Science & Fun - Jonathan Graehl

 An excellent study published in 2006 compared two groups of people at risk for heart disease: those given a high dose of statins and those given a low dose. The high dose reducd LDL cholesterol levels; as it was meant to; the low dose did not. But there was no effect on coronary heart disease progression. After a year of statins, persons in both groups had increased their coronary artery calcification score by the same amount — about 25%. Totally contradicting the cholesterol hypothesis.

From Seth Roberts, who eats half a stick of butter a day, and after a year of that (for whatever reason) his coronary artery calcification score decreased 24%.

(LDL is the “bad” cholesterol)

I’ve been increasing my butter intake (because of supposed benefits on memory recall speed) and I haven’t felt sluggish or unhealthy. After a few months, my overall cholesterol was slightly “high” but the “good” to “bad” ratio was very favorable. I haven’t managed close to half a stick (1/4 cup) daily; that’s a lot of work. It’s nice to imagine that something delicious might be good for you (thus the popularity of dark-chocolate-benefits research and the like).

If you substitute lard or coconut oil instead of butter, which should be similarly high in saturated fat, the improvement vanishes. So it’s not just caused by increased fat or calories.