Last week I covered both the good and bad sides of cholesterol (check it out here) and wanted to do a follow-up about meat. Specifically, why the saturated fat and cholesterol in meat is not something you should be worried about. There’s a lot of bad research, fear-mongering, and confusion surrounding it, so I wanted to clear things up. Here’s all you need to know about meat and the cholesterol in your body.

What the Critics Say

A lot of people assume that eating cholesterol is going to increase cholesterol in the body. However, that’s not what the science shows. First of all, apply that same reasoning to nutrients like fat. Ever hear the saying, “The fat you eat is the fat you wear,”? We all know that couldn’t be further from the truth! Eating fat does not automatically make you fat. Were that the case, everyone who ate a high-fat ketogenic diet (myself included) would not be lean. The only way we’d ever gain weight from dietary fat is from overeating. 

 But back to cholesterol. Eating, say, an egg, or a fatty cut of steak, doesn’t mean your cholesterol is going to skyrocket. Unless you’re in the minority of people who are genetically at risk for high cholesterol (aka, hyper responders), the chances of an egg or fatty steak ruining your health are slim to none. Here’s why.

 Dietary Cholesterol Vs. Blood Cholesterol  

If you remember from my cholesterol post, there’s a difference between cholesterol from food and cholesterol found in the body. The body regulates how much cholesterol goes into the bloodstream, depending on our intake of foods containing saturated fat and cholesterol. If our diet is high in those things, then the body begins to slow down cholesterol production. That way, when we do eat cholesterol and saturated fat, it will naturally keep things in order. On the other hand, if your diet is low in fat and cholesterol in general, the body will start producing more cholesterol. Why? Because like it or not, cholesterol is essential to our health. Our hormones, cells, nerves, brain, and ability to absorb fat-soluble nutrients (vitamins A, D, E, and K) all involve cholesterol. The problem is that we can get too much of a good thing, and many people tend to focus on the side effects of excess cholesterol. [1] [2] 

Clearing Away the Confusion

One of my favorite experts, Mark Hyman, M.D., recently wrote a book called Food: What the Heck Should I Eat? It was written for people like you and me who are sick of the game of ping-pong when it comes to diet and nutrition. In it, he thoroughly researched the connection between saturated fat and heart disease and concluded that a lot of science was either outdated, poorly designed, or misinterpreted. Dr. Hyman quotes renowned cardiologist and president of the World Heart Federation Salim Yusef, who states, “… contrary to common beliefs, the current recommendations to reduce saturated fat have no scientific basis. Carbohydrates are probably your biggest culprit. So, when you eat a hamburger, throw away the bun, and eat the meat!” [3] 

In 2018, Yusef followed this up in a Lancet post, explaining, “… a marked reduction in fat intake might have occurred over the past few decades in several countries. It is not clear that further reductions in dietary fat intake will lead to reductions in the incidence of disease. In countries (or individuals) with high carbohydrate intakes, limiting intake could be beneficial.” [4]

As I wrote in my cholesterol post, the picture is not so black and white. Whether it’s having high cholesterol or heart disease, there are many factors behind it. While diet plays a huge role (which I’ll get to in a moment), there are other things to be aware of, including genes, exercise, stress, gut health (a recent study found that certain strains of bacteria were linked to arterial stiffening), weight, age, hormones, alcohol, drugs, and inflammation. [5] [6]

Now, here’s how inflammation and diet can go hand-in-hand with heart disease.

Fueling Disease

It’s widely accepted that when heart disease risk increases, so too do the biomarkers for inflammation (your doctor can check for them in your blood tests). While many things cause inflammation, I’m going to focus just on diet for the sake of this post. We all know that the food we eat is can either be medicine or poison. Stop and think about the type of food I always tell you to turn to — whole foods. The ones I recommend you avoid are processed foods, which include trans fats and empty carbs. These are the foods that drive poor health and heart disease. And when I mention carbs or processed foods, I’m talking about fried foods, hydrogenated canola oil, ready-made meals, and packaged sweets. Those are entirely different from things like sweet potatoes and salmon. It’s processed, refined foods that are for driving inflammation. By increasing inflammation, they encourage the release of free radicals, which in turn cause bad LDL cholesterol to oxidize. That’s when heart disease risk increases! [7] 

But if you’re still unconvinced that saturated fat or cholesterol is good for you, then here are two studies that squash this myth.

First is the 2017 PURE Study, which is one of the largest epidemiological studies on the “fat and heart disease hypothesis.” Researchers found that “High carbohydrate intake was associated with higher risk of total mortality, whereas total fat and individual types of fat were related to lower total mortality. Total fat and type of fat were not associated with cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction, or cardiovascular disease mortality, whereas saturated fat had an inverse association with stroke.” [8]

And second is the 2005 Boyd Orr Cohort study, which is one of the longest epidemiological studies on dietary fat and heart disease. 4,028 people (from 1,234 different families) were surveyed between 1937 and 1939 and followed up in the National Health Service central register in 2000. Here’s what the findings of the study show, “No significant associations for childhood saturated fat intake and cardiovascular mortality or any cause of death.” [9]

Eat Your Meat

You don’t have to put down your steak. Just because it contains saturated fat and cholesterol does not mean it’s going to put you at risk for heart disease. Remember, there are many things to consider. Heart disease doesn’t happen overnight. And the foods that are said to cause it have been rightly proved to do no such thing. It’s the processed carbs and fats you should be worried about, along with inflammation. As I said in my cholesterol post, you need to look at your diet as a whole. And you can also fight the good fight against inflammation with antioxidant-rich whole foods. 

For more on dietary fat and your health, check out the following posts here and here.

Sources:

[1] https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/cholesterol-basics
[2] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/dietary-cholesterol-does-not-matter#section5
[3] https://store.drhyman.com/food-the-book-1.html
[4] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(18)30160-9/fulltext
[5] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20353118
[6] https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article/39/25/2390/4993201
[7] https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/fight-inflammation-to-help-prevent-heart-disease
[8] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)32252-3/fulltext
[9] https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/34/4/742/692996