Tim Noakes - UCT Faculty of Health Sciences Centenary Debate

The UCT Faculty of Health Sciences centenary debate between Prof. Tim Noakes and Dr. Jacques E Rossouw on the topic of: "Cholesterol is not an important risk factor for heart disease and current dietary recommendations do more harm than good"

Fear of Fat

A little background as to why we have come to fear fat.

Ancel Keys, a physiologist, reasoned that saturated fat and cholesterol caused heart disease. At the time (1957) his peers criticized his recommendation as no studies were done. Even the American Heart Foundation (AHA) was opposed.

In 1961 the AHA had a change of "heart" (change of board members, Ancel Keys himself was added to the board.) Even though there was no evidence that saturated fat and cholesterol causes heart disease, these recommendations were adopted.
And then there was the shocking Time magazine cover in 1984 that proclaimed that the AHA was right all along. This was the nail in the coffin of common sense as the study it referenced was based on junk science.

Getting back to present day and the fear of fat.

Since we’ve been getting involved in the Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) community and spreading the word. We’ve heard from people that what we have been saying, what the evidence and the results show, makes sense. And quite a few are now interested in following similar eating habits.

However what we’ve found is that the mental paradigm shift, where fat is your primary fuel source and carbohydrate is to be limited, is just too hard to overcome.

So let’s look at some the misconceptions about eating fats.

Eating fat will make me fat

This is not true. Over eating and not being able to satisfy your hunger will lead to weight gain. Eating fat will make you feel full and you will naturally know when to stop eating.  Ask yourself how much pasta or french fries you can eat in one sitting. Now ask yourself how much cheese, fatty meat and eggs can you eat in one sitting.

Eating fat will raise my cholesterol

This could be true but in a good way. Eating a LCHF diet will increase your HDL and reduce the amount of LDL small particles. This could result in a very healthy increase in total cholesterol. As for my own experience, my total cholesterol has gone down since eating a LCHF diet. Did you know 50% of people that get heart attacks have a total cholesterol under 5mmol/L?  And also woman with high cholesterol live longer.

Eating too much saturated fat (Animal fat, butter and coconut oil) will lead to heart disease
Also not true, our body naturally makes saturated fat from excess carbs and stores it. Why would we make and store something that is so harmful? There is also no link between saturated fat and heart disease. The only bad fat, found in processed foods, is trans-fat.

It is coming to light that heart disease and other adult disease are caused by chronic inflammation in the body. These adult diseases include heart disease, cancer, arthritis and neuro-degenerative diseases (alzheimer’s). Diet plays a huge part in controlling chronic inflammation. Here is a list of inflammatory foods found on Oprah.com

Embrace fat with adequate protein and limit your carbohydrate intake. Of course, sugar in all of its forms should be avoided.

By eating fat you will be satisfied and will not remain in a state of hunger. Your body will readily use fat for energy and does not need carbohydrate for energy. Eating LCHF means you avoiding inflammatory foods and hence reduce your chances of getting an adult on set disease.

Ocean Basket Bay to Bay 30km on Zero Carbs

 
What a brilliant run. This run is probably aimed at runners with more experience and shouldn't be take lightly. The distance is perceptive since the challenging part is more the elevation. The initial down hill encourages you to charge but you have to hold back and save reserves for the return leg up Suikerbossie.

Wesley and I have of course been on LCHF for 3 months and this would be our first real test of our Keto-adapted state. From an energy point of view, neither of us felt the need to add carbs, in fact I only had a small bowl of full cream yoghurt and half a cup of coffee before the run. During the race i drank mainly water but not much and some of our home mad electrolyte drink. I will probably forgo this in the future as well.

 

 

 

Is High Cholesterol Bad?

