saturated fat and cholesterol health problems?

Question

Do you advise people that saturated fat and cholesterol causes heart disease?
If you can't answer this question then you have no right to hand out this advice, as you do not know what you are talking about.
I've posted this question before, but no one could answer it, yet people continue to advise people that saturated fat and cholesterol is bad for your health.
If you can't answer this question how could you make these claims?
My question is this.

What I want to know is how in fact saturated fat and/or cholesterol leads to heart disease.

Before you answer, consider these facts;

*Fats, or lipids, as well as cholesterol are carried around the bloodstream encased in Lipoproteins. The lipids and cholesterol are ONLY handed out to cells that 'ask' for them, by way of a specific receptor. No receptor, no exchange.

*The lining of the arteries, the endothelium, is a non stick surface, designed to allow blood to flow freely, with nothing sticking to it

*When something does damage the endothelium, lipids and cholesterol are amongst the last things to be deposited at the injury site
http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/6/4/481
*The composition of fatty acids in arterial plaques is 74% unsaturated, of which 41% are monounsaturated
Lancet, Volume 344, Issue 8931, 29 October 1994, Pages 1195-1196

David M,
Why do you say that? What is you opinion based on? What is incorrect about what I say? You have not answered my question. You have not provided any evidence,science or logic, just uneducated abuse This is typical of ignorant fools who want to spew hyperbole with no knowledge of the subject. This is a reasonable question, can you provide a reasonable answer?

Andee,
Nowhere in my post do I claim to prove that saturated fat and cholesterol don't cause heart disease. I provide some facts, and ask people to explain how saturated fat and cholesterol do cause heart disease, allowing for these facts. In the world of science the responsability of proof lies with those putting forward the hypothesis. In this case the hypothesis is that saturated fat and cholesterol cause heart disease. For every study showing a possible link between heart disease and saturated fat/cholesterol, I could show one that doesn't, (But I'd get tired of typing)
Again the question has not been answered. No science, logic of evidence has been produced, just the ramblings of someone who seems afraid to admit that they may have been conned.
Can you answer the question? It is really simple, or is it?

So far we have three responses. Two that want to attack me with nothing to back up what they say, or even remotely coming close to actually answering my question and one from someone who researches and can back up their claims. Who holds the most credibility? Hmmm, blind faith or knowledge?

Answer 1

No I don't.
I think it is a MYTH.
Take butter for instance, it has largely been referred to as a 'saturated fat' and has gone out of favour over margarine, the latter which is an artificial 'plasticky' food. But in actual fact, butter it is full of the monounsaturated fatty acid Oleic acid (omega 9) - the very same fatty acid that has put Olive Oil on a pedestal for its health benefits.
Butter fat composition:
http://webexhibits.org/butter/compounds-fatty.html

Oleic acid has been shown to dramatically cuts the expression of a gene involved in the development of breast cancer.
Ref: http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?id=57404-oleic-acid-findings

Butter also contains Butyric acid, an important energy source for the cells that line the colon, and it may be important for their normal development and maintenance. Butyric acid is believed to reduce chronic inflammatory conditions of the colon, and reduce the risk of colon cancer.

Then there is stearic acid. YES: This is a saturated fatty acid but recent research suggests that diets high in stearic acid help lower total blood cholesterol.

Butter also contains Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), found also in full fat cows milk and dairy products of grazing animals, and also in the meat of grazing animals. And CLA has been shown to have the following health benefits:
*antioxidant effects
*anti-tumor properties
* Reduction of body fat (increase lean body mass
* Anti-Diabetic effects
* Antiatherogenic Effects
For more info:
http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/NationalDairyCouncil/Health/Digest/dcd71-4Page1.htm
http://www.news.cornell.edu/chronicle/99/12.16.99/butter.html

For more health benefits of butter - see:
http://www.greenpasture.org/products/butter_oil/properties

You might also like to read this:
'The Coconut Oil Myth':
http://www.heart-health-for-life.com/coconut-oil.html
Coconut oil, another what is thought to be a 'saturated fat' like butter, has a myriad of health benefits, linked to its unique fatty acid profile, as with butter. For further info- see: http://www.coconut-connections.com/

We also need to be aware that unsaturated fats increase the need for the antioxidant Vitamin E:
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/akiado/avh/2000/00000048/00000001/art00008
There are serious implications for health if we Increase unsaturated fat over saturated fat in the diet, without added supplementation of Vitamin E. You know this from the knowledge that Vitamin E supplementation has been shown to reduce heart diease, cancer and cataract risk. Though in recent years some have tried to discredit this research.

There is also the low fat diet myth and of course we need fats for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.

Weren't our ancestors who ate 'native'/'rough' diets healthier? Alzheimer's Disease was largely unheard of say 100 years ago.

This subject is too vast to write about here. I have merely touched upon it.

Thanks :)
Nice to find someone in the know :)

You might like this website, but I think you may already know about this :)
http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/index.html

Answer 2

I don't see anything in your posting that proves that saturated fat and cholesterol DON'T put one at risk for coronary heart disease and stroke.

How can we make these claims that they do put a person at risk? Let me count the ways....Cardiologists, General Practitioners, all other Doctors, Nurses, Medical Assistants, Nutritionists, Personal Trainers, The American Heart Association, death of relatives due to Coronary Heart Disease, relatives and friends who have had heart attacks and strokes due to a blockage made up of cholesterol plaque, relatives who had and died of Artherosclerosis -- if you don't know what that is then look it up, relatives who have had a buildup of plaque containing cholesterol on the sides of their arteries who had to have a physician go in and scrape the plaque off the sides of the artery to allow blood to flow more freely, relatives who have had that same build up and the doctor told them to cut down on saturated fats and that build up went down after they did cut down on the saturated fats, ...... I could go on some more but I'm tired of typing

Answer 3

This is just about the most misguided posting I have ever seen posted here!

You are obviously in favour of getting heart disease and an early death but please do not mislead others into following your totally flawed argument!