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Is The Cholesterol Myth Crumbling?
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Is The Cholesterol Myth Crumbling?
For decades, we’ve been told that high cholesterol—especially from dietary fat—is the main driver of heart disease.
But that story is incomplete?
Many people are starting to question the conventional narrative, especially as cardiovascular disease continues to rise despite years of cholesterol-focused guidelines. Could it be that we’ve been looking in the wrong place?
More and more experts are exploring the idea that heart disease is actually a metabolic condition, driven by things like insulin resistance and chronic inflammation—not just cholesterol levels.
As Dr. Paul Marik puts it:
“Something doesn’t add up.”
If you’ve ever tried to have this conversation, you know how difficult it can be. People are often deeply committed to what they’ve been told for years, and it’s not always easy to explore alternative perspectives.
But these are important discussions to have.
This CHD episode with Dr. Marik dives into the topic:
Would love to hear your thoughts after watching.
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11 Replies
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Agree, the “cholesterol causes CVD” ship has sailed, and along with the “avoid salt” and “avoid sunshine,” will end up like the Titanic!
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Agree, but its always surprising that lots of people are standing on the shore watching that ship sail.
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100% on the money with everything stated. And these statements are all backed up by existing literature such as Dr. Perlmutter’s Drop Acid book, which points the ugly finger at fructose (which then causes oxidation of cholesterol, and THAT type of cholesterol is bad, “oxidized cholesterol”. The oxidation makes the cholesterol stick. Cholesterol is not evil, it is good for you. Processed foods, foods containing hydrogenated oils (processed), margarine, etc, and foods containing added fructose, those are what kill you. All-cause mortality results from these. Dr. Sinatra’s book The Great Cholesterol Myth supports everything stated here as well.
The problem is the signal versus the noise. The big food and big pharma have advertising dollars which create so much noise that it’s hard to even find the signal. But once you find that signal, you know the truth and what to eat and how to avoid the bad stuff.
Children on statins… c’mon, we’ve hit the bottom and are heading to hell now.
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It has been known for some time that it is carbohydrate foods which cause coronary artery disease–and not fatty foods. CAT scans fo the chest show coronary artery plaque in a bread-eater. If the person switches to a keto diet and repeats the CAT scan later, the plaque has disappeared. This is not new information but people have been sad to give up eating a lot of grain-derived foods. There is no evidence that dietary fats or cholesterol cause heart disease except in a very small number of families with familial hypercholesterolemia. Eliminating fat from one’s diet causes brain problems (rage, stupidity)–as is sometimes seen in cachectic AIDS patients.
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Sadly, lots of people still buy the story sold many years ago by big food and big pharma.
But thanks to all of you, we keep fighting and countering their narriative, chipping away until more and more people start to ask questions.
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Numerous MDs have badgered me about cholesterol over the years, and I ignored them all until I developed lung cancer. I used to chide them for continually “moving the goalposts” on just what cholesterol number was dangerously high. Jane McLellan (sp.?) was adamant that simvastatin (or another in the lipophilic category) was essential as part of a repurposed drug protocol for cancer. My MD was flabbergasted when I requested it. Mind you, I’ve been reading a lot of articles claiming that statins don’t work regarding cholesterol. They certainly did in my case; I recorder the lowest numbers in my 71 years after being on it for about 3 months. I’m not unhappy about that, as it is another way to potentially starve cancer. I have no sign whatsoever of heart disease, though.
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Thank you @flatulus maximus
Your story highlights exactly what our doctors spoke about in the latest podcast — the need to return to medicine that treats the person, not just hands out protocols and drugs.
Something that may not be the best answer for cholesterol may have a completely different role for someone dealing with cancer.
The individual matters.
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From the IMA website : “Research also supports statins as part of broader alternative cancer therapies , showing promise in inhibiting tumor growth and improving survival rates in certain cancers. However, experts stress the importance of tailoring treatments to individual needs and integrating them into a comprehensive care plan. This evolving perspective on statins underscores their potential beyond heart health, offering hope for innovative, cost-effective cancer strategies.
Great piece: 18 Complementary and Alternative Therapies to Treat Cancer https://imahealth.org/alternative-cancer-treatments-interventions/
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I can tell you that there is no doubt that cholesterol is the main cause of heart disease, along with salt and eating fat! I recently got sucked into the healthcare system due to bypass surgery and I keep getting told by all the doctors, nurses, etc that there is no doubt. This is what they tell their patients because they believe it. Take a statin also.
I have not believed that since the beginning of covid when some of my blinders came off. I changed from a low fat, high carb diet to low carbs, more fat and avoiding seed oils. But it appears that I was too late in changing. Having high LDL while eating a ton of carbs probably didn’t help either. Now I’m stuck trying to figure out what to believe for secondary prevention. I’d love to get off the high dose statin.
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Hi @oakhilltop Two links that may be of interest :
A webinar Most people think they know their cardiovascular numbers. Cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar. But what if those markers are missing the bigger picture? https://imahealth.org/heart-health-tests-changing-the-game/
And our Free Men’s Health Guide: https://imahealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ima-mens-heart-health-guide.pdf
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Thank you for those links. I did watch that webinar and although it was very interesting, it wasn’t very practical since the those scans are available in only a few locations.
I do not think that the cholesterol myth is even close to crumbling. At least, not from my experience. Every PCP,NP,cardiologist, vascular surgeon etc. all say the same. Take a statin, get the LDL down, eat less salt and saturated fat. Recently a dietitian advised to always check food labels for cholesterol content. As I understand it, for over 99% of people the cholesterol in food has near zero effect on blood cholesterol levels. After surgery in the hospital, I tried to order a hard boiled egg (relatively safe hospital food I thought). The order was refused due to cholesterol in eggs.
It has always been frustrating for a patient that didn’t believe the cholesterol narrative. No medical professional will even discuss the issue. And now my concern is secondary prevention which seems like statin’s plaque stabilization may be of value. But my only route is to try to analyze some of the studies/trials myself. And I really don’t have the background for that.
I would be interested in more webinars discussing the value of statins, alternatives to them such as red yeast rice etc.
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