The Truth About CHOLESTEROL Every Man Over 50 Should Know

Is having high levels of LDL going to kill me earlier? Should I be striving to always reduce LDL and increase HDL? Is that a reasonable goal? If you have high levels of CRP, you need to get your levels down quickly. But what do you think is the relationship between dietary cholesterol and serum cholesterol? And what's what's going on with the liver? Why are anorexics, >> you know, why is their uh serum cholesterol so high when they're eating nothing >> for inflammation? Let's talk about C reactive protein for a second cuz I think um it's been shown to be an early marker of macular degeneration of of heart disease of a variety of different things. Um CRP is something that we don't hear enough about I think. Um so maybe what do you know about CRP that I don't I'm guessing a lot but oh it was originally picked up as something that was associated with heart disease in the Framingham study I believe. uh it it is a the best marker for cardiovascular inflammation and is also we use it as a predictor of longevity and its levels go up with mortality. Um and so this is an association but there's enough data that I would say if you have high levels of CRP you need to get your levels down quickly and the levels usually go up with age uh and with levels of inflammation. So the ways to get it down would be to switch the diet, eat less, uh try to eat more vegetables, you'll find it will come down. There are also drugs that can do it. Uh anti-inflammatories um can do it as well, but CRP is it's actually HCP. There's a high sensitive or HSCP. Your doctor will know. Get one of those readings cuz if if you've got normal blood sugar levels, your doctor or fasting blood sugar levels um your doctor might say you're fine. But a lot of people have normal blood sugar but have high CRP which is just as bad for you long term um and can predict a future heart attack. >> Along the lines of heart attack, I want your thoughts on cholesterol and serum cholesterol and dietary cholesterol. I can not for the life of me get my arms around this literature. And even if I ignore all the essentially nonsense that's out there in various social media groups as saying cholesterol is the is the worst thing in the world or cholesterol is not or dietary cholesterol has nothing to do with serum cholesterol and nothing to do with longevity. I I can't seem to sort through the the very basic data that essentially ask and if so is dietary cholesterol the primary determinant of that. And just as a final point about this, I am aware of quite good data that shows that anorexics, people that essentially eat no food unless you force them to, can often have very high LDL. So, their dietary cholesterol is essentially zero and so they're manufacturing a lot of their own. So, I realize this isn't your primary area of expertise, but you're a smart guy. You think about this kind of stuff a lot. What do you think is going on with the cholesterol literature? And will we ever get to the bottom of this uh as a scientific and medical community? Because to me, it is rather perplexing. >> It is. Uh but you can you can get through the politics. Um, I know a fair bit about cholesterol cuz it it's in my family history and I I was headed for an early death. My grandmother had a stroke of 30. That's how bad I am in terms of my genetics. Um, so I went on a statin and I know there there's a lot of people who say that statins longterm are bad. It might it's associated with with Alzheimer's disease. Um, I I've been taking a statin since I was 29. And that's cuz I forced my same doctor to give me the statin. The conversation was something like this. You're too young to be on a statin. I said, "What? You want me to have have a heart attack before you give me something? Give it to me now." So 29, I've been on a statin. And my cholesterol was way up in beyond 300, which is a massive mass. Basically, my blood was creamy to look at. So I've now got my cholesterol down to low low levels to what would it be? You can check on my inside tracker. But so my ratio of HDL to LDL, which you want to be less than five, is now two. And the LDL is below 100. So it's all good. And my I've measured my cardiovascular health with an MRI. I got a movie of my heart beating. I've still got a heart of a 20-year-old. So that's working. I'm willing to forgo the risk that the statin is causing problems later because of my family history, but other people, I would say you be aware that statins aren't perfect drugs. There are some interesting new ones. There's one called the PSK9 inhibitor which is a I think fortnightly every two weeks injection that blocks the release of uh LDL from the liver. Um and then that seems to be great for lowering cholesterol but also has other benefits that might be