Most heart-healthy lifestyle habits are self-explanatory, but the term “healthy eating” is ambiguous… and when it comes to heart health, it’s probably not what you think. Contrary to popular belief, refined carbohydrates, sugar, and processed foods are the real culprits— not the saturated fats found in foods like butter, lard, or eggs.Diseases
Part of the confusion surrounding fats revolves around their impact on LDL cholesterol, often referred to as “bad” cholesterol. According to the conventional view, high LDL is correlated with heart disease, and saturated fats tend to raise LDL. However, we now understand that there are two types of LDL cholesterol particles:
LDL cholesterol is small and dense
High and low LDL cholesterol
The latter is not “bad” at all. Studies have confirmed that large LDL particles do not contribute to heart disease . Small, dense LDL particles, however, do contribute to plaque buildup in the arteries, and trans fats increase small, dense LDL. Saturated fats, on the other hand, increase large, light LDL.
Most importantly, research has also shown that small, dense LDL particles are increased by eating sugar and refined carbohydrates, such as bread, bagels, and sodas. Together, trans fats and refined carbohydrates do more harm than saturated fats alone.Anatomy
Unfortunately, when the cholesterol hypothesis took hold, the food industry switched to low-fat foods, replacing healthy saturated fats like butter and lard with harmful trans fats (hydrogenated vegetable oils, margarine, etc.), and lots of refined sugar and processed fructose .
