Paul J. Rosch (ed.) - Fat and Cholesterol Don’t Cause Heart Attacks and Statins are Not The Solution

Fat and Cholesterol
Dont Cause Heart Attacks
and Statins Are Not the Solution

A Tribute to Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PhD
and his Establishment of THINCS,
The International Network
of Cholesterol Skeptics

Paul J. Rosch, MD, FACP, Editor

Published by Columbus Publishing Ltd 2016
www.columbuspublishing.co.uk

ISBN 978-1-907797-54-5
ver 20160912

Copyright 2016 individual authors
Each contributing author has asserted their right to be identified as the authors of their work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior permission of the respective author.

Cover design by Andy Harcombe

eBook design by Raffaele Bolelli Gallevi

Brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners

The information provided in this book should not be construed as personal medical advice or instruction. No action should be taken based solely on the contents of this book.

Readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being.

The information and opinions provided here are believed to be accurate and sound and are based on the best judgments of the authors, but readers who fail to consult appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries. Neither the authors nor the publisher can be held responsible or liable for any loss or claim arising from the use, or misuse, of the content of this book.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all the authors for their patience and prompt cooperation in finalizing this tribute to Uffe Ravnskov. Special thanks to Andy Harcombe for facilitating its speedy publication and for his expertise and advice during every stage of this process. I am also grateful for Donna Telyczkas assistance with research and administrative assignments.

Paul J. Rosch, MD, Editor

About The Editor

Paul J. Rosch, MA, MD, FACP is Clinical Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry at New York Medical College, Chairman of the Board of The American Institute of Stress and Honorary Vice President of the International Stress Management Association. He did his internship and residency at Johns Hopkins, and has a Workers Compensation subspecialty rating in cardiology, endocrinology and metabolism. In 1993, he began devoting a series of sessions on the fallacies of the lipid and diet-heart hypotheses at the annual Montreux International Congress on Stress that featured leading authorities from all over the world. This was long before the advent of THINCS and he was unaware of Uffe Ravnskovs contributions at the time.

Dr. Rosch is a Fellow and Life Member of The American College of Physicians, and has served as President of the New York State Society of Internal Medicine, President of the Pavlovian Society and Expert Consultant on Stress to the United States Centers for Disease Control. He has been the recipient of numerous honors here and abroad, including the Outstanding Physicians Award of the New York State Medical Society, the Innovation Award of The International Society for the Study of Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine, and The I.M. Sechenov Memorial Medal from The Russian Academy of Medical Sciences.

Preface: Why And How This Book Was Written

Paul J. Rosch, MD

What Causes Heart Attacks?

If you ask anyone What causes heart attacks, the vast majority, including physicians, would undoubtedly blame high cholesterol from eating too much fat, or include this along with unavoidable influences like heredity and stress. Thats not surprising, since this dietary fat elevated cholesterol heart attacks scenario has been repeated over and over so many times for the past 70 years, that it has become accepted as gospel. As William James, the father of American psychology noted. Theres nothing so absurd that if you repeat it often enough, people will believe it.

But there was apparently nothing absurd about this. It was easy to visualize how fatty foods could elevate blood cholesterol, which was then deposited in arteries where they reduced and ultimately blocked the flow of blood. Animal studies seemed to support this sequence of events and large scale epidemiologic studies in different countries purportedly showed a close correlation between fat consumption and deaths from heart disease, and in some instances, with cholesterol levels. Proponents of this Diet-Heart or lipid hypothesis included eminent researchers and physicians who received the Nobel Prize, Lasker and other Awards for their contributions to this theory.

As a result, reducing fat intake, especially saturated fat, has been U.S. policy for the past 35 years. These official guidelines are the basis for determining the foods that will be used in the military, government cafeterias, schools, food assistance programs, industry food formulations, and restaurant recipes, as well as recommendations made by nutritionists and dieticians. And since they were also endorsed by leading authorities and prestigious organizations such as the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, it was assumed that restricting fats would provide cardioprotective and other health benefits. The advent of statins, which allegedly prevented heart disease by lowering cholesterol, appeared to prove the validity of the lipid hypothesis, and statins quickly became the best selling prescription drugs ever.

How Could We Have Been So Wrong For So Long?

The above erroneous beliefs began 100 years ago based on studies showing that feeding rabbits purified cholesterol obtained from egg yolks for two or three months produced lipid laden lesions rich in cholesterol in the aorta and other arteries. However, since rabbits are herbivorous, cholesterol is a foreign substance and blood levels were 4-5 times higher than those seen in humans. More importantly, these results could not be replicated in rodents or carnivorous animals so they were not relevant to humans. In addition, there was little clinical interest in any of the above, since prior to 1920, less than 10% of all U.S. deaths were due to heart disease.

That changed dramatically in the 1950s, when this had escalated to over 30% as an epidemic of heart attacks in middle-aged men was sweeping the U.S. This was also attributed to increased intake of fatty foods by Ancel Keys, after whom the K-rations used by US troops in World War II had been named. He demonstrated an almost straight line relationship between death rates from coronary disease to fatty food consumption in six countries, with Japan having the least and US the most. This was confirmed in his subsequent much larger Seven Countries study that showed heart attack and stroke death rates were also directly related to serum cholesterol levels and that saturated fats were the main culprit.

The problem was that although Keys had data on 22 countries, he cherry picked the seven that best supported his theory. When all the countries were included, there was no fatty diet-heart disease link, and had he selected Israel, Sweden, Germany and France, he would have concluded that the more saturated fat consumed, the lower the incidence of coronary heart disease.

Nevertheless, Keys was featured on the cover of the January 13, 1961 issue of Time magazine , was referred to in the media as Mr. Cholesterol, and triumphantly proclaimed, No other variable in the mode of life beside the fat calories in the diet is known which shows such a constant relationship to the mortality rate from coronary or degenerative heart disease .