Dr. Joseph Mercola writes that heart disease is one of the leading causes of death, with cholesterol frequently given the blame. But is it justified?
Dr. Fred Kummerow, who was nearly 100 years old at the time of this 2014 interview was the first scientist to document the toxicity of trans fats. Over the past 60 years, his research has repeatedly demonstrated that there is no correlation between high cholesterol and plaque formation that leads to heart disease. His work has showed that it’s not cholesterol that causes heart disease. Instead, trans fats and oxidized cholesterol are to blame.
Processed food is the primary source of trans fat, formed when cholesterol molecules are heat-damaged. The primary source of this is fried foods. Powdered egg yolk (who would ever eat that?) is another example of a food where heating has damaged the fat to the point of creating harmful oxidized cholesterol. Oxidized cholesterol (not dietary cholesterol in and of itself) causes increased thromboxane formation—a factor that clots your blood.
95% of the food that most Americans eat is processed. Trans fats prevent the synthesis of prostacyclin, which is needed to keep your blood flowing. When your body cannot produce prostacyclin, blood clots form, and you may succumb to sudden death. To protect your heart health, you also need to address your insulin and leptin resistance, which is affected by eating a diet too high in sugars and grains.
The good news is that you can eliminate trans fats from your body in about a month of eating a clean diet.
Dr. Mercola speaks to Dr. Fred Kummerow, to get the details about the importance of balancing your omega-3 to omega-6 oil ratio and preventing arterial calcification with the appropriate ratios of calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium, all of which are abundant in a whole food diet.
