Cholesterol and Our Kids: Top 10 Facts You Need To Know

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Dr. G

The stimulus of this post is a news story out of Medpage titled, U.S. Youth Have Serious Cholesterol Problem. The article discusses the current thoughts of the American Academy of Pediatrics on Dyslipidemia (abnormal cholesterol and fats in blood) in children ages 9-11.

When I saw this headline, it reinforced the fear and alarm I feel whenever I see a story about children’s health that is based on a faulty premise. There is nothing more dangerous to our long-term health than conclusions drawn by those in “authority” which are based on a completely faulty premise.

Some people feel this is an issue because they fear that cholesterol lowering medications will be the next billion-dollar “health” initiative for “the sake of our children” (a big hammer used against parents who know little about the science or lack thereof behind these claims, who just want the best for their children). More medications for our kids may be a possibility, but I believe the real conspiracy (I know, I hate using that word too. I do believe people become doctors for the right reasons and not to be part of a cabal, but the moving parts are too big and too many people are involved with different motivations like politicians, pharmaceutical corporations, government agencies etc.) lies in the fact that the recommendations to improve children’s outlook will be the same junk science used for 40 years that got us into this mess to begin with.

You see, beginning at ages 9-11, we will be labeling our kids with “a cholesterol problem” that will follow them into early adulthood, after which, when the B.S. diet recommendations and lack of exercise “fail” to change anything, the quick and easy response will be “well, it’s genetic,” so go ahead and start taking these pills at 25 years old instead of waiting until you’re in your 40’s. Can you imagine the profits? If you buy the idea that elevated serum cholesterol equals heart disease, you might have a warm safe feeling in your heart that the smart doctors are protecting us and our children. Unfortunately, the overwhelming evidence suggests otherwise.

The faulty premise is the idea that cholesterol is bad, and lowering it, by any means necessary, is a worthwhile endeavor. Another faulty premise implied by these types of stories based on pseudoscience, is the idea that elevated cholesterol is the variable that determines the presence or absence of heart disease. These premises are now ubiquitous in our culture because of marketing, not because of science. Rather, our culture has adopted this “dogma” in spite of science. So now if an authority in health care uses the already culturally-accepted faulty premise in a story about our children, our ears will perk up and we will be more likely to demand protection and solutions for “the children.” Perhaps statin drugs in the water supply? Sounds ridiculous, right? Yet it’s actually an idea that has been seriously considered at high levels.

These premises are faulty and have been proven to be faulty. I will not take up precious space and time in this post to outline in detail the work of so many authorities on the subject (Dr. Stephen Sinatra among many others) who have exposed the 40-year-old propaganda campaign that claimed lowering cholesterol with pharmaceuticals is the primary way to protect people from heart disease. I can provide the references in the comments section for those who would like those references. I’d rather take this time to explain the broad concepts everyone can understand and needs to know.

The Facts

Cholesterol is not “bad” or “good.” Cholesterol is appropriate and necessary.

We use cholesterol to make hormones like vitamin D, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
Cholesterol is the rate-limiting factor with the brain’s ability to make connections known as synapses. If you follow the statistics for the number of people suffering from faulty or deficient synapses, you come up with conditions like depression, bipolar, anxiety, attention deficit, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and dementia. We know this to be true because the majority of the medications to treat these disorders are drugs that modify or modulate the synapse. Is it possible that our efforts to chemically inhibit the production of cholesterol has some impact on this? The answer is an overwhelming, YES!
Cholesterol is so important to brain function that the brain can actually manufacture cholesterol itself. Until recent years this would have been a ridiculous statement; now it is fact. Do you think that statin drugs would cause brain-based symptoms? Well, you’re right, taking statin drugs increases the likelihood of Alzheimer’s disease, memory loss and depression.
Cholesterol is made primarily in the liver. It is produced so the liver can remove inflammation from the blood before the blood reaches the general circulation. The impurities and inflammation that need to be removed come from the GI tract–the first stop clean oxygenated blood makes once it leaves the heart. (See an explanation in my previous post.) Elevated cholesterol is more a problem of excessive toxicity and immune activity in the gut than anything else. Eating “clean” is more likely to reduce the need for the liver to produce higher levels of cholesterol. As a matter of fact, elevated cholesterol is more likely a problem with the livers attempt to clean out a circulation overburdened with toxicity than anything else.
50% of people who experience heart attacks have high cholesterol, the other 50% do not. The fact is, cholesterol is a minor player in the heart disease story.
Inflammation causes cholesterol to become sticky and thus become a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke. If the cholesterol is not “sticky,” is has no reason to occlude arteries. The stickiness factor is inflammation manifested as oxidation. Oxidation can be measured in blood tests that measure oxidized LDL and HDL. If stickiness and oxidation are present, then you are at high risk with “normal” cholesterol levels.
Cholesterol lower than 160 leaves you at risk for having an inability to make hormones, synapses and other important bodily functions that require cholesterol.
Oxidation and inflammation of cholesterol is caused by glycation which occurs when there is too much sugar and carbohydrate in our system. This is a factor we should be concerned about when discussing our children. Sugar, starchy fruits and vegetables, grains, and whole grains are all forms of sugar. Let’s not pretend that whole grain cheerios are good for your heart; quite the opposite.
There is no connection between saturated fat and heart disease. As a matter of fact, saturated fats derived from a cold press process, such as how we extract oils from nuts and avocados, are the types of fats we should consume and use to cook with. Unsaturated fats such as olive oil and oils derived from the cold press process are unstable when heated and result in oxidation, and thus should be consumed cold only.
Eating cholesterol does not give you high cholesterol. As a matter of fact, not eating cholesterol will only result in your liver making more cholesterol.