prolongevity. And there are some people that I was just talking to are on the cutting edge of this and their doctors are trying them on this drug instead of the statin. So you could talk to your doctor about that. >> Do you avoid um dietary cholesterol for that reason also? Red meat, butter. I mean, I happen to love butter. I love red meat. Who I realize there are some people who who don't. Um my cholesterol is a little bit high, but I I'm working to bring that down a bit. Um although not by altering my food intake yet. Um but what do you think is the relationship between dietary cholesterol and serum cholesterol? And what's what's going on with the liver? Why are anorexics Yeah. you know, why is their uh serum cholesterol so high when they're eating nothing? >> Yeah. Well, there have been a number of papers over the years that have been ignored and uh our friend Peter Aier uh brought to my attention recently a new study that I think definitively said that dietary cholesterol has almost zero impact on blood cholesterol levels. >> Good. Yeah. So, the I'm annoyed cuz I've been avoiding eggs and butter for most of my life and I didn't have to. So I had I have eggs plenty of time at least in your case. >> Yeah. Yeah. So that that's the thing. Uh you can eat these foods that were once banned because the it's very difficult to to take cholesterol up into the body from the gut and most of it's being synthesized in the body. Wow. I'm just pausing there for a second because I think that um it it's what we've been told. Six meals a day, you know, eat a lot of grains and fruits and this kind of thing. um you know uh avoid cholesterol. I mean basically everything we learned in the 80s and 90s and early 2000s is getting flipped on its head now. Um, but and I think this is a very strong caveat that's important to mention, amino acids, in particular, the amino acids that come from animal products, right, seem to have some pro-aging effect on them, right? At least the way that I've heard you describe the your diet. Now, I'm somebody who enjoys meat. I like it. But um so I'm by no means a vegan at all, but I've heard you say you eat mostly plants, but a little bit of fish or chicken or something of that sort or eggs or um but is that specifically to avoid excessive amino acid intake or is it something specific about plants that that excites you with respect to I mean vegetables are delicious too, but what is it? Is it something great about plants or is it something bad about When I think of meat, I guess the biologist in me thinks amino acids, right? I don't think top sirloin. I think amino acid. I think top sirloin as I'm eating it, but really what they are are amino acids, including leucine. >> Yeah. Well, there are two good things about plants. Um, and neither of them is taste for me. Um, I would eat steak all the time if I could. I did when I was a kid. I'm Australian. But plants have two benefits. One is that they're highly nutritious.

In this discussion, the focus is on one of the biggest health questions men over 50 still wrestle with: does dietary cholesterol actually raise blood cholesterol levels? Or is your body’s cholesterol production determined by something deeper, like liver regulation, inflammation, and genetics? The conversation begins with C-reactive protein (CRP), one of the strongest predictors of inflammation and longevity. Elevated CRP levels increase mortality risk and often appear even when blood sugar looks normal. The real problem, as discussed here, isn’t always fat or food, it’s inflammation. From there, the dialogue dives into statins, family history, and the evolution of cholesterol science, from early myths to modern findings. You’ll hear why some people on extremely low-fat diets still have high LDL, and how that happens even in anorexics who eat almost nothing. Finally, the answer comes into focus: the best available research now shows that dietary cholesterol has almost no effect on blood cholesterol levels. Your body produces and regulates cholesterol internally, and most of what matters comes from how your liver, hormones, and inflammatory systems function, not what you eat. For men in midlife and beyond, this video reframes how to think about heart health, diet, and longevity, without the outdated fear of eggs and butter. Join #1 men’s community for strength, fitness & longevity. Ask questions, share knowledge, and get support to stay strong for life https://www.skool.com/theory-of-man-5968 Subscribe for more practical, science-backed tips to improve your health and well-being: https://www.youtube.com/@UCgT9oGaVMnQovXUCLPMJu_A My Medical and Travel Insurance https://safetywing.com/?referenceID=24770493&utm_source=24770493&utm_medium=Ambassador Podcast Host: Andrew Huberman YouTube: @HubermanLab #cholesterol #longevity #menover50 #hearthealth