Knew my great grandparent's for my entire life.

//The ones who didn't live 95+ years were suicides.
///Might be a problem.....

Galvatron Zero		2012-04-27 02:25:51 PM

AdolfOliverPanties: I'm a 13 percenter!

Total cholesterol 219
HDL 16
LDL 114
Triglycerides 290

(these were not fasting level numbers so they are a little skewed)

In other words, two years of sitting on my ass (probably exercised 30 times in two years!) and eating fast food probably 7 times a week or more has done a number on my 46 year old blood levels.

Last week and a half, zero fast foods, no sweets besides fruit, exercise every other day (working on getting that to every day) and taking flaxseed oil and multivitamin pills.

We'll see where I am an a couple months.

/dumbass

You recognized that you had to address a health issue and look like you are in the process of doing something about it.

Hardly what I'd call a dumbass.

Good luck to you! You should start feeling better in no time! :)

/former fatass

Citrate1007		2012-04-27 02:34:49 PM

Most of our food is poison, so we take more chemicals to keep us alive. Scarier than soilent green if you ask me, and a lot less tastey.

ricewater_stool		2012-04-27 02:36:14 PM

I am in excellent physical shape and my total cholesterol is about 230. There's no history of heart disease in my family, therefore I do not care one bit. There is no evidence that total cholesterol levels are predictive of anything.

aerojockey		2012-04-27 02:36:56 PM

Yay, let's all give Big Pharma all kinds of money to help us treat a side effect.

TheOriginalEd		2012-04-27 02:38:30 PM

Fat is a scapegoat. "CUT OUT FATS YOULL BE HEALTHY AGAIN!" Horseshiat...

Citrate1007		2012-04-27 02:38:32 PM

BKITU: I don't do drugs. I drink in moderation. I don't philander. I pay all our bills on time. I save for the future. I don't gamble money we can't afford to lose.

I'm so sorry to hear that, I hope you get better.

/hugs

etherknot		2012-04-27 02:46:27 PM

Yay Christerol & Saturday fats!

TheAnvil		2012-04-27 02:48:59 PM

This is a pet peeve of mine because the whole conversation is just an excuse to sell more drugs to healthy people. next target: kids. My ratios are really good:

Total/HDL=3.84 (target = under 5)
Trig/HDL= .84 (target = under 2)
LDL/HDL=1.93 (target = under 4.3)

But because my total count is "high" (279!), that's all my doctor wants to talk about.

Link

dryknife		2012-04-27 02:50:30 PM

I'm wondering if it's because of the reduction in transfats in the food supply.

verbaltoxin		2012-04-27 02:55:16 PM

13%'er here. Triglycerides tested at 650 at my last physical. I'm on Trilipix, I work out 4-5 days a week, take fish oil, don't eat red meat anymore, and my size 34 pants are starting to get quite loose.

thecpt		2012-04-27 02:58:21 PM

Who gave allyson hannigan a science outfit?

thecpt		2012-04-27 02:59:16 PM

thecpt: Who gave allyson hannigan a science outfit?

i.i.com.com

Smeggy Smurf		2012-04-27 03:02:37 PM

Bacon fat.

/that is all

jaggspb		2012-04-27 03:05:29 PM

thecpt: thecpt: Who gave allyson hannigan a science outfit?

[i.i.com.com image 244x183]

Fabulous Thunderbirds - Fap It Up

entropic_existence		2012-04-27 03:28:48 PM

Humean_Nature: From TFA: Too much total cholesterol is a risk for heart disease.

Except that it isn't. Not only has this scientific misconception been repeated over and over for six decades, but the article itself notes that a 13% high cholesterol rate is out of step for a country full of fatties with weak hearts.

Came in to say this. The, shall we call it "Cholesterol Hypothesis" was never shown with convincing data to be true. It was a reasonable hypothesis that went from Cholesterol -> Artherosclerosis -> Heart Disease but IIRC it came originally from some pretty limited data. It got put forward and doctors latched on to it. For decades it has been taught in med school as fact and somehow it just became accepted as such, despite never really being proven.

And now there is a lot of data accumulating that seems to pretty convincingly show that it is definitely not true at all. That doesn't mean a high fat diet is good for you of course, but the cholesterol hypothesis needs to be put to sleep.

StoPPeRmobile		2012-04-27 03:32:50 PM

Smeggy Smurf: Bacon fat.

/that is all

Fat back!