What to do if you are worried about your child’s cholesterol and risk for heart disease in the future.

Compare these recommendations to those of the American Heart Association. Following these recommendations 70% of the time will give your child the advantage they need so that the other 30% is not so damaging.

The Do’s

Eat a diet rich in saturated medium-chain triglyceride fat as is found in extra virgin coconut oil and palm kernel oil. These may be used for cooking.
Eat a diet rich in omega-9 oils, such as those found in cold pressed extra virgin olive oil and avocado oil. Do not heat these oils.
Eat healthy meats with optimal omega-3:omega-6 ratio. Choose wild fish as opposed to farm-raised, grass-fed-and-finished beef that is hormone and antibiotic free, pastured poultry, hormone and antibiotic free (the term “pastured” implies humanely treated and fed a genetically appropriate diet), and wild game, when possible. Avoid eggs from chickens fed soy. Eggs should be from pastured, free-range chickens.
Eat seasonally-appropriate vegetables and eat fruits in moderation. You will naturally eat more fruit and vegetables in the summer than in the winter. (See my video on Eating Seasonally)
Eat raw nuts and seeds and nut butters (not including peanut butter).
Bake with almond and coconut flour when possible to limit processed grain flours.
Use healthy oils mentioned above to sautée, not fry. Never buy commercially fried foods.

And Don’t’s

Avoid anything labeled “fat free.” The implication is that eating fat is bad for you, which is absolutely untrue, and that eating fat may make you fat, and that is absolutely untrue. The quickest way to obesity is eating a fat free, grain based diet. This is not in dispute.
Avoid canola oil, it is bad for you. The official position of the American Heart Association and American Pediatric Association is that unsaturated fats like canola are heart-safe and good to eat. Don’t believe it for a second.
Avoid trans fats. Trans fats are synthetic, made in a laboratory. You think a laboratory PhD can do a better job than 600 million years of evolution? I don’t think so.
Avoid fruit juice, it is not good for you at all. It’s excess sugar intake. Sugar = inflammation.
Avoid sugar. Sugar causes glycation of cholesterol, which increases stickiness.
Avoid cereals and grains–they’re sugar.
Avoid dairy. It’s bad for you and no one needs it. Unless you have access to raw, unprocessed, non-homogenized or pasteurized dairy…and even then, only in moderation.
Avoid vegetable oils. Do not let the idea that they are unsaturated fool you into thinking that they are good for you. Oils derived from vegetables are extracted by a chemical process that promotes rancidity and leaves the residue of the chemicals used to extract the oil to reduce the horrible smell rancid oils have.
Never force your child to finish what is on the plate. Let them finish when they are satiated. Think about it, do you really think your child will be malnourished? If they are hungry, they will eat. If they are not hungry, they don’t have to eat.

Stories like the one referenced above from Medpage take advantage of the public, who have unknowingly forfeited their responsibility to be educated on what causes illness and what results in improved health. We have forfeited this knowledge because we were assured by our government and culture that our doctors will provide us with what we need to know to be healthy. In other words, put ourselves in their hands; they will not steer us wrong.

This type of thinking has resulted in deadly recommendations for diet, school lunches, flu campaigns, food pyramids, over-medicating and the worst health outcomes in the modern industrialised world, all the while paying double what the next-richest country pays for health care per person. Please don’t confuse my cynicism with negativity. I am quite the optimist. One can’t help but be optimistic when one is empowered with knowledge and objective reality. The cynicism is reserved for doctors who, at no fault of their own, are left in the dark because they did not decide to get an education in health care; they got an education in sick care. It is for them I am pessimistic, because the forces working against you are massive. If you do what 80% of the public is doing, you will likely march off the same cliff as the rest of them.

Thanks for reading!