Tag: cholesterol

A Fatty Brain

A false rumour has been circulating over the years that a zero-fat diet is a healthy lifestyle. Certainly for people with high cholesterol issues, intentional care should be given to avoid foods that exacerbate their condition – but not all fats are created equal, and avoiding them altogether could actually do more harm than good as far as the brain is concerned.

 The brain is a powerhouse of the body and consequently can be somewhat guilty of hogging the body’s fuel (which comes from food). A safe estimate is that the brain alone uses about 20% of fuel, and a significant amount of that fuel comes from fats. It’s no coincidence that the brain itself is composed of 60% fat, which means the body itself needs at least 30% fat to supply the brain and keep it working properly. This is why no weight-loss program, no matter how extreme or severe, can ever cut out fats completely – the lowest level of fat inclusion in a properly nutritional diet should still maintain at least 40% fats.

 The real issue, since it’s impossible to forgo fats, is to choose “good” fats that feed the brain as well as filling the stomach.  Olive oil has long been a favourite of these good fats, but there are many more options available, and for different reasons. Coconut oil can tolerate heat better than olive oil, which makes it far more ideal that olive oil (especially extra virgin) when cooking at higher temperatures. Coconut oil also more closely resembles fats that naturally appear in the human body, which means there is less work involved for the body to properly use it.  Peanut oil and grapeseed oil can also tolerate heat, making them suitable for all-purpose cooking. Peanut oil has the additional benefits of being cheaper than olive oil, with just as many (if not more) advantages for heart (and brain) health.

Statins: Good or Bad?

There is a bit of confusion as to what statins are and how they help with preventing dementia. The simplest definition of statins is that they are a particular group of drugs that lower cholesterol. (Remember, cholesterol is a significant part of several controllable risk factors that determine susceptibility to dementia.) In a similar way to some people taking an aspirin a day to prevent heart disease, there is a trend of people turning to statins to prevent dementia.

The problem with statins is that they are actual medical drugs that have all the warnings and contraindications that go with them. They are not like vitamins and supplements that can be subject to self-medication. While statins do work well for lowering cholesterol, not everyone who has high cholesterol should be taking statins. There is a rather specific profile (age, sex, cholesterol level, other medications, chronic illnesses, allergies, liver condition, etc.) that can truly benefit from the use of statins.

Certainly for people who have high cholesterol, and already at risk for developing dementia, going to a good doctor who is familiar with all the good and bad factors of statins and brain health will be a valid choice to consider. But perhaps the best way to go about lowering cholesterol is by preventing it. The side-effects of statins (especially from their misuse) are not worth the possible lowering of risk for dementia. The greatest danger that statins pose is that they can become an excuse for not correcting the habits that cause dangerous levels of cholesterol.