WhoGAS		2012-04-27 03:35:23 PM

TheAnvil: This is a pet peeve of mine because the whole conversation is just an excuse to sell more drugs to healthy people. next target: kids. My ratios are really good:

Total/HDL=3.84 (target = under 5)
Trig/HDL= .84 (target = under 2)
LDL/HDL=1.93 (target = under 4.3)

But because my total count is "high" (279!), that's all my doctor wants to talk about.

Link

I'm in the same boat but it's because I'm fatter than my doctor and healthier. I just smile and let him go about his business.

I'm not focused on weight...I'm focused on healthy.

Skyfrog		2012-04-27 03:39:09 PM

My great grandparents fried everything in lard and lived on fatty pork fat salted meat greasy fat and both lived to be over 100. Of course they also worked hard every single day from daylight to dark, no televisions or computer farmville machines back then. They also raised their own food, I'm sure not having it filled full of chemicals helped a lot.

Humean_Nature		2012-04-27 03:44:14 PM

entropic_existence: And now there is a lot of data accumulating that seems to pretty convincingly show that it is definitely not true at all. That doesn't mean a high fat diet is good for you of course, but the cholesterol hypothesis needs to be put to sleep.

Pretty much. Considering that we now know that cholesterol is a damage control mechanism for the circulatory system, it's a bit like saying that band-aids cause cut fingers, and then banning all the band-aids so no one gets cut. It's easy to see how we got to a place where band-aids and cut fingers were definitely related, but it's unfortunate that the causal relationship has just been assumed.

And that's why I love this graph:
3.bp.blogspot.com

machoprogrammer		2012-04-27 03:47:58 PM

unlikely: [CSB]
Conversation with my doctor:

Doc: I'd like to talk to you about your cholesterol.
Me: What? I fence four nights a week, I swim at least two mornings a week, and I...
Doc: It's not quite what I mean. Your LDLs are good, only 87.
Me: That sounds high, actually, but ok... why are you concerned then?
Doc: Your HDL is pretty low. 47. It's not in the danger zone but I'd like to see it above 60 or so.
Me: Um... how do I do that?
Doc: Eat more fish.
Me: I'm allergic to fish. You're the one that ran the test.
Doc: Oh yeah, I forgot. And most of the Omega-3 supplements have at least some fish-derived oils... better safe than sorry.
Me: So I'm screwed?
Doc: Well... I don't normally recommend this, but do you drink alcohol?
Me: Remarkably little. A glass of wine on special occasions sometimes?
Doc: You need to think about starting. A glass of wine is good, red wine has other benefits too. But for this any alcohol will do. One drink a day minimum from now on.
Me: Seriously?
[/CSB]

Has your doctor ever heard of flax? Flax has a ton of omega 3s, not as good quality as the ones found in fish, but it is a decent alternative.

machoprogrammer		2012-04-27 03:48:35 PM

^ And I don't mean the oil, I mean the seed itself. You can buy it milled.

Smeggy Smurf		2012-04-27 04:15:14 PM

StoPPeRmobile: Smeggy Smurf: Bacon fat.

/that is all

Fat back!

As long as it's not back fat. Back boobs make babby Jebus cry

cgraves67		2012-04-27 04:19:07 PM

#occupy arteries

Treygreen13		2012-04-27 04:21:08 PM

Humean_Nature: entropic_existence: And now there is a lot of data accumulating that seems to pretty convincingly show that it is definitely not true at all. That doesn't mean a high fat diet is good for you of course, but the cholesterol hypothesis needs to be put to sleep.

Pretty much. Considering that we now know that cholesterol is a damage control mechanism for the circulatory system, it's a bit like saying that band-aids cause cut fingers, and then banning all the band-aids so no one gets cut. It's easy to see how we got to a place where band-aids and cut fingers were definitely related, but it's unfortunate that the causal relationship has just been assumed.

And that's why I love this graph:
[3.bp.blogspot.com image 504x376]

Shouldn't "death rates" be 100% for all categories?
/just sayin'

StoPPeRmobile		2012-04-27 04:21:44 PM

machoprogrammer: ^ And I don't mean the oil, I mean the seed itself. You can buy it milled.

blech

Humean_Nature		2012-04-27 04:34:07 PM

Treygreen13: Shouldn't "death rates" be 100% for all categories?
/just sayin'

In the long run, yes. In the scope of that graph, it's just death rates due to heart disease for men between the ages of 35 and 74.

