Eat Bacon, Butter, Eggs, and Cheese

By Dr. Mercola

In a survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the vast majority of Americans (76 percent) said they had had their cholesterol level checked at least once in the previous five years.¹

Despite the commonality of the cholesterol test, many are seriously misled about what the results of the test mean. Many people aren’t even receiving a useful cholesterol test at all.

A total cholesterol test, for instance, tells you practically nothing about your health. What you really need to know is how much high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) you have and, beyond that, the size of the LDL particles.

If you’re confused, it’s not your fault. Cholesterol has been a highly publicized scapegoat for causing heart disease for decades, and many have diligently cut all cholesterol-rich foods (which are often also nutrient-rich foods) from their diets as a result.body.

How to Protect Your Heart Health

Are you looking for a non-drug way to boost your heart health? Here are some of my top recommendations:

• Reduce, with the plan of eliminating, grains and sugars in your diet. It is vitally important to eliminate gluten-containing grains and sugars, especially fructose.
• Consume a good portion of your food raw.
• Make sure you are getting plenty of high-quality, animal-based omega-3 fats, such as krill oil. Research suggests that as little as 500 mg of krill per day may improve your total cholesterol and triglycerides and will likely increase your HDL cholesterol.
• Replace harmful vegetable oils and synthetic trans fats with healthy fats, such as olive oil, butter, avocado, pastured eggs and coconut oil (remember olive oil should be used cold only, use coconut oil for cooking and baking).
• Include fermented foods in your daily diet. This will not only optimize your intestinal microflora, which will boost your overall immunity, it will also introduce beneficial bacteria into your mouth. Poor oral health is another powerful indicator of increased heart disease risk.
• Optimize your vitamin D levels, ideally through appropriate sun exposure as this will allow your body to also create vitamin D sulfate—another factor that may play a crucial role in preventing the formation of arterial plaque.
• Exercise regularly. Make sure you incorporate high-intensity interval exercises, which also optimize your human growth hormone (HGH) production.
• Avoid smoking or drinking alcohol excessively.
• Be sure to get plenty of high-quality, restorative sleep.
• Practice regular stress-management techniques.

Sources and References

• STAT News April 4, 2016
• Epoch Times April 1, 2016

• ¹ WebMD September 6, 2012
• ² Nature Communications December 4, 2012; 3:1249
• ³ Journal of Nutrition Nov 1990, 120:11S:1433-1436
• ⁴ TIME February 11, 2015
• ⁵ 2015 DGAC Meeting December 15, 2014
• ⁶ Science Daily February 10, 2010
• ⁷ BMJ 2013;346:e8707 [Epub ahead of print]
• ⁸ Am J Clin Nutr May 1998 vol. 67 no. 5 828-836
• ⁹ Authority Nutrition December 2015
• ¹⁰ The New York Times April 4, 2016
• ¹¹ Expert Rev Clin Pharmacol. 2015 Mar;8(2):201-10.
• ¹² Stats.org

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