Cholesterol and saturated fats do not cause heart disease. If they did, rural populations would have died off generations ago. The typical farm diet included generous amounts of eggs, butter, sausage, pork, beef, lard etc., yet they did not get heart attacks. [By the way, these people did not consume polyunsaturated oils] What has changed since the 1920s is:

a) Our increasing exposure to risks such as tobacco smoke, exhaust fumes, chlorinated drinking water, radiation, chemical food additives, and the chemically unstable vegetable oils.

 

b) Our increased consumption of refined sugars and over processed foods that have been stripped of the vital nutrients needed to keep our immune processes strong and healthy.

Some claim that fewer people people are dying of heart attacks than were, say, 25 years ago. That is not the whole picture. Doctors now have the technology to keep many people alive once they have had a heart attack. The chances of getting an initial heart attack, however are as great or greater than they have ever been, in spite of the popularity of low cholesterol diets. Unfortunately, the first heart attack is often fatal.

Trying to reduce one's consumption of cholesterol may be an exercise in futility. Cholesterol is a vital substance needed by every cell in the body. The less of it we consume, the more of it our bodies produce. Low cholesterol foods and cholesterol lowering drugs have made a lot of money for a lot of companies, but they have done nothing to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease. There is a better way.