By Kennedy Shelley
The American Heart Association apparently read the most recent studies that show that people with higher than recommended cholesterol live the longest.
BUT, while the AHA did mention this to people who go to their website for advice, it did not change their dietary guidance.
In other words, the AHA is saying, “yes, the science shows that our dietary recommendations were wrong, but we want you to continue to follow them.”
Here is what the AHA published on their web site:
“Our meta-regression analysis using data from controlled feeding studies in which the ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acid to saturated fatty acid in the comparison diets was matched indicated that dietary cholesterol significantly increased total cholesterol, but the findings were not significant for the stronger predictor of CVD risk, LDL cholesterol, or HDL cholesterol.”
In other words, high cholesterol doesn’t cause a heart attack.
They summarized the findings here:
“Findings from observational studies have not generally supported an association between dietary cholesterol and CVD risk.”
(BTW, CVD is Cardiovascular Disease, i.e. heart attack, stroke).
This goes against everything the AHA has been preaching since the 1960’s. This is revolutionary.
The United States and our doctors have been fretting over our cholesterol numbers for decades because the AHA has been convinced that high cholesterol leads to heart attacks.
Now they are admitting this isn’t true.
Now that they have taken a revolutionary step by admitting they were wrong, what changes do they suggest? ‘Keep doing what we’ve been telling you to do.’
What that means is that they are suggesting you keep following a dietary recommendation designed to lower your cholesterol even though it won’t prevent a heart attack and may shorten your life.
That seems to be the definition of insanity or malpractice.
The AHA did note that those who had the highest risk of heart disease were the group that ate more and moved less.
It didn’t matter what they ate, higher calories were important.
So further into their scientific advisory, the AHA says:
“… consumers are advised to eat a dietary pattern characterized by fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat or fat-free dairy products, lean protein sources, nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils, consistent with those recommended in the 2015 to 2020 DGA.
These patterns have a relatively high ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acid to saturated fatty acid and are low in cholesterol, achieved by minimizing the intake of major sources of saturated fat intake (animal fats) and including liquid non-tropical vegetable oils. Choosing plant-based protein sources will limit cholesterol intake.”
It is enough to make you pull your hair out. It makes you wonder if they are even reading their own scientific advisory.
But it also should make you question their funding sources. The AHA rose to prominence when it started taking money from the companies that manufacture artificial fats such as vegetable and seed oils.
In other words, they have a conflict of financial interests, while they are reporting the facts on cholesterol, their opinion on what to eat seems to be driven by them people who fund their operation and not your health.
