A few years ago, Karen and I had been eating to our hearts content with whatever pleased our palette. McDonald’s, Jeem Chinese Restaurant, Salads, Dim Sum, etc. We had avoided trans fat, but not much else. When I got my cholesterol levels checked for the first time, my readings were decent:
- LDL 119 (Desired below 130)
- HDL 53 (Desired above 40)
- Total: 196 (Desired below 200)
Then Karen and I got challenged to eat healthier to get those numbers even better. We ate less saturated fat, more grilled chicken type of food, Italian, and vegetable meals. When I checked my cholesterol level, I expected equal or better numbers but was surprised to find:
- LDL 138 (Desired below 130)
- HDL 60 (Desired above 40)
- Total: 213 (Desired below 200)
I initially responded by abstaining from skin, fried foods, steak, fatty food, and basically any ingredient that would give food its taste. However, I realized if I kept withholding all eating pleasures, I might as well as become a Hare Krishna, so I abandoned the futile quest and returned to our typical meals.
Shortly afterwards, I came across an article about saturated fat which changed my diet once again. The article claimed that the “myth” was based on the fact that Americans ate more fat and had more heart problems, and Japanese people ate less fat and had less heart problems, and that cholesterol levels were related to heart problems, therefore, saturated fat must raised cholesterol levels. However, nomads who ate only meat had lower cholesterol than Americans. Also, if eating less saturated fat affected cholesterol, then all the people on Atkin’s diet should have much lower cholesterol levels, but the opposite seemed to be true. The article also sighted possible skewed research results because we all assume saturated fat should cause higher cholesterol levels, so whenever a research indicated otherwise, it would be questioned as flawed. It made sense to me, so when I mentioned it to Karen, she said “Yoohoo” and started preparing nothing but Fatty Beef Ribs for the next week, and we haven’t turned back since.
So when it came time to do another cholesterol check, I wasn’t very optimistic. To my surprise I got:
- LDL 96 (Desired below 130)
- HDL 39 (Desired above 40)
- Total: 151 (Desired below 200)
My cholesterol levels have dropped. Now despite my attempt to eat oatmeal, my HDL levels have dropped too. It seems to indicate that the best strategy for lowering cholesterol is actually counter-intuitive: Pig out at Tony Roma’s instead of having my salad, eat that chicken thigh instead of the breast, and eat the Lard and skins. Only then will the cholesterol begin to drop!
