How to increase your risk of heart disease

For another critical analysis of Steinberg’s recommendations, head over to Chris Masterjohn’s blog and read this article.

Thanks for your comment, G.

Scary is right. What I neglected to include in my article is that Dr. Steinberg is pushing for LEGISLATION (!) that would prohibit advertising of meat, eggs and other products containing saturated fat and cholesterol and/or placing a tax on their use – similar to tobacco.

This is absolutely outrageous, of course. Even if there were evidence clearly demonstrating the harm of these products (which there isn’t), shouldn’t we be free to choose what we eat?

BG,

Thanks for your comment and support.

My wife is Canadian and we are both outraged at what has transpired there. It’s unbelievable.

Why doesn’t Steinberg suggest taxing and regulating vegetable oil, processed food, sugar and refined flour? These are the true causes of heart disease. But of course, the powerful lobbies behind such foods would never let that happen, and most Americans have been so brainwashed by the hype against traditional, nutrient dense foods like saturated fat, cholesterol and meat that they feel guilty when they eat them – if they eat them at all.

Yet strangely they feel no such compunction while diving into a bag of chips fried in soybean oil, which is far more likely to give them a heart attack.

Hi Keith,

Thanks for your comment and welcome to the blog.

LDL particles carrying a high proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids are far more susceptible to oxidative damage than those enriched with saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. (link).

Consumption of polyunsaturated vegetable oils has repeatedly been shown to increase LDL oxidation, even though it lowers LDL and total cholesterol levels. (link)

See this study on polyunsaturated fatty acids and composition of human aortic plaques. (link)

Analysis of the lipid portion of atherosclerotic plaques shows they contain a disproportionately high concentration of n-6 fatty acid linoleic acid, and that plaque content of linoleic acid correlates with dietary intake. (link)

Higher plaque concentrations of linoleic acid are also associated with an increased likelihood of plaque rupture. ((link)

It is well-established that plaque rupture is a major trigger of acute coronary events. (link)

“More than 40 trials have been performed to see if cholesterol lowering can prevent heat attacks. When all the results were pooled together, just as many died in the treatment groups as the control groups.” (link)

Do the health benefits you claim for meat, butter, and eggs still apply to the generally available beef, butter, and eggs?  Or are you encouraging them based on information you’ve gathered about organic, free-range, grass-fed, healthy animals and their products?

You have written extensively of the benefits of your diet recommendations for heart disease.  I would like to see more information about cancer risks with this type of diet.  I am new to this site and will continue reading.

BTW, I am a registered and licensed dietitian, was trained in the main-stream medical community, and finished my internship 15 years ago.  I have read and researched so much recently that I am now completely confused and weary of searching and finding faulty assumptions, contradictions, and more questions than answers.   Understand that my questions and requests for references are out of a deep desire to know the truth, from a spirit of scholarly interest.  I plan to use all peer reviewed articles that I can find and read related to these topics for continuing education hours for credit toward registration/licensure requirements. 
Some of us in the traditional health care community are searching for real answers.  It is very difficult to sift through all of the information available, particularly when you have lost your faith in the “leading minds” of the health community and any other “authorities”.

Thanks for your time.