Oops, they got it wrong about cholesterol

[claig]

"We've all spent time worrying about our cholesterol levels, but what if it was all... a conspiracy! What if the truth was that eating lots of fat doesn't clog your arteries and kill you, and that there's been a deliberate effort to ignore that evidence in order to secure the financial fortunes of Big Pharma's major anti-cholesterol drugs?"

www.cbsnews.com/news/dawn-of-the-cholesterol-skeptics-big-pharma-conspiracy-theorists-get-a-turn-in-the-spotlight/

"Flawed science triggers U-turn on cholesterol fears"
...
Its Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee plans to no longer warn people to avoid eggs, shellfish and other cholesterol-laden foods.

The U-turn, based on a report by the committee, will undo almost 40 years of public health warnings about eating food laden with cholesterol. US cardiologist Dr Steven Nissen, of the Cleveland Clinic, said: 'It's the right decision. We got the dietary guidelines wrong. They've been wrong for decades.'

Doctors are now shifting away from warnings about cholesterol and saturated fat and focusing concern on sugar as the biggest dietary threat.

The Daily Mail's GP Martin Scurr predicts that advice will change here in the UK too.
...
He added that the food industry had effectively contributed to heart disease by lowering saturated fat levels in food and replacing it with sugar.

Matt Ridley, a Tory peer and science author, yesterday said there should be an inquiry 'into how the medical and scientific profession made such an epic blunder'.

He described the change of advice in the US as a 'mighty U-turn' and said studies linking high cholesterol and saturated fat in food to heart disease were 'tinged with scandal'."

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3096634/Why-butter-eggs-won-t-kill-Flawed-science-triggers-U-turn-cholesterol-fears.html

I wonder if a similar thing will happen in about 40 years to the "save the planet" climate change warnings.

Oops!

[Charis1]

some of the disparaging comments and attitudes on this thread would carry more weight if the posters involved were actually prepared to and capable of contributing to advancing scientific knowledge themselves, rather than just pouring scorn on those who do.

People who have never ever in their lives contributed a single iota to the sum of human scientific knowledge, and have not even bothered to attempt to develop any sort of appreciation of how research and development actually happen.

[MarrogfromMars]

"an elite that has aims that are worse than just money"
Mwahahahaaaa...

[claig]

'Mwahahahaaaa'

It's no laughing matter. The coverups of the Establishment paedophile rings are no laughing matter.

[amothersplaceisinthewrong]

Who are this elite above Government level and what are its aims that are worse than money....

Everything in moderation, calories in not to exceed calories out.

[claig]

'Who are this elite above Government level and what are its aims that are worse than money....'

No one knows or they wouldn't be the elite. What reason could they have for misinformation about health or "saving the planet" or dodgy dossiers about wars etc or covering up elite paedophile scandals? It goes way beyond money. They have all the money they need.

[Charis1]

Claig, do you smoke a lot of cannabis?

[claig]

'Claig, do you smoke a lot of cannabis?'

No, none at all, never have, unlike some of our leaders.

[Mollli]

Claig are you referring to conspiracy theories?

[claig]

Theories and facts.

[lotsofcheese]

And there are those of us who work on evidence-based practice........not Daily Fail headlines, or the pseudo--science of Nutritionists/Charlatans/Journalists.

[Charis1]

No, none at all, never have

Well, you are clearly listening to people who have.

[claig]

I am sorry, I have not listened to Cameron.I listen to scientists like Joanne Nova.


"Cameron admits: I used dope at Eton

David Cameron got into serious trouble at Eton after admitting smoking cannabis, it was revealed last night."

www.theguardian.com/politics/2007/feb/11/uk.drugsandalcohol1

[Oldsu]

The issue there is that, if cholesterol levels aren't that much of an issue, then why are GPs still prescribing statins?

Not only still prescribing them but NICE wants everyone to take them, since the side effects of Statins nearly destroyed my DH health and our marriage he has stopped taking them and there is no way on earth I would take them myself.

[didyouwritethe]

The NHS never apologises, does it, for doling out the worst possible health advice? How do its staff live with this?

[TheMagnificientFour]

To be fair, advice will always change as more research is being carried out and we learn more about how the body works.

Most if not all people on the NHS will truly believe that taking statins or avoiding fats is good for you.

