Cholesterol, causation or just correlation for Heart Disease?

[thescrawnycaveman]

Hey guys, long time no see!

I was wondering if any of you guys knew of any studies (preferably peer-reviewed studies that have been published in academic journals) related to whether or not cholesterol is a correlation or causation to heart disease? So basically, is cholesterol a reason why heart disease occurs or is it merely involved in the process? (if you find a bandaid on a cut, it doesn't mean it caused the cut but was just a part of the overall event of getting cut).

Thanks for any help you can provide!!

[Lefeux]

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/cholesterol/#axzz25Zkjy600 Check this link out. And from reading this link as well: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/definitive-guide-grains/#axzz25ZkxcZkF, it is my understanding that cholesterol really doesn't impact heart disease as much as CW (conventional wisdom) advocates, but more that grains produce a dense LDL which is what saturates the walls of the arteries, causing the irritation and blockage that is often (and falsely) attributed to cholesterol.

[thescrawnycaveman]

I've already read through the cholesterol article on his site, and I couldn't find where he listed his sources anywhere. Am I just looking in the wrong spot or did he not feel the need to cite his claims?

I'm trying to do a research paper, so legitimate sources are highly preferred.

EDIT: Just finished reading the one on grains too. I ran into a similar problem, the only link given that was related to heart disease and diet didn't address heart disease and was actually only a link to an article about a study, not the study itself (though the study was linked at the end of the article, it wasn't in English, which makes it a bit more challenging to decipher than it already would be).

Also, I do not mean to sound rude or unappreciative, I am just trying to get the best sources possible. Thank you for your help Leefux :-)

[Lefeux]

Good question. I thought that he cited his sources (in the Primal Blueprint maybe?) but couldn't find any. He seems to be fairly receptive to readers contacting him, so perhaps you could contact him and explain that your writing a paper and would love to read through the sources that provided his information?

[thescrawnycaveman]

That's a good idea, I'll send him an e-mail and see if he's got anything to throw my way as well.

[thescrawnycaveman]

Thanks Athena. Right now (though still in the beginning stages of research), I am finding mostly studies that suggest a relationship between cholesterol and heart disease, but nothing causal. Which is all well and good except for the fact that when we try to base medicine on those finds with the assumption that causation and correlation are the same thing, it ends up killing people. http://www.ask.com/allabout?q=Torcetrapib&qsrc=416 .

I'm still in the process of combing through a LOT of research, so I was hoping maybe I could save some time if someone else knew anything. I'll give BMJ a special look to see what they have as far as this topic goes.

[Lefeux]

http://www.thepaleomom.com/category/eating-paleo/start-here-eating-paleo/the-whys-behind-paleo from the Paleo Mom about grains w/ citations. Ill see what I can find on cholesterol.

[Lefeux]

http://trusted.md/blog/vreni_gurd/2007/04/13/high_cholesterol_does_not_cause_heart_disease#axzz25aJFkriB this one is one cholesterol and is in line with what you are looking to present I think

[Lefeux]

This might be exactly what you are looking for as it comes from a heart surgeon w/ 25 years of experience and talks about eating in a paleo like way without mentioning paleo or any other kind of diet. Great read

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/242516-Heart-Surgeon-Speaks-Out-On-What-Really-Causes-Heart-Disease

Sorry my wife has given me the title of Google Master. Google and I are really good friends!!

[Lefeux]

As a side note, I have been taking a statin since 2008 for high cholesterol. Even after loosing 20-25 pounds last year, cleaning up my diet and exercising on average of 3 times a week when my full blood panel was done in July (for deployment reasons) my LDL (or the bad cholesterol) was even higher than before (I am 34 and have been taking the meds for 4 years now...) I have been Paleo for 4.5 weeks and will continue to stay as Paleo as possible until I go home in December on leave and will have a full blood panel done. I also have been off the meds for cholesterol, acid reflux, and depression for 10 days. My goal is to remain off them for as long as possible (I am monitoring my mood/energy/depression levels very closely but I find its very similar to that old saying about an insane person. An insane person never wonders if he is insane.) to see how the results go. So far so good. A mild acid reflux twinge or two (as opposed to a major flare up if I missed my medication for a little as a couple of hours) but other than that its been all good so far.

[notanartmajor]

This article is mainly talking about eggs in a diet, but there is some general diet-cholesterol information and 31 sources cited that you could investigate.

[andyTHFC]

Google Chris Masterjohn...he'll tell you all you need to now.