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Does eating a high-fat diet raise cholesterol?

For decades, dietary fat has been villainised as the cause of high cholesterol and heart disease. Even though researchers have long disproven this notion, myths surrounding fat and cholesterol continue to dominate headlines, and doctors as well as government guidelines continue to recommend low-fat diets to the public. Based on years of contradictory advice, you may rightly be confused.

In this blog, I’ll clear up the confusion surrounding fat, cholesterol and their role in health and heart disease once and for all.

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that's found in ALL the cells in your body. It’s actually super important for your health. Your body needs cholesterol to make hormones, convert sunlight to vitamin D, make synapses connecting brain cells and to make bile which helps you digest food. We need lots of cholesterol to live and to heal, which is why our body manufactures it all on its own in the liver. In fact, the body makes more cholesterol than what you can eat, so avoiding foods that are high in cholesterol won’t impact your blood cholesterol levels significantly. So, as you can see cholesterol isn’t the bad guy lurking in your eggs and bacon, ready to pounce and cause you a sudden stroke.

So, why are so afraid of cholesterol?

Certain types of cholesterol (LDL) can become sticky and build up as plaque in our arteries leading to obstructions of blood flow leading to heart attack or stroke. What leads to the increase and build-up of sticky cholesterol has been the subject of much debate and confusion perpetrated by none other than the sugar industry. Big surprise!

In the 1960s the sugar industry paid a couple of Harvard scientists to play down the link between sugar and heart disease and promote saturated fat as the culprit instead(1). This means that decades of research into the role of nutrition in heart disease, including many of today’s government dietary guidelines, have been largely shaped by the sugar industry. 

Davinia Taylor - "Don't be afraid of healthy fats and cholesterol in your diet"

Does eating fat cause high cholesterol?

As with everything in life, nothing is black and white, and the answer is more complex than a simple yes or no. General advice to cut fat from your diet isn’t nuanced enough to distinguish between a plate of chips swimming in canola oil and the unsaturated good fat found in avocado.

Recent research has shown no consistent link between dietary fat intake and heart disease. Saturated fat, the most unnecessarily demonised of all fats has not been found to increase levels of the worrisome sticky cholesterol that can clog up our arteries(2). In fact researchers found that a high-fat diet was actually associated with an increase in good (HDL) cholesterol levels.

When it comes to fat, what matters most is the type of fat you eat. Some fats will contribute to your health while other will detract from it, knowing the difference is crucial to preventing disease and living a healthy life.

The key is to eat mostly “good” unsaturated fats, moderate amounts of saturated fat, and avoid “bad” trans fats like the plague itself. For more on different types of fats have a read of my previous blog Fats – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Excess sugar - the most powerful driver of sticky cholesterol production

Sugar, in all its forms including bread, pasta, crackers, bagels, fruit juice, soda and alcohol create insulin spikes which increase weight gain, sticky cholesterol production and inflammation in your arteries. Inflammation leads to the thickening of the walls of your blood vessels and plaque formation, ultimately resulting in heart attack or stroke.

For those of us who haven’t damaged their blood vessels by mainlining processed, carb-laden food, cholesterol flows through the body unobstructed and is allowed to go about its business of being essential to our health.

What affects the amount of inflammation in your body is what you eat, how active you are, your level of stress, and other lifestyle-related factors such as smoking.

How to decrease your risk of heart disease & stroke

Instead of worrying about your cholesterol numbers, adopt a healthy lifestyle focused on reducing inflammation. Eat more anti-inflammatory omega 3s from fatty fish and olive oil, and less omega 6s and trans fats.

When it comes to saturated fat, stick to grass-fed beef, coconut oil and MCT oil rather than fried food or processed meat. MCT oil has actually been found to increase good cholesterol while decreasing the sticky type we don’t want to clog our arteries. I love to add mine to my morning coffee to protect my heart health and for an extra boost of energy.

As well as adding in the good stuff make sure to limit the amount of processed carbs in your diet and replace them with antioxidant rich vegetables and whole grains.

In short; eat well, stay active, keep your stress to a minimum and support your body in performing functions that it’s meant to do, and you won’t have to worry about your cholesterol levels.

PS. There are certain genetic conditions such as familial hypercholesterolemia that may require medication or a different dietary approach. 

Be well!
Davinia xx

Will Powder Supplements 

MCT Keto Powder
MCT Keto Powder

MCT Keto Powder

£21.99
MCT C8 Oil from WillPowders
MCT Oil - Pure C8
MCT C8 Oil from WillPowders
MCT Oil - Pure C8

MCT Oil - Pure C8

£21.99

Size: 500ml

Our original Phat Fuel. WillPowders Pure C8 MCT Oil supports a Keto and Paleo lifestyle by providing the body with good fats; Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT’s) sourced from premium coconuts in Indonesia. Our C8 MCT oil is vegan, versatile, unflavoured and NEVER blended with any palm oil.

MCT oil is a supplement that has become popular among Biohackers, bodybuilders and those opting for a higher-fat, lower-carb diet for weight loss, better energy and even those who are interested in its neuro-protective qualities. 

What’s so great about MCTs is that when ingested, your body converts them into ketones—a more clean and sustainable form of energy. Since MCTs easily enter your cells without being broken down, they can be used as an immediate source of energy. These ketones help you burn fat for energy rather than glucose (derived from carbs) which in turn can aid in weight loss, boosts energy and even enhances cognitive function (when carbohydrate intake is low). Add it to coffee or other drinks to crush cravings for sugary snacks and ultra-processed foods.

The ketones produced by MCTs are thought to provide immediate energy to neurons, without the inflammation and crash that comes along with sugar spikes. Being a cleaner, more sustainable form of energy, burning ketones may do away with the brain fog, the tip-of-the-tongue moments, and give you clearer mind. This will also help enhance mood and memory.

When first taking MCT Oil, please introduce this slowly. Start with a very small serving (approx. 1/2 teaspoon) and increase daily to the recommended tablespoon if your body responds well. It's very powerful and can cause digestive upset if your body is not used to it. If you feel a small amount of digestive upset, stay on the same does for a few days until you feel ready to increase it.  A very few people find MCT Oil too powerful.

 Why incorporate MCT Oil into your daily routine?

It's Not a Diet Book by Davinia Taylor
It's Not A Diet - Signed Copy
It's Not a Diet Book by Davinia Taylor
It's Not A Diet - Signed Copy

It's Not A Diet - Signed Copy

£12.99

Why stress causes weight gain
How fasting makes you less hungry
Why sunflower oil is unhealthy
How cold showers can cut your carb cravings

'If I could give you one bit of advice right now, it would be to take all the energy you're putting into fad diets and put it into becoming the most genuinely healthy version of you. If you've got a plan, you're already halfway there. And now you've got this book, you've got one.'

I was overweight, depressed and unmotivated. I couldn't walk around the block, let alone go for a run or do an exercise class, and I struggled to keep up with my young sons. In desperation I turned to biohacking to sort my head out - the unexpected bonus was that I lost nearly three stone and I have kept it off for years through a series of health tricks from cold showers, to MCT oil, to ancestral eating. 

I spent tens of thousands of pounds on specialists and Harley Street doctors, trying the most cutting-edge therapies available, only to discover that the true secrets of feeling amazing are very easy and affordable. Start with eating for your mental health, and weight loss is an effortless side effect.

Divided into four sections: Mood, Food, Movement and Rest, my book takes a holistic approach to weight loss, reminding you that true health is not just about what you eat. It's Not a Diet concludes with a two-week reset programme to put my advice into action easily and achievably.