Cholesterol is a really contentious topic nowadays. We don't know if it began on YouTube, blogs, or somewhere else, but there is currently a ferocious debate going on over whether or not dietary cholesterol is bad for the body, whether it causes heart disease, and whether it's necessary for optimal health.
The fact that there's any debate here might surprise some of you - we've been pretty certain that cholesterol causes heart disease for some time now. You can check the dietary recommendations of pretty much any professional body of cardiac specialists and they'll tell you to stay away from cholesterol.
So why is their any debate at all?
Well, according to some, this is all just misinformation!
The doctors are lying to us to rob us of our precious cholesterol. 'Big Cereal' is trying to get us to eat more of their high-margin cash crops like rice, corn and potatoes, all the while humble beef and egg farmers struggle to make a living. The sugar industry tried to paint fat (even though fat and cholesterol aren't the same thing) as the bad guy to avoid the blame for obesity.
Others don't quite go this far of course; many people simply believe that the researchers got their interpretations wrong. They think that we lived long(ish), healthy lives while eating plenty of cholesterol, so the rise in heart disease must have another culprit.
It is usually these people who claim that cholesterol isn't just OK to eat in moderation. Some of these people actually believe that we need to be eating cholesterol each and every day in order to be optimally healthy. Normally, their recommendations are directed more towards men; as we discussed in our last article, lots of men struggle with low libido. People often claim that a good way to increase your testosterone levels is to eat more cholesterol, so it is also often prescribed for low libido.
So what's the truth?!
Do we need to be eating cholesterol to stay optimally healthy?
Does it really cause heart disease?
Let's take a look at the facts and see which side of the debate is more convincing.
Do We Need To Eat Cholesterol?
No.
You do not need to eat cholesterol. It is not a necessary nutrient. Your body makes cholesterol out of protein and lipids when it needs it.
Basically, if you're running low on cholesterol, your body will take stored triglycerides and wrap them in a protein which acts as a transport vehicle for the triglycerides. It then sends these lipoproteins out into the blood stream to be used wherever they are needed.
This joining of lipids and proteins takes place in the liver. It is a very normal bodily function - it takes place literally every day, unless you are consuming very large quantities of cholesterol per day.
A much more comprehensive breakdown of this process can be found here.
So long as you have some fat and some protein in your body, you can make all the cholesterol you need.
Let us be even more clear on this: you can go your entire life without eating any cholesterol at all and still have healthy cholesterol levels.
What do we mean by healthy cholesterol levels?
What does cholesterol do?
What Does Cholesterol Do?
Cholesterol is necessary for a number of things - that's why the body evolved to make it. Think about it; if our distant ancestors needed cholesterol but were unable to make their own, they probably would have died off the quickest during prolonged periods of famine.
The most important thing that cholesterol does is make up your cell membranes. It is a major constituent in practically all cell membranes in the body (we actually think it might be in literally every cell membrane).
Cholesterol is necessary for the formation of hormones - such as testosterone - and the transportation of fat-soluble vitamins around the body.
Another important function of cholesterol is the creation of bile acids. Without cholesterol, you wouldn't be able to make bile, which means you wouldn't be able to digest food properly, especially fatty food.
So no cholesterol, no food digestion, no cell membrane creation, and no hormones.
A pretty damn important substance - NO WONDER THE BODY MAKES ITS OWN!
Does Cholesterol Cause Heart Disease?
Yes. The evidence is as clear as day on this one.
Instead of flogging this dead horse any more, here are a few studies and articles you can read:
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/JAHA.118.008819
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/363237
http://acpjc.acponline.org/Content/122/3/issue/ACPJC-1995-122-3-067.htm