I am by no means an expert in cholesterol and so for this article I thought I would compile a list articles and resources from people that are experts.
Hopefully this will give you enough information to do further research and provide you with questions that you can ask your doctor.
Lets quickly go over some of the myths and facts about cholesterol.
This is taken from an article by Jonny Bowden, co-author of The Great Cholesterol Myth.
Myth: High cholesterol is the cause of heart disease.
Fact: Cholesterol is a fairly insignificant player in heart disease.
Myth: High cholesterol is a good predictor of heart attacks.
Fact: High cholesterol is a lousy predictor of heart attacks. Half the people admitted to hospitals with heart disease have normal cholesterol, and plenty of people with elevated cholesterol have perfectly healthy hearts.
Myth: Lowering cholesterol with statin drugs will prolong your life.
Fact: There is no data showing statins have any impact on longevity.
Myth: Statin drugs are perfectly safe.
Fact: Statin drugs have significant side effects, including loss of memory and libido, muscle pain and fatigue, and approximately 65 per cent of doctors don't report those side effects, according to a 2007 study.
Myth: Statin drugs are appropriate for men, women, children and the elderly.
Fact: The only group in which statins have been shown to have even a modest effect is in middle-aged men who've already had a heart attack. If you're not in that group, you've got no business on a statin drug.
Myth: Saturated fat is dangerous.
Fact: Saturated fat is mostly neutral and may even have some health benefits. A recent peer-reviewed study has shown no association between saturated fat and heart disease.
Myth: The higher your cholesterol, the shorter your lifespan.
Fact: In the Framingham Study, the people who actually lived the longest had the highest cholesterol.
Myth: A high-carbohydrate diet protects you from heart disease.
Fact: Diets that substitute carbohydrates for saturated fat may actually increase the risk for heart disease.

The video below is a summary of a study done by the World Health Organisation.

 

And finally this video as why to the current thinking around cholesterol is bull shit!
 

Take Control of your Health Today

The New Year is great time to re-evaluate and set new goals. When it comes to health we always told to eat a healthy diet and get lots exercise. This advice is of course spot on and we should be doing exactly that. But what does ‘eating a healthy diet’ mean? How do you start exercising so that it doesn’t feel like hard work or take from other commitments?

Here at The Health Fanatic we hope to provide you with information and offer support to get you started on a journey of healthy living and also motivate and support you in sustaining your healthy living lifestyle. Our aim is to connect people with common wellness goals and share real life experiences so that we can truly begin to understand what works and what doesn’t.

So first and foremost let’s look at diet and try and establish what ‘eating healthy’ means.

The Health Fanatic promotes a Low Carbohydrate High Fat (LCHF) diet. Furthermore we encourage everyone to eat real whole foods and to avoid processed foods. The rule of thumb is if you can’t pronounce an ingredient or don’t know what it is, then don’t eat it. And the big one - SAY NO TO SUGAR!

A LCHF diet, as the name implies, means eating foods that are low in carbohydrate and high in fats. In later articles we will look at various forms of low carbohydrate diets but essentially you are looking at restricting carbohydrates to fewer than 50 grams per day. Eating a LCHF diet is of course not recommended by the authorities and medical establishment. In recent years, more and more medical practitioners are coming to the conclusion that what they have been taught is wrong.  The great South African example would be Professor Tim Noakes, who for years prescribed a diet high in carbohydrates, is now one of the leading proponents of LCHF diets.

So what are the benefits of eating a LCHF diet? In short, whilst on LCHF diet you will lose weight if you are overweight. Blood sugar levels and insulin levels will remain constant. LCHF diets contain foods which are by nature non-inflammatory, an important contributor to heart health. Recent research has shown that eating a LCHF diet greatly reduces the occurrence of cancer.

Because LCHF is so radical for most people, you should take your time to do some research and look at what other people have experienced.

We looked at diet first, since getting fit and active relies so much on the food you eat.

Regular exercise should not feel like work and it should be an enjoyable experience that you look forward to do every day. If it’s not, then what’s the point? Exercise can be social where you engage in activities with a group. South Africa has an abundance of sports and athletic clubs which most people are not even aware of. It can also be a solitary experience if you looking to get some time for yourself. It can also be family experience where all members of family can be active together. The biggest excuse one hears is that there is no time to exercise.

However staying fit is as important as eating well and getting regular sleep.

Exercise can take many forms as long as you raise your heart rate and also have some strength or resistance component to it. Raising your heart rate is good for heart health and stamina, strength or resistance training increases lean muscle mass and helps build a strong skeletal structure, whilst Yoga and Pilates assist with improving flexibility and stress.

An overall sense of wellbeing is improved by incorporating a healthy diet, regular exercise and encouraging positive relationships in our lives. We invite you to join us on our journey and look forward to you sharing your experiences.