StoPPeRmobile		2012-04-27 04:45:23 PM

Humean_Nature: Treygreen13: Shouldn't "death rates" be 100% for all categories?
/just sayin'

In the long run, yes. In the scope of that graph, it's just death rates due to heart disease for men between the ages of 35 and 74.

So, bullshiate?

machoprogrammer		2012-04-27 04:49:07 PM

StoPPeRmobile: machoprogrammer: ^ And I don't mean the oil, I mean the seed itself. You can buy it milled.

blech

It isn't bad if you mix it with other things, such as milk or on a salad.

Humean_Nature		2012-04-27 04:49:26 PM

StoPPeRmobile: Humean_Nature: Treygreen13: Shouldn't "death rates" be 100% for all categories?
/just sayin'

In the long run, yes. In the scope of that graph, it's just death rates due to heart disease for men between the ages of 35 and 74.

So, bullshiate?

Well, no. If cholesterol caused heart disease as we've all been told, you would expect that a country with high rates of cholesterol would have high rates of heart disease. The graph shows that there's no relationship between the two in adult men from all over the world.

StoPPeRmobile		2012-04-27 05:03:26 PM

machoprogrammer: StoPPeRmobile: machoprogrammer: ^ And I don't mean the oil, I mean the seed itself. You can buy it milled.

blech

It isn't bad if you mix it with other things, such as milk or on a salad.

Mill yourself then toast lightly in a pan.

StoPPeRmobile		2012-04-27 05:04:08 PM

Wait, you can't toast it and retain the benefits.

/blech

Leopold Stotch		2012-04-27 05:11:55 PM

machoprogrammer: unlikely: [CSB]
Conversation with my doctor:

Doc: I'd like to talk to you about your cholesterol.
Me: What? I fence four nights a week, I swim at least two mornings a week, and I...
Doc: It's not quite what I mean. Your LDLs are good, only 87.
Me: That sounds high, actually, but ok... why are you concerned then?
Doc: Your HDL is pretty low. 47. It's not in the danger zone but I'd like to see it above 60 or so.
Me: Um... how do I do that?
Doc: Eat more fish.
Me: I'm allergic to fish. You're the one that ran the test.
Doc: Oh yeah, I forgot. And most of the Omega-3 supplements have at least some fish-derived oils... better safe than sorry.
Me: So I'm screwed?
Doc: Well... I don't normally recommend this, but do you drink alcohol?
Me: Remarkably little. A glass of wine on special occasions sometimes?
Doc: You need to think about starting. A glass of wine is good, red wine has other benefits too. But for this any alcohol will do. One drink a day minimum from now on.
Me: Seriously?
[/CSB]

Has your doctor ever heard of flax? Flax has a ton of omega 3s, not as good quality as the ones found in fish, but it is a decent alternative.

Try some grass fed beef if you can't do fish. Lots of good omega 3, CLA, and other good stuff.

Leopold Stotch		2012-04-27 05:13:12 PM

Or eggs, especially free range.

Cup_O_Jo		2012-04-27 05:26:01 PM

Yeah because when the medicine works you no longer have it.? WTF? Seriously are we going to do this with everything? Thats like saying---"your wearing a tampon so you must not have your period.. "

neuroflare		2012-04-27 05:37:55 PM

unlikely: [CSB]
Conversation with my doctor:

Doc: I'd like to talk to you about your cholesterol.
Me: What? I fence four nights a week, I swim at least two mornings a week, and I...
Doc: It's not quite what I mean. Your LDLs are good, only 87.
Me: That sounds high, actually, but ok... why are you concerned then?
Doc: Your HDL is pretty low. 47. It's not in the danger zone but I'd like to see it above 60 or so.
Me: Um... how do I do that?
Doc: Eat more fish.
Me: I'm allergic to fish. You're the one that ran the test.
Doc: Oh yeah, I forgot. And most of the Omega-3 supplements have at least some fish-derived oils... better safe than sorry.
Me: So I'm screwed?
Doc: Well... I don't normally recommend this, but do you drink alcohol?
Me: Remarkably little. A glass of wine on special occasions sometimes?
Doc: You need to think about starting. A glass of wine is good, red wine has other benefits too. But for this any alcohol will do. One drink a day minimum from now on.
Me: Seriously?
[/CSB]

machoprogrammer: Has your doctor ever heard of flax? Flax has a ton of omega 3s, not as good quality as the ones found in fish, but it is a decent alternative.

