Part 3: Cholesterol Isn’t Your Enemy (the “low-fat” story is finally unraveling)

Last week we talked about why cholesterol isn’t the villain it’s been made out to be. This post is the supporting evidence + reframing—because the narrative most of us were raised on (“saturated fat is bad,” “cholesterol is the enemy,” “swap animal fats for industrial oils”) is being challenged on multiple fronts. (Link to original post: https://www.skool.com/bedrock-nation-8489/cholesterol-part-1-cholesterol-isnt-the-villain?p=1bfd1cc4 )

Recently, even federally, the messaging is shifting toward simpler, whole-food guidance—a major departure from the old era of fear-based nutrition visuals and blanket limits.

How we got here: the low-fat era shaped a generation

For decades, public nutrition messaging was built around a few simple “rules”:

Reduce total fat
Reduce saturated fat
Reduce cholesterol (often capped at ~300 mg/day)

That framework shows up clearly in the historical federal guidance.

But over time, even the federal government began walking back the idea that dietary cholesterol itself should be tightly restricted.

The 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines explicitly stated that cholesterol is no longer a nutrient of concern for overconsumption, shifting the focus toward overall eating patterns.

And just days ago, the newest federal guidance emphasized “eat real food” and minimizing highly processed foods—another big shift in tone from the old “low-fat everything” era.

Misconception #1: “High total cholesterol = shorter life”

Reality: In older adults, many studies show that lower total cholesterol (TC) is often associated with higher all-cause mortality, and the relationship can become inverse in advanced age.

Here’s the evidence (total cholesterol focus):

Framingham Heart Study: TC was positively associated with all-cause mortality at age 40, negligible at 50–70, and negative at age 80 (higher TC associated with lower all-cause mortality).
Adults >85 (Lancet): Higher total cholesterol in the “oldest old” was associated with longevity, with lower mortality from cancer and infection reported in that cohort.
Honolulu Heart Program (men 71–93): Persistently low cholesterol over time was linked with higher mortality in this elderly cohort.
Massive cohort (12.8 million adults, Korea): A U-shaped association between total cholesterol and all-cause mortality (risk is not linear; “lower is always better” doesn’t hold across ages).

Why would “lower cholesterol” correlate with higher mortality in the elderly?

Because cholesterol doesn’t “clog arteries”—it’s foundational biology:

Structural component of cell membranes
Building block for steroid hormones
Needed for bile acids and vitamin D production

And there’s another critical point:

The “terminal decline” problem (reverse causation)

In many older adults, total cholesterol drops in the final years of life due to frailty, inflammation, under-eating, chronic illness, or declining liver function—so low TC can be an indicator of problems.

A large UK CPRD cohort study (ages ~80–105) investigated exactly this and documented declining TC approaching death.

Translation: The body isn’t “healthier” because cholesterol is low— it’s low because the body is losing resilience.

Misconception #2: “Cholesterol in food = cholesterol in your blood”

Reality: For most people, dietary cholesterol has a smaller effect on blood cholesterol than previously believed, which is part of why federal guidance stopped treating it as a strict “limit number.”

The 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines backed away from a hard cholesterol cap and emphasized patterns instead.
The American Heart Association has also discussed this shift while still emphasizing overall cardiometabolic risk and LDL-driven plaque biology (especially in higher-risk groups).

Key reframe: Your body manufactures a lot of cholesterol because it’s useful. The question is less “How low can we drive the number?” and more “What is your terrain doing with it?”

Foundational Concept: You need to make real food the baseline:

The best oils for cooking are butter, tallow, ghee, olive oil, & avocado oil.
Avoid inflammatory seed oils (See our Seed Oils: The Silent Saboteur here: https://www.skool.com/bedrock-nation-8489/seed-oils-the-silent-saboteur?p=48a2358a )
If your fats are coming mostly from chips, drive-thru, fried foods, and packaged snacks… the terrain is going to show it.

The Bedrock Reframe: cholesterol is context, not a character villain:

Instead of obsessing over a single number, zoom out:

Stronger “terrain signals” to care about:

Triglycerides (TG)/ HDL Ratio (which optimally should be 1.5 or les)
HDL/ Total Cholesterol Ration (which optimally should be 0.24 or higher)
Waist circumference / visceral fat trend
Fasting insulin (more telling than A1c + fasting glucose)
hs-CRP / inflammation
Sleep, strength, stress load

Because cardiovascular risk isn’t “cholesterol vs no cholesterol.”It’s inflammation + insulin resistance + vascular damage + nutrient depletion over time.

Practical “no-fear” takeaways:

Stop treating Total Cholesterol as a moral grade.
Do not be coerced into using statins to "reduce cholesterol"
Focus on real food first (protein, minerals, whole-food fats, fiber as tolerated, particularly prebiotic fibers).
If your provider is pushing aggressive lipid lowering, demand a fuller risk conversation: inflammation, insulin resistance, family history, imaging (when appropriate), and symptom context. If they don't understand - fire them!

References:

Kronmal RA et al. Framingham: total cholesterol & mortality by age.
Weverling-Rijnsburger AWE et al. Lancet 1997: total cholesterol & mortality in the oldest old.
Schatz IJ et al. Honolulu Heart Program: cholesterol & mortality in elderly men.
Yi SW et al. Sci Rep 2019: U-shaped TC & all-cause mortality (12.8M cohort).
Charlton J et al. CPRD cohort: TC declines approaching death over age 80.
Dietary Guidelines history + 2015 cholesterol shift.
Cochrane 2020 + AHA 2017 on saturated fat replacement.

Live Science (this week):

New US food pyramid recommends very high protein diet, beef tallow as healthy fat option, and full-fat dairy

theguardian.com

Trump administration releases updated dietary guidelines: 'Eat real food'

businessinsider.com

What 'healthy fats' actually are — and how to choose the right ones for your diet

Today

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