Diagnose the case - ‘cholesterol-phobia’
By MELISSA PIPER
LANCASTER la “cholesterol-phobia" becoming our
new national disease 7 If we arc to believe all we hear on
the subject then perhaps It soon may be!
Over the last three years we as Americans, have been
deluged by material (on a multi media basis) telling us on
one hand that serum cholesterol, due to eating certain
foods, can add to the risk of heart disease while food
producers lodge adamant campaigns for fresh
unadulterated meats, produce and eggs. And what are we
to believe - well the question still remains open for
discussion.
One agricultural commodity which has recently been
“grilled" on a national level is the egg. For ever since the
American Heart Association announced their “blanket
theory" concerning limiting eggs in the diet for the
American public, a constant battle has raged between the
National Commission on Egg Nutrition (NCEN) and the
American Heart Association (AHA) and last but certainly
not least - the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Following the AHA’s report for diet restriction which
included eggs, NCEN prepared a number of ads stating
that there “was absolutely no proof that eating eggs in
anyway increases the risk of heart disease.” The battle
.did not rest there however and went instead into the courts
'and finally came under a ruling by Federal Judge, Ernest
G. Bames.
In December of 1975, the judge ruled against NCEN’s
advertisements after hearing a slateful of experts who
testified from both sides of the “nest” as it were. Although
Judge Barnes indicated no medical expertise personally,
his judgement barred NCEN from running their ads
because in part he felt that there was evidence that
pointed toward eggs and foods high in cholesterol as in
creasing the nsk of heart disease.
Some previous research conducted by the American
Heart Association had pointed toward possibly linking
high cholesterol foods (eggs included) as leading to ar
terial lesions and thus adding to the risk of heart disease.
Because of these studies (which to our knowledge never
involved the whole fresh egg) the Association decided to
make public their theory on restricting cholesterol in the
diet. This concept was to aid those people who needed
specific restrictions but since no testing at that tune could
effectively screen individuals, the overall public was
encouraged to eat less eggs.
The battle between the AHA and NCEN on the point of
eggs in the diet is far from being concluded and will be
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discussed at a later date, however the eg# issue Li still
being "fried and tried "
While foods from beef to butler to mayonnaise have
been given the "evil-eye." eggs have certainly received
much of the blame for containing high amounts of
cholesterol And while research is still looking for the
answers, many leading cardiologists still claim that
eating eggs will not harm the average person In fact
cholesterol la necessary for nerves in the body to transmit
impulses throughout the body for without enough
cholesterol the nervous system could not work Any
High in protein hut
animal-oriented foods add cholesterol to the body but even
if no cholesterol was injested into the system the body
would still manufacture the component at a steady rate. It
is also interesting to note that the less cholesterol a person
eats the more his body makes.
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what about cholesterol?
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As In any type of disorder or disease though, people who
arc prone to heart disease possibly through heredity
should perhaps limit Ihcir fat and cholesterol intake but
forcing a restriction on everyone Li wrong according to
some noted authorities
Rigid diets, according to Dr Michael Deßakey, arc
going to affect "only a relatively small segment of the
millions of people who have the basic abnormality of
metabolism which leads to heart disease " Deßakey, the
famous heart surgeon, has noted many limes in public
speeches that eating eggs plays a minute and possibly nil
role in the incidence of heart disease The surgeon
believes that metabolic functions perhaps arc more
relevant to the disease
Echoing his thoughts has been Dr. Christian Barnard,
the acclaimed heart transplant surgeon from South
Africa. At a press conference in Chicago earlier in the fall,
Barnard told a gathering of newsmen and medical of
ficers that there was still no proof that consumption of
cholesterol causes cholesterol to appear in the blood
stream. "Probably the most important cause of heart
disease is heredity," Barnard stated.
Both men and many of their colleagues have scoffed at
the idea that eating eggs will cause a person to drop over
dead from a heart attack - precisely the idea many
people have or as we have entitled it “cholesterol
phobia.”
On the other hand, experts from the American Heart
Association still believe that cholesterol consumption can
add to the nsk of heart disease.
Dr. Elliot Rapaport, current president of the American
Heart Association has stated, “there is no getting away
from the fact that there is a great deal of evidence from
many sources to back up the suggestion that dietary
cholesterol and saturated fats are casually related to
coronary heart disease ”
Rapaport feels that a low cholesterol - low saturated fat
diet is “prudent” for the American public even though the
scientific proof is not firmly cemented.
Thus the controversy from both sides still persists and
what final conclusion will be offered is yet to come.
Due to the concern over cholesterol in eggs, egg sub
stitutes, void of the component, flooded the market a few
years ago. Lavish advertisements from television spots to
magazine glossies expounded their obvious advantage - no
cholesterol. They received consumer demand but not
without some scare tactics. A recent study conducted at
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