cholesterol is it a scam
- Thread starter faz
- Start date
The articles do have some factual information.
Here's the truth about cholesterol for anyone interested.
If you eat a balanced diet of protein, carbs, and low to moderate fat - getting the amount of calories you need to maintain or even gain muscle without getting fat, your cholesterol levels will be fine.
However, if you eat to caloric excess, ie bulking and are eating more than you can synthesise into muscle, use for recovery, the excess will be stored in and on your body as fat.
Too much fat leads to excess calories and indirectly to higher bad cholesterol.
Too much carbohydrate also leads to the same situation with big insulin spikes and faster fat storage AND faster increases in cholesterol.
Too much protien goes through glucogenesis, becomes carbohydrate, and does the same as the fat and carbs as far as cholesterol goes.
Believe it or not, Dr. Atkins had things somewhat right - eat a higher fat, lower carb, moderate protein diet and you'll burn fat, lower your bad cholesterol, and raise your good cholesterol. Then when you reach the weight you desire, you gradually reduce fat intake and increase carb intake until you are at maintenance.
For bodybuilders though, that isn't optimal now is it. How can we grow without carbs or without insulin? Well, we can't do it very well. So the best way is to get a good balanced, fairly low fat diet with the smallest excess that allows us to make decent muscle gains with minimal fat gains. Remember carbs do cause insulin levels to rise. Fat in the system with elevated insulin levels is a very bad thing, leading not only to fat storage but also a bad lipid profile.
Then when it's time to cut, it is OK to eat more fat and less carbs to burn off any excess fat we've gained and improve our lipid profile in the meantime.
Sorry, going out for a big fat/carb/protein laden dinner at the mexican resturaunt right now, no time to go into more detail.
Oh yeah, I do believe in the occasional cheat meal. While bulking I have one a month - guess what today is.
Here's the truth about cholesterol for anyone interested.
If you eat a balanced diet of protein, carbs, and low to moderate fat - getting the amount of calories you need to maintain or even gain muscle without getting fat, your cholesterol levels will be fine.
However, if you eat to caloric excess, ie bulking and are eating more than you can synthesise into muscle, use for recovery, the excess will be stored in and on your body as fat.
Too much fat leads to excess calories and indirectly to higher bad cholesterol.
Too much carbohydrate also leads to the same situation with big insulin spikes and faster fat storage AND faster increases in cholesterol.
Too much protien goes through glucogenesis, becomes carbohydrate, and does the same as the fat and carbs as far as cholesterol goes.
Believe it or not, Dr. Atkins had things somewhat right - eat a higher fat, lower carb, moderate protein diet and you'll burn fat, lower your bad cholesterol, and raise your good cholesterol. Then when you reach the weight you desire, you gradually reduce fat intake and increase carb intake until you are at maintenance.
For bodybuilders though, that isn't optimal now is it. How can we grow without carbs or without insulin? Well, we can't do it very well. So the best way is to get a good balanced, fairly low fat diet with the smallest excess that allows us to make decent muscle gains with minimal fat gains. Remember carbs do cause insulin levels to rise. Fat in the system with elevated insulin levels is a very bad thing, leading not only to fat storage but also a bad lipid profile.
Then when it's time to cut, it is OK to eat more fat and less carbs to burn off any excess fat we've gained and improve our lipid profile in the meantime.
Sorry, going out for a big fat/carb/protein laden dinner at the mexican resturaunt right now, no time to go into more detail.
Oh yeah, I do believe in the occasional cheat meal. While bulking I have one a month - guess what today is.
Peak_Power
New Member
Cholesterol is a good thing! Testosterone is made out of Cholesterol! Eat more of it I say!!!
Who cares about a heart-attack when you're 35 when you're huge?
Who cares about a heart-attack when you're 35 when you're huge?
<div>
(Peak_Power @ Oct. 05 2006,18:34)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Cholesterol is a good thing! Testosterone is made out of Cholesterol! Eat more of it I say!!!
Who cares about a heart-attack when you're 35 when you're huge?</div>
That my friend, is why I did my own research, set aside the "always go low fat" ideas I had from being an instructor for the American Heart Association for 16 years, and dug into the endocrinology books.
I was 34 years old and 300lbs. Really in bad shape - even had early onset of heart disease. Now my blood work is always perfect. I eat what my body needs. If that happens to be fat - then I eat fat. I do try to keep the fats healthy and avoid transfats, I keep the saturated fat low, but keep in mind that for a properly functioning endocrine system - some saturated fat is needed.
We preached the low fat dogma for years without a shred of acutal scientific evidence to prove it and no one got any healthier.
I do eat mostly low fat, but if I see the waistline creeping up I get a $25.00 GHP checked - the cholesterol is always up a little after laying high carbs and low fat to the diet for a while, I'll go with higher fat and less carbs and cut it down - down goes the belly, down goes the bad cholesterol, up goes the good.
