High Fat Animal Foods and Blood Cholesterol

Masai and Samburus Shepherds of Kenya

Were high fat foods a problem for these African tribes people? Read on.

These shepherds didn’t have the stress of US society but they ran many miles each day tending their cattle as they look for water and forage. They are milk and meat eaters.

Masai ate meat and drank milk and blood. They drank only a half gallon of milk a day but ate much more meat, perhaps 2-4 lbs per person, in their meat eating orgies.

Samburu drank 1.5 gallons of milk a day. It was raw, may not even had time to ferment, with the protection fermentation provides milk from bacterial contamination. Butterfat content consumed was very high. These tribes protein, fat and cholesterol intake may have been twice or more per day than individuals in western countries.

Their blood cholesterol levels should be sky high according to saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet-heart disease proponents, and coronary disease should be rampant.

But guess what. Their blood cholesterol levels were much lower than in any “civilized” country, and as much as 50% lower than American cholesterol numbers.

Heart disease was unknown. But this data is ignored by those who promote the saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet-heart disease idea.

They were also immune to many diseases the white man falls heir to in their home country, or in Africa. Review the isolated peoples group by clicking on the link at the end of the page.

Poynesians and Coconut Oil

Polynesians ate a lot of coconut and its oil which is very highly saturated, more so than animal fat. After a storm decimated coconut trees on their island, some Polynesians were forced to relocate to New Zealand.

Their dietary intake of saturated fat was cut in half while their intake of polyunsaturated fat increased a little.

Instead of blood cholesterol going down as expected by the saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet-heart disease theory, their moderate cholesterol levels increased about 10%.

Finnish People and Diet Experiments

Finnish people have some of the highest cholesterol levels in the world. Diet heart proponents say it is because of the high fat diets in Finland. But it may not be that simple.

Researchers from the University of Turku studied all the inhabitants of the small village of Inio near Turku.

They also included twice as many randomly selected people of the same age and sex from North Karelia and from the southwestern part of Finland.

Apparently some nutritional indoctrination had already taken place in the village of Inio.

They had cut their use of butter in half and doubled their consumption of margarine compared to the other areas of Finland . The people of Inio preferred skim milk while the other areas preferred whole milk.

The average cholesterol value of Inio was 283 mg/dl. This was in the town that had cut their milk fat drastically and increased their consumption of polyunsaturated vegetable oils.

In the other 2 areas that continued their normal animal fat consumption the cholesterol numbers were less than Inio at 239 and 243 mg/dl.

The difference in women was even greater.

These data again spell trouble for the saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet-heart disease idea.

Testimony of Cardiologist Paul Dudley White

By 1956 the American Heart Association (AHA) said the heart disease epidemic was caused by eating butter, lard, beef, and eggs. Their recommended replacement diet consisted of corn oil, margarine, chicken, and cold cereal.

Dr. White began his medical practice 1921. He did not see a case of myocardial infarct (MI, heart attack) until 1928.

By 1956 he noted that back in the MI free days before 1920, the fats were butter and lard.

Dr. White felt we were better off with the diet of pre-1920 days, and we would benefit greatly if we had never heard of corn oil.

Dr. Ravnskov asks if it is wise to meddle with peoples dietary preferences if saturated fat and cholesterol have no influence on their cholesterol levels.

For those who proclaim high fat food is dangerous, how do they explain all the data that makes it clear that food high in animal fat is not dangerous?

One approach taken by the saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet-heart disease proponents is to ignore, or explain away, data that refutes their position.

Consider the studies of Lande and Sperry, Paterson, and Mathur which are ignored, misquoted, or explained away by the diet-heart proponents. These studies showed that there was no correlation between cholesterol levels and atherosclerosis. These may be reviewed at the link at the end of this page.

Cholesterol in the diet has only a marginal effect on blood cholesterol. One source, The Modern Nutritional Diseases, by Fred and Alice Ottoboni, explains that up to 850 mg dietary cholesterol per day has little or no effect on blood cholesterol.

The human metabolic machine is frugal. What is provided in the diet is not produced by the body.

TV ads that proclaim “2 sources of cholesterol” are not credible in human beings.

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