
Despite what the “experts” might tell you, cholesterol is cholesterol. There is only one type of cholesterol and it is a high molecular weight organic molecule (an alcohol or a sterol) found only in animal foods such as meat, fish, cheese, eggs, and butter. Cholesterol is an essential nutrient that is necessary for maintaining and repairing every cell membrane in your body. It plays an important role in immunity and synthesizing hormones.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Cholesterol Lies.
Cholesterol is a precursor to vital corticosteroids, and to sex hormones like androgen, testosterone, oestrogen and progesterone. It is a precursor to vitamin D, a vital fat-soluble vitamin essential for healthy bones and nervous system, proper growth, mineral metabolism, muscle tone, insulin production, reproduction and immune system function. It is the precursor to bile salts, which are essential for digestion and the assimilation of dietary fats. Recent research has shown that cholesterol acts as an antioxidant thereby helping to reduce oxidative damage in the body.
Cholesterol is required for the proper function of serotonin receptors in the brain. Serotonin is one of the body’s natural “feel-good” neurotransmitters. This explains why low cholesterol levels have been linked to aggressive and violent behavior, depression, and suicidal tendencies.
Breast milk is especially rich in cholesterol and also contains a special enzyme that helps the baby utilize this nutrient. Babies and children need cholesterol-rich foods throughout their growing years to ensure proper development of the brain and nervous system. Dietary cholesterol also plays an important role in maintaining the health of the intestinal wall, which is why low-cholesterol vegetarian diets can lead to leaky gut syndrome and other intestinal problems.
Your doctor probably forgot to mention all of the above.
The Ugly Lies That Demonised an Essential Nutrient
In 1954 a Russian researcher called David Kritchevsky published a paper describing the effects of feeding cholesterol to vegetarian rabbits. He discovered that cholesterol added to vegetarian rabbit chow caused the formation of atherosclerotic plaques that can block arteries and contribute to heart disease.
At the time, scientists were aware that there had been a dramatic increase in heart disease compared to the beginning of the twentieth century when heart disease caused no more than 10% of all deaths, much less than diseases such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.
By 1950, Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) was the leading cause of death in the United States, causing more than 30% of all deaths.

The Kritchevsky papers lent apparent support to the lipid hypothesis which is the idea that saturated fat and cholesterol from animal-based foodstuffs raise cholesterol levels in the blood, leading to deposition of cholesterol and fatty material as pathogenic plaques in the arteries.
Kritchevsky’s animal findings were assumed to be relevant to the human CHD problem. The lipid hypothesis was assumed to be a valid explanation for the new epidemic of heart disease which, it was assumed, could be avoided by reducing animal products in the diet.
However, in the years that followed, several population studies showed that the animal model, especially one based on vegetarian animals, was not a valid approach to studying heart disease in human omnivores.
One study on the Japanese population showed that the Japanese had almost as much pathogenic plaque as the Americans even though the Japanese diet at the time was much lower in animal products and fat.
A 1957 study of the mostly vegetarian Bantu found that they had as much plaque buildup in the arteries as other races from South Africa who ate more meat.
A 1958 study found that black Jamaicans had a degree of atherosclerosis comparable to that found in the US, although they suffered from lower rates of heart disease.
The 1968 International Atherosclerosis Project, in which over 22,000 autopsies were performed in 14 different countries showed the same degree of atheroma in all parts of the world. The same degree of atheroma was found in populations that consumed large amounts of fatty animal products compared to those that were mostly vegetarian. The same degree of atheroma was found in populations that had a great deal of heart disease and in populations that had very little or none at all.
A 1994 study in the Lancet showed that almost three-quarters of the fat in artery clogs is unsaturated. Indicating that the “artery-clogging” fats are not animal fats but vegetable oils.
All of these studies pointed to the fact that the lipid hypothesis was wrong and could not explain what caused the tendency towards fatal blood clots that caused myocardial infarction (heart attack) in humans.

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