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Question from a Scientist about Cholesterol and a Child’s Diet
Last week, the Weston A. Price Foundation put out a news release, urging the government and medical community to give accurate cholesterol education during September, which has been deemed Cholesterol Education Month. A blogger responded with a question about whether or not parents would be wary of a “pro-fat” message, in an age where childhood obesity is rampant. With her permission, I am publishing her question and the answer by the president of Weston A. Price, Sally Fallon Morell.
Q:
I recently read the press release on cholesterol and it makes sense to me, but seriously, it will meet lots of antagonism because of the prevalent trend of obese children in the USA these days. I bet these kids have ridiculously high cholesterol levels – and certainly not from eating too much “nutrient dense” foods. So while I as a scientist and also as mother of a toddler who needs lots of “good fats” can sympathize, I don’t think the argument here can stand up to even one voice saying “… then what about all this concern with childhood obesity?” — Jane, Naked Medicine blog
Answer from Sally Fallon Morell
In a study with children, those put on low fat diets ended up with the worst kind of cholesterol–the small dense cholesterol. See details on our website Dietary Recommendations for Children –A Recipe for Future Heart Disease?
Regarding obesity, a Swedish study(see http://gupea.ub.gu.se/dspace/handle/2077/16984) found that putting children on low fat diets resulting in them being fatter (and having more insulin resistance) than children on normal diets with adequate levels of fat. Here is a news article More Fat Linked to Less Weight in Kids.
Children should be neither fat nor skinny, they should be sturdy and energetic. The occasional child who is chubby on a nutrient-dense diet usually ends up very muscular, because the growing body has an easier time making muscles from fat than from nothing.
Here are some other articles you might find helpful:
Whole Fat Milk Linked to Lower Weight Gain
Trans Fats Lead to Weight Gain
Swedish Study Claims Full Fat Milk Makes You Thinner
Sally Fallon Morell
Sally Fallon Morell is a nutrition researcher, and President of Weston A. Price Foundation a nutrition education non-profit with 11,000 members, and 400 local chapters. Local chapter leaders are volunteers who help people in their community find sources of farm fresh, locally produced food. She is the author of the bestselling cookbook, Nourishing Traditions and Publisher of Wise Traditions, Journal in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts.
I would have never imagined that I would be blogging, or that I would join a group like Real Food Media. None of this would have happened without you. I mean more than the help you have given me, though I appreciate it very much. I also mean seeing the great good you do with your blog, with supporting WAPF, with advocating real food and the great info you provide on so many issues. There is such a desperate need for this information. You are an inspiration to me. Thank you for being who you are, and for doing what you do.
4 Comments
One thing I’ve found in my reading is that the body always prevails. If you cut out dietary fat, the body will make both saturated fat AND cholesterol out of the sugar you consume instead. And it’s going to be one or the other in your diet–high fat, or high sugar. You can’t live on just protein; the first time you hit a stressful point in your life you’d develop rabbit starvation.
I’m a little surprised this isn’t being pointed out more in discussions of chronic disease–that no matter what, your body’s going to have that sat. fat and cholesterol, but doing it with the sugar intake guarantees deranged glucose metabolism and insulin resistance. In other words, obesity.
OK, I’m a converted party but convincing others is an uphill battle. These articles are great but only reference one study. You can always find at least one study to back up any theory but we need more evidence (that’s a general call-out to anyone).
vicky, i totally agree. any more good, pro-fat/meat/whole milk studies out there?
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Lynne McTaggart, in her book What Doctors Don’t Tell You – The Truth about the Dangers of Modern Medicine, points to a number of additional side effects with statin therapy such as a decrease in serotonin, a brain hormone which normally keeps harmful impulses, such as aggressive behaviour and depression, in check. Californian researchers found that depression was three times more common in those with low blood cholesterol than in elderly patients over 70 with higher blood cholesterol levels. Women placed on very low-fat diets have lower levels of tryptophan, (an essential amino acid acting as a precursor of serotonin). There is evidence that patients suffering from severe depression have low levels of tryptophan.
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[...] I sent my query off to the publicist, who got in touch with the Sally Fallon Morell, president of the Weston A. Price Foundation to respond to my challenge above. Sally’s response is here. [...]
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