The timing seems a bit fishy, coming right on the heels of our recent post about eggs.... Is the government reading our blog and stealing my ideas?? LOL! But yes indeed, apparently the U.S. government is revising dietary guidelines to say that eating cholesterol is actually okay, according to last week's article in the Washington Post.
This comes after 40+ years of cholesterol being the beloved villain of the media, doctors, and government warnings, but apparently, according to the co-chair of the task force arranged by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association in 2013 to look at dietary cholesterol studies, “Looking back at the literature, we just couldn’t see the kind of science that would support dietary restrictions."
Really??
This comes after 40+ years of cholesterol being the beloved villain of the media, doctors, and government warnings, but apparently, according to the co-chair of the task force arranged by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association in 2013 to look at dietary cholesterol studies, “Looking back at the literature, we just couldn’t see the kind of science that would support dietary restrictions."
Really??
Well, no duh! Those of us who actually have looked into the research data have been saying that for 20+ years, although the last time the U.S. Dietary Guidelines were revised 5 years ago, cholesterol was still on the naughty list....
But the tide is finally turning, and slow as it may be to turn the massive ship of public opinion, it seems it is actually happening - the Truth is coming out at last! In fact, as the article states, "many nutritionists...now believe that, for healthy adults, eating foods high in cholesterol may not significantly affect the level of cholesterol in the blood or increase the risk of heart disease." (I am somewhat impressed that the article actually does touch on why this is as well, although not in as much depth as my recent post.)
The governmental guidelines are where it starts, although it's still going to take a while before the truth of the matter is common knowledge. And while it is a good start, there is still more to be done, as the article states that the Dietary Guidelines will continue to say that saturated fats and red meats are still bad for your health.
As you may already know if you've been reading this blog for a while, saturated fats in general are no worse than cholesterol, and in fact, in moderation, can be a healthy part of a well-balanced diet. This last factor is where the issue lies though, as how many Americans truly eat a well-balanced diet? (Meaning the diet that humans naturally should eat - largely whole, fresh vegetable foods, with some meat, and only very small amounts of grain - if any.)
But the tide is finally turning, and slow as it may be to turn the massive ship of public opinion, it seems it is actually happening - the Truth is coming out at last! In fact, as the article states, "many nutritionists...now believe that, for healthy adults, eating foods high in cholesterol may not significantly affect the level of cholesterol in the blood or increase the risk of heart disease." (I am somewhat impressed that the article actually does touch on why this is as well, although not in as much depth as my recent post.)
The governmental guidelines are where it starts, although it's still going to take a while before the truth of the matter is common knowledge. And while it is a good start, there is still more to be done, as the article states that the Dietary Guidelines will continue to say that saturated fats and red meats are still bad for your health.
As you may already know if you've been reading this blog for a while, saturated fats in general are no worse than cholesterol, and in fact, in moderation, can be a healthy part of a well-balanced diet. This last factor is where the issue lies though, as how many Americans truly eat a well-balanced diet? (Meaning the diet that humans naturally should eat - largely whole, fresh vegetable foods, with some meat, and only very small amounts of grain - if any.)
And of course, as we regularly discuss here, quality and source matters! It may indeed be a very good idea not to eat meat and saturated fats from animals raised in the industrial concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) where most of our country's meat comes from. If you're going to eat foods containing saturated fat and cholesterol, they should come from healthy animals raised in a clean, healthy manner (eating their natural diet of grass and pasture).
If you can raise your own meat - as my husband and I are planning to do - so much the better. (We're planning to start with chickens and maybe a lamb or two - I'll keep you posted!)
So it's still up to those of us "in the know" to spread the word about truly healthy eating - especially since it can take a while for major shifts in dietary guidelines to become commonly accepted knowledge.
This is especially frustrating for those of us in the health world, as our readers tend to be those who are already on the healthy side! Those who seek out health information, for the most part, are people who are interested in healthy living, and are usually already on the right track. That means it's up to YOU, dear reader, to share the knowledge you gain with those who may not realize that what they don't know can hurt them.
Please click the icons below to share this blog post on Facebook and Twitter, let your friends know about the WP article, and encourage them to subscribe to our weekly updates where we expose the Truth about health every week!
Now go enjoy those eggs! :-)
Rose.
If you can raise your own meat - as my husband and I are planning to do - so much the better. (We're planning to start with chickens and maybe a lamb or two - I'll keep you posted!)
So it's still up to those of us "in the know" to spread the word about truly healthy eating - especially since it can take a while for major shifts in dietary guidelines to become commonly accepted knowledge.
This is especially frustrating for those of us in the health world, as our readers tend to be those who are already on the healthy side! Those who seek out health information, for the most part, are people who are interested in healthy living, and are usually already on the right track. That means it's up to YOU, dear reader, to share the knowledge you gain with those who may not realize that what they don't know can hurt them.
Please click the icons below to share this blog post on Facebook and Twitter, let your friends know about the WP article, and encourage them to subscribe to our weekly updates where we expose the Truth about health every week!
Now go enjoy those eggs! :-)
Rose.
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