Leopold Stotch: Try some grass fed beef if you can't do fish. Lots of good omega 3, CLA, and other good stuff.

fark that noise, ratchet up the booze like a man, it's good for you and your doctor gave you the green light.

Zeno-25		2012-04-27 05:39:18 PM

Leopold Stotch: machoprogrammer: unlikely: [CSB]
Conversation with my doctor:

Doc: I'd like to talk to you about your cholesterol.
Me: What? I fence four nights a week, I swim at least two mornings a week, and I...
Doc: It's not quite what I mean. Your LDLs are good, only 87.
Me: That sounds high, actually, but ok... why are you concerned then?
Doc: Your HDL is pretty low. 47. It's not in the danger zone but I'd like to see it above 60 or so.
Me: Um... how do I do that?
Doc: Eat more fish.
Me: I'm allergic to fish. You're the one that ran the test.
Doc: Oh yeah, I forgot. And most of the Omega-3 supplements have at least some fish-derived oils... better safe than sorry.
Me: So I'm screwed?
Doc: Well... I don't normally recommend this, but do you drink alcohol?
Me: Remarkably little. A glass of wine on special occasions sometimes?
Doc: You need to think about starting. A glass of wine is good, red wine has other benefits too. But for this any alcohol will do. One drink a day minimum from now on.
Me: Seriously?
[/CSB]

Has your doctor ever heard of flax? Flax has a ton of omega 3s, not as good quality as the ones found in fish, but it is a decent alternative.

Try some grass fed beef if you can't do fish. Lots of good omega 3, CLA, and other good stuff.

You can also get certain brands of eggs that have omega-3s resulting from adjusting the chicken's diet, lots of grains (flax, quinoa, other "supergrains"), and I've even seen peanut butter with omega-3s added to it lately.

Clash City Farker		2012-04-27 06:22:23 PM

Whats so great about Omega 3?

MrSteve007		2012-04-27 06:44:15 PM

I was tested just last week

My overall cholesterol is a little on the high side (202), but my LDL/HDL ratio = 8.

I've lost some 20 lbs since last year, don't smoke/drink, teach scuba diving on the weekends, run marathons a couple times a year and am currently training to summit Mt. Rainier in two months. The doc said that I was fit as a fiddle and should keep doing what I do but get a blood test once a year to make sure all that jazz is fine.

ChubbyTiger		2012-04-27 07:45:53 PM

I'm sure that cholesterol does have something to do with heart disease, however it isn't totally causal. Inflammation is the problem. Keep inflammation at a minimum and cholesterol doesn't much matter.

El Dudereno		2012-04-27 08:43:55 PM

El Dudereno		2012-04-27 08:58:31 PM

Zeno-25: Leopold Stotch: machoprogrammer: unlikely: [CSB]
Conversation with my doctor:

Doc: I'd like to talk to you about your cholesterol.
Me: What? I fence four nights a week, I swim at least two mornings a week, and I...
Doc: It's not quite what I mean. Your LDLs are good, only 87.
Me: That sounds high, actually, but ok... why are you concerned then?
Doc: Your HDL is pretty low. 47. It's not in the danger zone but I'd like to see it above 60 or so.
Me: Um... how do I do that?
Doc: Eat more fish.
Me: I'm allergic to fish. You're the one that ran the test.
Doc: Oh yeah, I forgot. And most of the Omega-3 supplements have at least some fish-derived oils... better safe than sorry.
Me: So I'm screwed?
Doc: Well... I don't normally recommend this, but do you drink alcohol?
Me: Remarkably little. A glass of wine on special occasions sometimes?
Doc: You need to think about starting. A glass of wine is good, red wine has other benefits too. But for this any alcohol will do. One drink a day minimum from now on.
Me: Seriously?
[/CSB]

Has your doctor ever heard of flax? Flax has a ton of omega 3s, not as good quality as the ones found in fish, but it is a decent alternative.

Try some grass fed beef if you can't do fish. Lots of good omega 3, CLA, and other good stuff.

You can also get certain brands of eggs that have omega-3s resulting from adjusting the chicken's diet, lots of grains (flax, quinoa, other "supergrains"), and I've even seen peanut butter with omega-3s added to it lately.

The peanut butter I've seen with omega 3 has fish oil in it. You can sorta taste it.
I'd stick with booze and grass-fed beef or bison.