Please understand though, I'm not suggesting that anyone start eating steak and eggs three meals a day, but just that they don't be so afraid of eating cholesterol, if you don't eat it - you'll make your own from eating too much carbohydrates.
If you eat protein with fat and protein with carbs while trying to avoid eating fat with carbs you should do pretty well in the cardiovascular health department. Especially if you are someone who is getting cardio and resistance training.
(Peak_Power @ Oct. 05 2006,18:34)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Cholesterol is a good thing! Testosterone is made out of Cholesterol! Eat more of it I say!!!
Who cares about a heart-attack when you're 35 when you're huge?</div>
That my friend, is why I did my own research, set aside the "always go low fat" ideas I had from being an instructor for the American Heart Association for 16 years, and dug into the endocrinology books.
I was 34 years old and 300lbs. Really in bad shape - even had early onset of heart disease. Now my blood work is always perfect. I eat what my body needs. If that happens to be fat - then I eat fat. I do try to keep the fats healthy and avoid transfats, I keep the saturated fat low, but keep in mind that for a properly functioning endocrine system - some saturated fat is needed.
We preached the low fat dogma for years without a shred of acutal scientific evidence to prove it and no one got any healthier.
I do eat mostly low fat, but if I see the waistline creeping up I get a $25.00 GHP checked - the cholesterol is always up a little after laying high carbs and low fat to the diet for a while, I'll go with higher fat and less carbs and cut it down - down goes the belly, down goes the bad cholesterol, up goes the good.
Please understand though, I'm not suggesting that anyone start eating steak and eggs three meals a day, but just that they don't be so afraid of eating cholesterol, if you don't eat it - you'll make your own from eating too much carbohydrates.
If you eat protein with fat and protein with carbs while trying to avoid eating fat with carbs you should do pretty well in the cardiovascular health department. Especially if you are someone who is getting cardio and resistance training.
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">We preached the low fat dogma for years without a shred of acutal scientific evidence to prove it and no one got any healthier.</div>
Right- in fact, non-judicious low-fat (read: NON-fat) diets probably contributed to more triglyceridemia and metabolic syndrome than bacon and egg breakfasts. There seems to be this myth out there that if you cut fat (alone), you'll get thinner and be healthier.
When are people going to learn that for most, *moderation* is the key? That means fat's ain't bad- just keep them to below 30% of your total caloric intake and keep the saturates (including trans-) to a minimum.
Right- in fact, non-judicious low-fat (read: NON-fat) diets probably contributed to more triglyceridemia and metabolic syndrome than bacon and egg breakfasts. There seems to be this myth out there that if you cut fat (alone), you'll get thinner and be healthier.
When are people going to learn that for most, *moderation* is the key? That means fat's ain't bad- just keep them to below 30% of your total caloric intake and keep the saturates (including trans-) to a minimum.
Hey Jake, "moderation is key". Great way to say it. As of of the AHA people, I wasn't allowed to say that - and actually believed and lived it. I actually did end up with metabolic syndrome - which is a fancy way of saying "all the symptoms of DMII but hasn't shown up for the glucose tolerance test yet."
Doc always called it meatbolic syndrome in the chart but said, "you and I both know it's DMII and you need to be on metformin and possibly insulin - so get your ass in here first thing in the morning for the damn test." I never went and fixed myself with food. I had to go a bit more extreme than moderation to make drastic changes quickly, then moved to a more balanced approach as my health improved. Now I give my body what it needs when it needs it. That's what we all should do as we learn our bodies and how they respond to different things.
Doc always called it meatbolic syndrome in the chart but said, "you and I both know it's DMII and you need to be on metformin and possibly insulin - so get your ass in here first thing in the morning for the damn test." I never went and fixed myself with food. I had to go a bit more extreme than moderation to make drastic changes quickly, then moved to a more balanced approach as my health improved. Now I give my body what it needs when it needs it. That's what we all should do as we learn our bodies and how they respond to different things.
A friend at my church is a bit of an expert on very many medical and dietary things (having virtually cured his kid who has/had autism) told me that people don't really read Dr. Atkins book when they go on the diet. It says to only do it for two weeks at a shot!
I might want to give that a try...mmmmmmmm.....meeeeeat and cheeeeeese!
I might want to give that a try...mmmmmmmm.....meeeeeat and cheeeeeese!
The fact is cholesterol levels below 150 are correlated to the lowest risk of heart disease. Drugs such as the statins which inhibit cholesterol synthesis are proven to reduce mortality.
It is important to account for hdl/ldl ratios and to realise a lot of people can compensate for high cholesterol diest since most cholesterol is made by the liver.
It is important to account for hdl/ldl ratios and to realise a lot of people can compensate for high cholesterol diest since most cholesterol is made by the liver.