Let’s Ditch the Old Myths!
For decades, we’ve been fed a narrative that cholesterol and dietary fats are the ultimate villains destroying our health. We’ve been told to strip every drop of natural fat from our diets, including those from natural sources that have nourished humans for centuries, all in an effort to ‘protect our hearts, stay slim, and live for as long as possible’, with no mention of the ultra-processed foods and lifestyle habits that are really destroying our health.
If you’re reading this, you might believe that margarine, seed oils and reducing red meat is how to live a healthy, happy life because that’s what nutrition science has told us. But when you look at the actual science—and ancestral nutrition—the reality is completely different.
Let’s look at the myths of cholesterol and dietary fats together so you can understand what human anthropology and vitalism or what I call ‘common sense’, actually shows us about eating well.
Myth 1: Eating Cholesterol Raises Your Blood Cholesterol
Eating wholesome, cholesterol-rich foods does not automatically spike the cholesterol levels in your bloodstream!
Cholesterol is naturally found in the cell membranes of land animals (plants never make it). When you eat cholesterol from real animal foods, your incredibly intelligent body self-regulates. Your body can read the signals of what the food you’re putting into your body — when it’s natural — and adjust accordingly! Your liver steps back and reduces its own internal production. For most people, dietary cholesterol has a balanced effect on overall blood levels.
Nature designed our bodies with these built-in feedback loops—we don’t need to fear nutrient-dense foods!
Myth 2: Cholesterol Causes Alzheimer’s Disease
Answer me this: Why are chronic disorders like Alzheimer’s disease and dementia on the rise in Australian citizens when the low-fat agenda is pushed by marketing and the medical system every day? Blaming cholesterol for complex brain conditions like Alzheimer’s is way too simplistic—and the human data just doesn’t back it up.
While early rabbit studies tried to link high-cholesterol diets to brain plaque (beta-amyloid), human research shows a very different story:
- The Framingham Study: Long-term studies tracking older adults (65+) over decades found no link whatsoever between total blood cholesterol levels and the risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s.
- Lower Cholesterol in AD Patients: Meta-analyses of clinical studies actually found that people living with Alzheimer’s often have lower blood cholesterol levels compared to healthy controls!
Your brain needs healthy fats and cholesterol to function. Total blood cholesterol alone is simply not a predictor of cognitive decline and, in fact, supplementing natural foods like olive oil, eggs, butter and avocados with ultra-processed foods is not only not improving your cholesterol but actively harming your body.
Myth 3: All Fats Are Bad for You
Fat is an essential macronutrient, fundamental for building healthy cell membranes, balancing hormones, and absorbing crucial nutrients. It all comes down to eating real, unadulterated fats as nature intended, without the interference of chemical processing and genetic modification.
Essential Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fats (PUFAs)
Your body can’t produce essential fats like linoleic acid (Omega-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (Omega-3)—you have to get them through your diet. Marine-derived Omega-3s (EPA and DHA found in wild-caught fish) bring incredible benefits:
- Heart Health: Populations that eat plenty of wild fish consistently show lower rates of heart disease and healthier lipid balances.
- Lowering Triglycerides: Omega-3s help switch off genes involved in fat synthesis and turn on genes that burn fat, lowering blood triglycerides naturally.
- Soothing Inflammation: EPA and DHA reduce morning stiffness, joint swelling, and pain in conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.
Natural Saturated & Monounsaturated Fats
Monounsaturated fats (like oleic acid in extra virgin olive oil) and natural saturated fats (found in butter, coconut oil, and pasture-raised meats) have nourished human populations for generations. They play key structural roles in our cells and support healthy metabolism.
The Real Issue: Man-Made Trans Fats
While natural, whole fats have been wrongly demonised, processed trans fats are a genuine toxic nightmare for human health.
Trans fats are man-made creations born out of industrial processing and hydrogenation (think hard margarines, packaged cookies, deep-fried fast food, and processed snacks). Research shows that even tiny amounts—just 2% of your daily intake—cause serious harm:
- Heart Disease: Trans fats lower your good HDL cholesterol while driving up dangerous small, dense LDL particles and triglycerides.
- Diabetes: The Nurses’ Health Study followed over 84,000 women for 14 years and found that while natural saturated and total fat intake didn’t cause Type 2 diabetes, industrial trans fats significantly increased the risk!
- Pregnancy & Infant Health: Trans fats pass through the placenta to the baby, shortening pregnancy duration, lowering birth weights, and increasing the risk of preeclampsia.
- Blocking Essential Fats: Trans fats interfere with your liver enzymes, blocking your body from converting essential fatty acids into the long-chain fats needed for brain health and vision.
The Bottom Line
- Ditch the fear: Stop worrying about natural cholesterol from real, whole foods.
- Embrace real fats: Nourish your body with wild-caught fish, extra virgin olive oil, pasture-raised meats, butter, and healthy plant fats.
- Avoid ultra-processed fats: Read your labels carefully and completely eliminate hydrogenated oils, vegetable oil spreads, and processed packaged foods!
