10/15/2019 Heart of the Matter Documentary

Heart of the Matter Documentary

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola  Fact Checked

STORY AT-A-GLANCE -
 The most signi cant risk factors of cardiovascular disease are insulin resistance, Type 2
diabetes and chronic in ammation

 The documentary “Heart of the Matter” exposes the saturated fat/cholesterol myths
behind the statin fad and the nancial links which lurk beneath

 The research by physiologist Ancel Benjamin Keys establishing the saturated

fat/cholesterol theory omitted results from 16 countries

 Replacing saturated fats with double-bonded transfats is a health risk

 Polyunsaturated, omega 6 fats oxidize and become rancid, causing in ammation

 The worldwide success of dangerous and ineffective statins rests on poor science

Contrary to the saturated fat/cholesterol theory, the most signi cant risk factors for
cardiovascular disease (CVD) are actually insulin resistance, Type 2 diabetes and the
chronic in ammation associated with these conditions. The damage to interior layers of
arteries that invites cholesterol-rich plaque buildup can also be induced by elevated
blood sugar, smoking, stress and high blood pressure.

A two-part documentary called "Heart of the Matter," which ran on the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation show ABC Catalyst in 2014, does an excellent job of exposing
the cholesterol/saturated fat myths behind the statin fad and the nancial links which
lurk underneath. In fact, the documentary was so thorough in debunking the myths

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behind the popularity of statins, that vested interests1 convinced ABC TV to rescind the
series.

The credentials of the documentary's producer, Maryanne Demasi, were impeccable:

She has a Ph.D. in neurology, no con icts of interest and a long history of investigative
journalism. But the Australian Heart Foundation, the three largest statin makers (P zer,
AstraZeneca and Merck Sharp & Dohme) and Medicines Australia, Australia's drug lobby
group, complained2 and all the documentaries were expunged from ABC TV. Luckily they
remain online.

Saturated Fat Theory of Heart Disease Began With Ancel Keys

According to the "Heart of the Matter," American physiologist Ancel Benjamin Keys can
be credited with originating and cementing the saturated fat/cholesterol theory of heart
disease (though perhaps we should say indicted instead of credited).3

In the 1950s, Keys produced research that showed perfect correlations between
cardiovascular disease and the dietary consumption of fat in several prominent Western
countries. But there was just one problem with the research. Keys "withheld the data
from 16 other countries," Demasi notes in the documentary.4

Keys was scienti cally in uential and got a board position at the American Medical
Association, which caused wide medical acceptance of the theory that continues today.
His research also shaped the ubiquitous USDA food pyramid of years past (now
replaced by MyPlate), which emphasized heavy portions of breads, cereals, rice and
pasta.5

While Keys' research was adopted years before the invention of statins, other groups of
nancial bene ciaries already existed — the sugar and grain industries. Sugar soon
became a popular stand-in in low-fat foods to improve taste. In fact the dangers of
growing sugar consumption inspired British professor John Yudkin to write a 1972 book,
"Pure White and Deadly." Fat was also replaced with carbohydrates, a move that
bene ted the grain lobby.

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Bad Dietary Advice Resulted From Keys' Research

Few scienti c studies have con rmed Ancel Keys' broadly adopted but skewed research,
and several have reached opposite conclusions, says "Heart of the Matter." But the
tenacity of his theory has resulted in bad dietary advice. Take the case of margarine.

One of the worst examples of switching from saturated fats to something believed to be
less conducive to heart disease is the embrace of margarine, according to cardiologist
Dr. Stephen Sinatra in the documentary. When you switch to margarine and other
"double-bonded" transfats — also called polyunsaturated and omega 6 fats — you are
putting your health at risk, he says.

Such fats, which are the basic ingredients in most processed and snack foods, are prone
to become rancid, causing oxidation and free radical attacks in the human body. Those
chemical reactions produce the in ammation that is the real cause of heart disease,
Sinatra says, adding that the damage from omega 6 fats is best combated by
consuming omega 3 fats found in salmon, axseeds and walnuts.

Beware of Other Unsafe Alternatives

In "Heart of the Matter," David Sullivan, associate professor and lipid expert with Royal
Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, Australia, cautions against replacing saturated fats
with carbohydrates because it contributes to obesity and may even make people
hungrier.6

Many marketers of processed and snack foods also add re ned sugar and processed
fructose to improve taste when they try to advertise themselves as "low-fat," but these
products are in fact the primary drivers of heart disease, as I have pointed out in
numerous newsletters.

Any meal or snack high in carbohydrates like fructose and re ned grains creates a quick
rise in blood glucose and, subsequently, a rise in insulin to compensate for the rise.

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The blood sugar rise not only increases the risk of heart disease, the insulin released
from these foods makes it harder to lose weight because it encourages fat
accumulation, especially abdominal fat. Of course, abdominal fat is one of the major
contributors to metabolic syndrome which, in turn, contributes to heart disease.