What I find much more annoying is the fact that
1- we are given no choice as to what to do (ie we're not told of other options, what the risks are etc... so in effect we aren't able to take an informed decision about our health)
2- there is clearly some dogma going on, ie when there are some reasearch that show that maybe the commonly assumed idea is wrong, then said research is forgotten, pulled apart or ridiculed under the name of 'scientific rigor', rigor that isn't applied to the research that proves said idea. (You just have to look at the number of treatments deemed the 'best' or 'acceptable' that Cochrane actually deems unsuitable, not enough proof etc...)
3- But even with all that gooig on, some treatmenst are forced onto us. It's the iodine in the tap water, the US wanting to force parents to vaccinate no matter what, or someone talking about adding ADs to tap water.

[Baddz]

GPS are being paid lots of money to push statins!
My mum was put in them...made her very ill.
Turns out her cholesterol level is lower than mine!
Everything we have been told re diet since the end of the 2nd world war has been wrong.
The U.S. started to put corn syrup into everything to aid it's farmers.
They didn't realise the massive health implications years down the line.
"Escape the diet trap" by Dr John briffa is a good read if you are interested in the rubbish we have been fed over the years.

[tilder]

I love this thread. I was worried that the lack of the peoples army marching into Downing Street would mean no more random posting of ill informed stuff.

Shock horror, the science has moved on. You do realise that is what science does?

Being obese is bad for your health. Filling your arteries with fat is bad for you. Some fats are worse, some (in moderation) are essential. Being obese is a health risk whether it comes from sugar (with extra diabetes risk in the side) or eating fats (or just overeating in general).

[cathyandclaire]

Everything in moderation, calories in not to exceed calories out

I think more evidence is mounting that it is not as simple as this.
All calories are not equal, the way our bodies use and absorb energy from food is different from burning food in oxygen. So a calorie from high fructose corn syrup will cause a big insulin spike and be more likely to be laid down as fat than a calorie from an almond. Check out the documentary 'Fed Up" (not the film by the same name about farming methods) it's an eye-opener.

[tilder]

footle

[scaevola]

Doctors are prescribing statins because clogged arteries are very bad for you. Statins help deal with that.

It's not to do with diet, though eating better (5 a day, good variety, less refined/over processed food) helps every aspect of health and so changes may be advised at the same time.

The link between dietary cholesterol and body levels of cholesterol have been known to be weak/non-existent for ages.

It does rather depend on where you get your science reporting from, though. Mainstream media tend to provide really dreadful bad science reporting. Even good science journalists have difficulty making headway through editors who do not credit their readers/viewers with the ability and willingness to follow a more accurate version which doesn't have an obvious hyped headline.

[BeCool]

It's not just sugar. The push away from sat fat such as butter to hydrogenated vegetable oils like margarine caused a massive increase in heart disease.

It's also not news.

[Psippsina]

Hold fire a minute - yes sugar is bad but isn't artificial sweetener worse?

I dread to think of even MORE of that stuff being used in our food.

It's hard enough to avoid as it is.

[LeChien]

"Being obese is bad for your health. Filling your arteries with fat is bad for you. Some fats are worse, some (in moderation) are essential. Being obese is a health risk whether it comes from sugar (with extra diabetes risk in the side) or eating fats (or just overeating in general)."

Tilder, I think you'll find that that information is the same that the NHS and schools are pushing, and it's now being proven to be wrong.
The science that was based on was skewed and based on biased results.
Saturated fat is still being demonised by drs and others in positions of authority, when actually it's good for you.
We live in a world where big money is made from pushing sugary cereals as health food, ditto low fat sugary crap.
We live in a world where big pharma are actively making life worse for thousands (if not millions), by encouraging Drs to prescribe their wonder drugs - one of which, Statins, if you're a woman, are more likely to kill you than prevent death.
To a certain extent I do agree with Claig, something's going on that allows such a cover up of bad science and dangerous practice. Drs should not be paid to endorse drugs, they should be paid to do their job. First do no harm.

[BeCool]

I think the main problem is our entire idea of a normal diet has been formed by companies selling processed foods. We as a society place to much trust in people who should not be trusted at all. Whole people who advocate no processed food, whole foods lots of fruit and vege are seen as quacks.

So even the starting point for a healthy diet is way off base.