On Wed, 4 Nov 1998, Ratha Grimes wrote:

> So is there any conclusive evidence that a high blood
> cholesterol level is bad news? Is it common among
> low-carb dieters? I have been eating a large amount of
> raw red meat and eggs for about 7 months and my
> cholesterol has just been found at 279 (which is
> apparently unusual for someone in their 20s.)

Speaking as someone who has had a similar response to that
particular version of the paleodiet (lots of meat, pemmican,
eggs, etc.), I can't say how common it is but at least you're not
the only one.  I doubt that it's uncommon.

As for whether it's bad news, the picture is very muddled.  There
are lots of studies, some of which *seem* to show that it's bad
news, others that don't.  Some show that ratios are important;
others show that total cholesterol is important.  There's no
simple answer.  Some studies show that most people with heart
disease have normal cholesterol levels, but that's not strictly
relevant to your question.  What you want to know is whether
higher cholesterol *causes* an increases risk of heart disease --
or any other health problem.  I don't think anyone really knows.

However, there seems to be a fair amount of evidence that high
cholesterol is *abnormal*, for ordinary civilized people and
especially for hunter-gatherers and other primates.  According to
Eaton, average HG cholesterol is comparable to that of other
primates, at about 125.  If you accept this as a norm against
which to measure your own efforts, then it would be reasonable to
conclude that something is wrong.  But *should* you accept this
as a norm?  I haven't heard any arguments one way or the other.

> My doctor wants me to adopt a mainstream
> low-saturated-fat diet, and I'm not sure how I could
> do this and still avoid grain... Does anyone have any
> advice?

A low sat-fat diet doesn't have to be "mainstream."  That is, you
can still do a paleo diet that is low in sat-fat.  A case could
be made that such a diet would be more "authentic" but that too
is controversial.  Anyway, the short answer is: Use lean meats,
lots of veggies, fruits, and nuts.  Get significant amounts of
w-3 fats, either in fish or in large amounts of greens, or in
supplements.

Eggs: You can get eggs from chickens that have been fed flax
seed.  These eggs have about 30mg of w-3 fats apiece.

Todd Moody
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