If your physician is concerned about your cholesterol and wants to put you on a statin your doctor is following old and flawed science. LDL Cholesterol measurement is old science and you should not be using it anymore. It is a worthless predictor for cardiovascular issues.
Cholesterol only comes in at the end after many years of damage done by Metabolic Syndrome.
88% of the U.S. adult population has metabolic syndrome and is suffering, or will suffer, from chronic diseases.
Metabolic Syndrome, caused by hyperinsulinemia, itself caused by the Standard American Diet (mainly carbs and sugars), leads to atherosclerosis/coronary heart disease.
You should measure/test for the individual components of Metabolic Syndrome and strive to fix the ones that are out or range.
Metabolic Syndrome if you have three of the following.
1. HgA1c higher than 5.7% (measures your average blood sugar)
2. BP higher than 120/80
3. Waist/Height ration > .5 (divide your height in inches by your weight)
4. Triglycerides > 150 mg/dL (fat in your blood,overeating carbs forces the liver to convert the excess energy into triglycerides for storage in your fat cells)
5. HDL < 40 mg/dL (1.6 mmol/L) (the good cholesterol, the higher, the better)
Once you get the above 5 under control you should get the only test that can predict cardiovascular issues, a CAC (Coronary Artery Calcium) scan. Your next goal is to get your CAC score to 0.
What does a coronary calcium scan do?
The scan provides images of your coronary arteries that show existing calcium deposits. Called calcifications, these deposits are an early sign of coronary artery disease.
0 = no plaque detected (risk of coronary artery disease is very low – less than 5%)
1-10 = calcium detected in extremely minimal levels (risk of coronary diseases is still low – less than 10%)
11-100 = mild levels of plaque detected with certainty (minimal narrowing of heart arteries is likely)
101-300 = moderate levels of plaque detected (relatively high risk of a heart attack within 3-5 years)
300-400 = extensive levels of plaque detected (very high risk of heart attack, high levels of vascular disease are present)
So, how do you get your CAC score to 0 and reverse Metabolic Syndrome? Eat whole foods and avoid carbohydrates and sugars. Eat high fat (75%), moderate protein (20%), low carb(5%). Carbohydrates break down in your body to sugar. So, if you normally eat potatoes, breads, rice, pizza, and other carbs you're having dessert as your main diet.
And most importantly, stop eating these "seed oils" IMMEDIATELY if you care about your health:
- Soybean oil
- Safflower oil
- Sunflower oil
- Rice bran oil
- Rapeseed oil
- Grapeseed oil
- Canola oil
- Corn oil
- Cottonseed oil
- Peanut oil
- Crisco
These were originally used to oil machinery in factories. They are not meant for human consumption. Once these were introduced into the American diet obesity, diabetes, stroke, heart disease, Alzheimer's, and other chronic diseases skyrocketed. Before then these were all rare. Go back to butter, lard, and olive oil. These are healthy fats and do no harm.
The new thinking is that heart disease is undiagnosed diabetes and that dementia and Alzheimer's should be renamed to Type 3 Diabetes. All caused by carbs and sugars.
For many doctors, this evidence seems confusing. Physicians have been taught for decades, like many of us, that a low-fat diet is best for improving cholesterol and other blood lipids. But the supporting data for low-carb diets are difficult to deny.
Summary:
Drop seed oils, avoid grains, carbs and sugars.
Eat meat, eggs, cheese, butter, lots of low carb veggies.