Many Flaws Are Found in the Saturated Fat Theory

"Heart of the Matter" features several experts who dispute the saturated fat theory
based on their own clinical experience. For example, Dr. Rita F. Redberg, a cardiologist
who practices in the University of California San Francisco cardiology unit, says,
"cholesterol is just a lab number" and only one factor in heart disease along with general
lifestyle.

Sinatra says he believed the saturated fat theory, too, until he actually looked carefully at
the X-rays of those with heart disease. The angiograms showed both high and low levels
of plaque- lled arteries, and therefore were not predictive or helpful in deciphering the
cause of heart disease. Cholesterol is only harmful when it's oxidized, he says.

Dr. Ernest N. Curtis, a cardiology specialist, agrees that saturated fat is not the cause of
heart disease and adds that human levels of cholesterol are "preset" and mostly do not
come from diet. If cholesterol from food is reduced, the human body tends to
compensate by replacing it to keep the same levels, the documentary's experts agree.

Cholesterol also serves valuable functions in the human body, and elimination should
not be a goal, says Dr. John Abramson of Harvard Medical School Public School of
Health in "Heart of the Matter." Rather, it is "the precursor to many of the hormones in
our body," he asserts. Cholesterol also protects cell membranes, digests food and
manufactures vitamin D after exposure to the sun.

Problems With the LDL Hypothesis

At the heart of the theory that saturated fat/cholesterol causes heart disease (pun
intended) is the high-density lipoprotein hypothesis which designates high-density

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lipoprotein (HDL) as the "good" cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) as the
"bad" cholesterol. But, says "Heart of the Matter," the lipoproteins neither deposit nor
remove cholesterol as the theory holds but, rather, simply "ferry" cholesterol in the body.

It is stress and damage on the artery wall that allows the in ammation and degradation
that leads to heart disease, says Curtis. That's why plaque is usually seen at arterial
"branches," where there is more pulsating pressure as arteries divide. Since veins
escape the pressure of returning blood that arteries perform, plaque is not seen in them,
he says — unless veins are recruited to serve as arteries through bypass operations.
Clearly, such surgery is not a solution to the problem.

More Problems With the LDL Hypothesis

"Heart of the Matter" is not the only source of skepticism about the LDL hypothesis.
Here is what Dr. Malcolm Kendrick, a Scottish general practitioner, writes on the theory
and its implausibility.7

"For the LDL hypothesis to be correct, it requires that LDL can travel past the
lining of the artery, the endothelial cells, and into the artery wall behind. This is
considered the starting point for atherosclerotic plaques to form. The problem
with this hypothesis is ... the only way for LDL to enter any cell, is if the cell
manufactures an LDL receptor — which locks onto, and then pulls the LDL
molecule inside. There is no other passageway.

There are no gaps between endothelial cells. Endothelial cells are tightly bound
to each other by strong protein bridges, known as 'tight junctions.' These tight
junctions can prevent the passage of single ions — charged atoms — which
makes it impossible for an LDL molecule to slip through, as it is many
thousands of times bigger than an ion. This, too, is an inarguable fact."

The Boom of Statins Rests on the Saturated Fat Theory

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Needless to say, the boom in statins seen since 1996 — Lipitor was the best-selling drug
in the world before its patent expired — has rested on the theory that saturated
fat/cholesterol is the cause of CVD. Yet, expert after expert in "Heart of the Matter" not
only say that studies show statins only lengthen a life by a few days, but they are
shockingly ineffective for all but a few people, despite their hype and popularity.

Statins' serious side effects have been downplayed by those who drank the saturated
fat/cholesterol "Kool-Aid" theory, either because of professional hubris or because they
are directly pro ting from statins.8 Yet, the side effects of statins are serious and include
an increased risk for diabetes, decreased heart function,9 depleted CoQ10 and vitamin
K2 (which are important nutrients), birth defects,10 an increased risk of cancer,11 and
nerve damage.12

Statins Still Popular From an Unproved Theory

When this documentary was produced in 2014, at least 40 million people worldwide
were taking statins — today, that number is estimated from a low of 100 million13 to as
many as 200 million14 — and what was spent annually on statins during their boom was
"more than the GNP of some countries," the documentary claims — and this was no
accident.

Thanks to pressure from the drug industry, o cial guidelines for what constitutes too-
high cholesterol are continually being revised downward to recruit more patients and
sell more product, says "Heart of the Matter."

Yet, the harms from statins far outweigh their bene ts. They may reduce your chance of
heart attacks, but will not improve your general health, Abramson declares in the lm.
And, in women and the elderly, the risks are especially high, adds Dr. Beatrice Golomb of
the University of California at San Diego.

In fact, both Abramson and Golomb agree the overprescription of statins, especially for
those who do not need them, is unethical and even "criminal." When statins rst
surfaced they were "hailed as nirvana," Curtis remembers. Today we know they clearly
are not.
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