Am I lacking cholestrol

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #8

It was the notorious Ancel Keys who showed that the amount of cholesterol in the diet had no effect on cholesterol levels in the blood. He blamed atherosclerosis on saturated fat in the diet, instead.

Interestingly, the correlation between dietary fat and coronary heart disease in Keys’s famous Seven-Country Study vanishes when the data from all twenty-two countries in the study are analysed, but a correlation between dietary sugar and coronary heart disease—which Keys dismissed as unimportant—remains and is quite strong.

BTW, I wouldn’t worry overmuch about the original poster in this thread. I think we might be dealing with a troll, here.

(Joey) #9

Perhaps so… the question prompted a similar thought :thinking: but I tend to err on the side of offering the benefit of the doubt. Then again, looking at this member’s other original posts, there does seem to be a trend toward “questionable” questions. But no harm done.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #10

No harm; you’re right. And Richard likes it when erroneous information, or any kind of question, receives attention from those who can provide clarification.

(Joey) #11

That works out well. I spend most of my life paying attention to erroneous information. :+1:

(Bob M) #12

Though one wonders how bad of a troll you must be to think that there are people who only “eat” olive oil. If this person really is a troll…maybe they need more time in “troll school”? :wink:

I mean even What the Health had some potentially plausible arguments (milky blood, poor erections, eggs and smoked meat and cancer). This post about olive oil seriously lacks both credulity and plausibility, if it is a troll post.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #13

Possible. But based on her input in other topics that she started and responded to I’d guess she’s not a troll, just somewhat confused and unsure of how keto works and/or can really be of benefit. She has provided more details about herself here and here that suggest to me she’s sincere, although maybe influenced a bit too much by others around her. She’s young (mid-20s), seemingly still living at home and not fully in control of what she eats. Maybe she’s looking for counter-arguments to those who are pushing carbs on her. She has indicated multiple times that she is very small and wants to gain weight and lean mass. How to do so has been suggested several times by several different responders in various of her other posts.

Her concern about estrogen I suspect may be related to her overall small size and lack of lean mass. Maybe? Possibly nothing but olive oil is permitted in the home??? I even supplied a list of ‘my’ keto fats that includes several non-animal fats here. She never responded to my query whether or not she’s vegan or vegetarian. But if she’s only eating olive oil, my suspicion is she is or living in a veggie/vegan home environment. Just a guess.

(Joey) #14

I’m inclined to agree with your assessment. Although it may be moot: anyone eating only olive oil won’t likey be posting much longer. :roll_eyes:

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #15

Well, then, my sincerest apologies to her and to everyone for even broaching the possibility. I should have done more research than I did. Again, I’m sorry.

(Bob M) #16

Me too - about the troll part anyway.

(Joey) #17

So are we all in agreement … if the OP indeed has a challenge on her hands, it’s not likely to be a cholesterol deficiency? :nerd_face:

(Ian) #18

No.

Cholesterol is essential for so many functions in the body that your liver makes enough every day and makes way more than you eat. I think the dietary contribution is around 20%.

This is one of the reasons the Ancel Keys hate on for cholesterol was so bogus.

#19

Meaning fat calories? Or meaning you’re ONLY consuming olive oil? I don’t see how it’s possible to only get cholesterol from Olive Oil eating keto… or any WOE.

(Joey) #20

I’ve read similar reports of the 80/20 proportions. Nonetheless, wouldn’t concerns re: potential lack of dietary cholesterol pale by comparison to the challenges of starvation (and olive oil poisoning)? :wink:

#21

I would think the percentage wildly varies, it would make sense… It’s clearly 0% from dietary cholesterol for people who eat zero cholesterol… And why would my body makes 80% when I eat 14 eggs on a fine day (okay, that’s my personal record, my average is maybe 7 since at least a decade)… But I am quite unsure about the latter, I just would think no need to make cholesterol if my diet has plenty…

(Joey) #22

I guess what I’m confused about is how one could survive on a zero cholesterol diet… Wouldn’t that imply a zero fat and/or zero protein diet? And wouldn’t that lead to starvation and death? :thinking:

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #23

It is possible to eat a low-cholesterol diet. In particular, if you eat mostly plant foods, you won’t find any cholesterol in them, though they contain plenty of other sterols. But a low-cholesterol diet is fine, as long as we get enough saturated and monounsaturated fat. There are plenty of plant sources of protein, although you have to mix and match them properly, in order to get all the necessary amino acids in the correct proportions. (That’s why eating meat is so much easier.)

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #24

Olive oil has zero cholesterol. I presume that’s the gist of the OP question if the only fat she consumes contains no cholesterol will that have a negative impact on her estrogen and/or other hormones. She mentioned here that she has other issues, which I think are symptoms of protein deficiency.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #25

A diet high in polyunsaturated fats has been shown to lower serum cholesterol, but olive oil is mostly monounsaturated, with very little polyunsaturated fat. It should be fine, I think.

However, more and more I begin to think that meat and very little plant food is the proper human diet.

(Joey) #26

Low cholesterol, for sure. I thought that typically goes hand-in-glove with a low-fat diet. Is it possible to eat zero cholesterol and survive?

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #27

The body makes cholesterol from saturated and monounsaturated fat, particularly the former. That is why Ancel Keys was not concerned with dietary cholesterol, because it has so little effect on serum cholesterol levels. He blamed saturated fat for high serum cholesterol, and hence coronary heart disease (which we know was justified solely because he cherry-picked his data).