

World Renowned Heart Surgeon Speaks Out On What Really Causes Heart Disease - oracuk
http://myscienceacademy.org/2012/08/19/world-renown-heart-surgeon-speaks-out-on-what-really-causes-heart-disease/

======
th0br0
Dwight C. Lundell, M.D. lost medical license in 2008. Since that time he has
been promoting books that clash with established scientific knowledge of heart
disease prevention and treatment. His book, The Great Cholesterol Lie, invites
people to "forget about everything you have been told about low-fat diets,
saturated fats, cholesterol and the causes of heart disease."

[http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/lundell.html](http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/lundell.html)

~~~
grannyg00se
That's a nice ad hominem collection there. Not one point I could find about
his actual claims. He didn't file his taxes properly? Bad patient review
history? These things are not relevant to the scientific claims he puts forth.

~~~
bradleyland
Ad hominem isn't always a bad thing. The fact that someone lost their medical
license is good information when evaluating professional credibility.
Professional credibility is absolutely important when evaluating someone's
claims.

------
pgcudahy
This is pure quackery. The cholesterol -> heart disease framework was
developed by the Framingham studies
([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framingham_Heart_Study](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framingham_Heart_Study))
that showed a strong correlation between cholesterol and heart attacks and
strokes. Now correlation does not equal causation but decades of subsequent
studies have shown that cardiac event rates drop linearly with decrease in LDL
(a form of cholesterol)
([http://www.nature.com/nrcardio/journal/v8/n12/fig_tab/nrcard...](http://www.nature.com/nrcardio/journal/v8/n12/fig_tab/nrcardio.2011.158_F1.html)).
It has culminated so far in the JUPITER trial
([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JUPITER_trial](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JUPITER_trial))
where people with "normal" LDL levels and no history of heart disease were
able to decrease their heart attack risk with statins by driving their LDL
even lower. The whole inflammation stuff came into play because JUPITER also
looked at an inflammatory marker called CRP. Now, that angle is still
controversial but could play a role. However, it does not invalidate the
dozens of studies linking cholesterol to heart disease. Plus there is nothing
linking this guy's quack theories on nutrition to inflammation/CRP or
ultimately to heart attacks.

I'm surprised that it made it this high on HN. Maybe people just love feeling
that "freakanomics" feeling of mental superiority that they're willing to
swallow any alternative hypothesis that challenges the norm. Maybe people just
don't trust medical science.

~~~
skylan_q
_Maybe people just love feeling that "freakanomics" feeling of mental
superiority that they're willing to swallow any alternative hypothesis that
challenges the norm. Maybe people just don't trust medical science._

I hope it's the case.

It was fat, then it was cholesterol, then it was LDL, now it's pattern B LDL
that shows a correlation. The ratio of HDL/LDL still factors in as well as
triglyceride levels. The jury is still out there as to whether that specific
type of LDL is what causes damage or is a sign of damage being caused.

To act as if we can say "cut out all cholesterol because it's bad for you" is
wrongheaded. We know there is a correlation with these factors as we measure
them in the blood. We can't say with a high degree of certainty that eating a
certain way will cause a certain effect on people. But when people are taking
in over 20% of their caloric intake as saturated fat and showing incredibly
healthy cardiovascular health readings, you've got to wonder if the common
wisdom is something we should be comfortable with.

------
ceautery
That reads too much like baloney.

------
grannyg00se
Another slam against overconsumption of sugar and processed foods. This guy
may not have the best reputation but the advice doesn't seem all that bad.

------
skylan_q
I'm glad that there will be that 1% or so of people who pick up this article
and have it change their minds. :)

That dietary cholesterol necessarily causes heart damage is taken as a matter
of faith. :(

------
nodata
tl;dr cholesterol is not the problem, things that inflame the arteries, e.g.
high processed carbs and over consumption of certain oils

------
NAFV_P
"Well,smokers perhaps, but at least they made that choice willfully." He knows
very little about smoking.

------
oracuk
In hindsight I wish I had done more than just read this article before I
submitted it.

A lesson learnt.

