Help, need really good research about cholesterol!

#1

My brother has finally read up about keto and has learned a ton. He has Type 2 diabetes (takes insulin), a heart stent and just had a mini-stroke. He’s very interested in keto but his cardiologist is saying “Show me the science.”

Specifically, his doctor asked if there was any double-blind, placebo-controlled research showing cholesterol is NOT an indicator of heart disease risk. Plus, any solid research showing that a high-fat diet doesn’t cause heart disease (or showing that a high-carb diet DOES).

Anyone know if such studies exists? He wants to read the actual research, not articles about it.

Thanks!

#2

I’ve mixed feelings on that request.

Seems to me a good cardiologist would know where to find such studies and would be very interested in them. Especially if they are currently giving out medical advice related to cholesterol and heart disease.

That is, the cardiologist should already know the science. What is their advice based on?

(Full Metal KETO AF) #3

He probably won’t take time to watch a video but…

Who cares what his cardiologist thinks? Tell your brother to make his own decisions about his own health. There’s hundreds of articles and videos to support the keto position. It depends if you want the focus on diabetes or heart disease. There are studies cited in this video with a double blind placebo concerning statins and the non benefits of a low fat diet. If your brother wants to get better he should do it himself, the cardiologist isn’t going to help unless he continues with his current path and requires more surgery. He should dig into the facts on his own and not rely on your brother to “prove” it to him. What a lazy doctor. :roll_eyes:

(Christian) #4

So my opinion is that the best place for research about cholesterol is here in this forum… There is a lot of information and links concerning this topic. An excellent book with references to scientific research has been written by Ivor Cummins (Eat Rich Live Long).
But on the other hand it should not be difficult to find a lot of research which shows that diabetes is the main factor for heart disease. And Keto is the best medicine to overcome this problem.

(Bob M) #5

That’s not possible. The only thing you have is epidemiology. That is, you measure people’s “cholesterol” then compare with some metric, such as death/heart disease. But this can only prove correlation, not causation. ’

You really want your brother to eat keto and fast and get off insulin. You also want him to increase his saturated fat, as that might have a protective effect against certain types of strokes.

(Todd Allen) #6

An equally important question are there any double-blind, placebo-controlled research showing cholesterol IS an indicator of heart disease risk.

I think the answer is no to both questions.

http://www.thincs.org/ is an excellent place to start for those looking for info contesting the cholesterol hypothesis of heart disease.

#7

Your brother can ask the doctor for a double-blind placebo-controlled study showing that dietary cholesterol causes heart disease. Since humans have eaten animal fat for hundreds of thousands of years, I think the burden of proof is more appropriately placed on the folks who demonize it.

('Jackie P') #8

This links 10 studies.
(Bunny) #9

That placebo thing really is a paradox within a paradox, the mind is more powerful than people actually realize.

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Setting up an N=1 test of Ted Naiman versus Amber O'Hearn's protein theories
(Murphy Kismet) #10

THANK YOU!!
I want to scream this from rooftops.
Doctors do not have to live with our bodies. Once we’re out of their office, our lives are forgotten.
WE need to make our own decisions. Doctors do NOT know all there is to know about health. They are an OPTION.

('Jackie P') #11

I love that David Diamond video! I find him incredibly humorous and devilishly attractive!:heart_eyes:

('Jackie P') #12

Wouldn’t you like to get every ruddy study available and bury him under them😶

#13

Ohhhh – so many good points here! Thank you ALL for taking the time to respond. I agree with those who say to bury his doctor in studies, lol.

I have to deal with reality here. My brother has checked out the research, but he’s of the generation that trusts their freakin’ doctors, and his health is so precarious he’s afraid to risk anything without his doc’s blessing.

I will send him all the links you folks posted and also ask him to ask his doctor if there are any double-blind, placebo controlled studies showing cholesterol IS linked to heart disease, or that a low-fat diet does any good.

My brother gets the low carb thing for his diabetes, it’s the fat for his heart part he’s having a hard time buying into.

I love my brother a lot and was pleased he actually did a bunch of research on his own. He knows about Ancel Keys and the study that showed most heart attack patients had “normal” cholesterol. I hope I can still convince him to give up his low-fat, carby ways… wish me luck!

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #14

I lost my links in a computer accident, but I can point you to some studies. First, the research by Phinney and/or Volek into the ketogenic diet is voluminous. Go to PubMed and search on their names. Another name to search on is Uffe Ravnskov, a cholesterol researcher.

Another source of studies is to go the YouTube channel for Low Carb down Under (LCDU) and look for videos on relevant topics. The scientific presentations all have slides with data from various studies, and you can then look up the studies themselves. That will give you the names of more researchers to include in your searches.

(Bunny) #15

Resources:

[1] Virta Health Changing Status Quo in Chronic Disease Care with Strong Cardiovascular Outcomes from Type 2 Diabetes Reversal Study

[2] New study: Keto improves cardiovascular health markers

[3] Improving Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors with the Virta Treatment

[4] Blood Lipid Changes With A Well-Formulated Ketogenic Diet In Context

[5] https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/keto-family-member-has-very-high-cholesterol/87302/2?u=atomicspacebunny

[6]https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/elevated-alt-ast-and-low-alkaline-phosphatase/58484/25?u=atomicspacebunny

[7] Added Sugar Intake and Cardiovascular Diseases Mortality Among US Adults

[8] High School Health Class Project

[9] High School Health Class Project

[10] Other Hyper-responders help!