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We’ve been told to remove chicken skin because it is saturated fat.

True. That’s what we’ve been told, but chicken fat is 70 percent unsaturated. Chicken fat is a rich source of antimicrobial palmitoleic acid, a "killer" fatty acid that kills harmful bacteria and viruses. That's why you want to eat the skin and fat! Because chicken fat is 70 percent unsaturated and in chemical terms unsaturated = "unstable," leftover chicken in the refrigerator must be eaten within a couple days. Chicken fat is dominantly monounsaturated oleic acid, the dominant fat in our bodies and the dominant fat in olive oil. Fat in food - plant and animal - is always a combination of saturated and unsaturated fats.

False. Fats are shared by plants, animals, and microorganisms. Chicken fat, lard and olive oil all contain a lot of monounsaturated oleic acid - the dominant fatty acid in our bodies. Fats in animal food like red meat tend to be more saturated. Saturated = chemical stability - the more saturated the fat, the more chemically stable. Coconut is 90 percent saturated; it can sit on your kitchen counter unrefrigerated for months. Relatively stable beef fat (tallow) is recommended for occasional deep frying because it is stable enough to handle high temperature frying. Like all other foods, beef fat consists of both saturated (60 percent) and unsaturated (40 percent) fat. 

High cholesterol foods raise blood cholesterol.
 
False. There’s no evidence that cholesterol in food raises cholesterol in blood – other than the positive result of promoting higher levels of beneficial HDL. In 1937, Columbia University biochemists David Rittenberg & Rudolph Schoenheimer demonstrated that dietary cholesterol had very little effect on blood cholesterol - a fact that's never been refuted. Also, it is important to note that cholesterol in food is poorly absorbed - 50 percent at best. (Mary Enig, PhD, lipid biochemist). Since the human body synthesizes between 1200 milligrams and 1800 milligrams of new cholesterol daily, and cholesterol is poorly absorbed in the intestines, there is no scientific or medical basis for limiting dietary cholesterol to 300 mg.  

Total Cholesterol (TC) is a good predictor of heart disease risk.
 
False.  In 1950, using a newly invented one-of-a-kind centrifuge, University of California medical scientist John Gofman discovered that there were several fat-like substances circulating in the blood, including LDL and VLDL - and that total cholesterol (TC) was a "dangerously poor predictor" of heart disease. Elevated Triglycerides (blood fats made in the liver from excess carbs), he said, are a better, more reliable predictor of heart disease. Gofman's findings were confirmed and repeated by other scientists (see Timeline History of heart disease.)

Excess dietary carbohydrates are stored as glucose. 
 
False. Some carbohydrate is stored as glycogen in muscle tissue and in the liver, but most excess carbs are converted into saturated fat by the liver. On a blood test or screening, these body-made-fats circulating in the blood are referred to as Triglycerides (TG). Elevated TG are a reliable predictor of heart disease risk. A high carbohydrate diet is associated with elevated triglycerides.    

Diabetics need the extra potassium found in bananas.
 
False. There is potassium in almost every food. Bananas are relatively carbohydrate dense. For the carbohydrate-sensitive, bananas may represent an excess carbohydrate load. No one, especially a diabetic, should emphasize bananas just for the potassium, just as no child needs to eat a sugary cereal just to get calcium. You can store a banana in the refrigerator and eat one over a few days. Bananas are a good source of vitamin B-6 and in small amounts can contribute to a healthy diet in those who are not carbohydrate-sensitive.   

Lard is a “bad" artery-clogging saturated fat?
 
False. Like chicken fat, lard was targeted by schleppers of vegetable oil because it is derived from an animal. Lard is approximately 60 percent unsaturated and is dominantly monounsaturated oleic acid - same as olive oil. Hence, it is more accurate to say that lard is a heart-healthy monounsaturated fat! But, since 1961, without scientific foundation, the American Heart Association has been condemning lard and other animal fats as "bad" in order to promote vegetable fats because vegetable oil interests are donars to the American Heart Association.   

With its long chain fats, butter is more fattening than olive oil?
 
False. Butter contains 15-17 percent short and medium chain fats that are metabolized in theliver. These short- and medium-chanin fats in butter possess antimicrobial properties, killing bacteria and viruses. Also, butter is 20 percent water. Olive oil is 100% fat and contains only long chain fatty acids that are sent out 100 percent into the general circulation. Olive oil is more “fattening” than butter - although fats do not make us fat unless they are combined with a high carb diet.

Health-food-store Canola oil is a “good fat.”

False. Canola is genetically-altered rapeseed. It is subject to high temperature, high pressure processing. Liquid Canola also contains trans fat even though the label may say “trans fat free.” Canola in baked goods can promote mold growth that you cannot see. Canola = Conola = inflammation = chronic disease. Instead, use butter, coconut, palm, lard, sesame and olive oil - the traditional fats we have eaten for centuries!

Carbohydrates are essential in the human diet.

False. You can live a long and healthy without eating any carbs! We have no biological requirement for carbohydrates. A number of medical doctors agree with the late Dr. Atkins that most of us should choose our carbs wisely and restrict carbs to less than 60 grams per day.  

Cholesterol-lowering drugs reduced the incidence of heart failure.
 
False. Since approved in record-time in 1987, statin drugs are associated with a doubling of the incidence of heart failure. Statin drugs inhibit the production of at least two vital substances:  Cholesterol and Coenzyme Q-10. The reported benefits of statin drugs are always couched in "relative risk" statistics. If in a population of 1,000 people, one person in the drug group has a heart attack and two people in the control group have a heart attack, this will be hailed as a 50 percent reduction in risk of heart attack. In absolute terms, one (1) person in 1,000 benefitted. In addition to using statistics dishonestly, we all know - don't we - that doctors are not religiously reporting statin side effects to the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. They're not! It's a voluntary system that's not being followed. 

Heart-Healthy L-Carnitine is a reason to eat your veggies.
 
False. Fruits, vegetables and grains are very poor sources of Carnitine. Red meat is best, especially mutton, lamb, beef, pork, and chicken (in that order). Carnitine delivers fuel to the hert and muscles. Carnitine = increased cardiac energy. The heart wants fuel - not fiber. Carnitine is the delivery truck and a solid nutritional reason to eat good quality red meat every day.

The FDA and National Academy of Sciences rejected the original 1977 Dietary Guidelines.

True. Yes, the original 1977 low fat dietary guidelines were rejected by the FDA as a political document. Philip Handler, president, National Academy of Sciences, said the guidelines were an experiment on the American people with very little evidence that Americans would benefit.

Fiber is a key aspect of a heart healthy diet?

False. An apple a day and some salad vegetables is plenty of fiber. Fat – not fiber – is what we should fill up on, and fat stops food cravings. In the federal Women's Health Initiative Study, there was no evidence that the 29,000 women in the "intervention group" eating a high fiber diet were protected against cancer or heart disease by loading up on fiber and eating a low fat diet.  

The European country with the highest average cholesterol levels has the lowest life expectancy.
 
False. Switzerland has the highest average cholesterol levels (264 mg/dl) and the highest life expectancy in Europe (MONICA study). The Russians had the lowest cholesterol levels and the highest rates of heart disease.

The standard recommendation of 300 mg per day of cholesterol is based on a major clinical trial.
 
False. It was grabbed out of thin air.

Whole grains are a good source of zinc.
 
False. Red meat and shell fish are the best sources of easy to absorb zinc. Whole grains must be prepared properly by soaking or sprouting to prevent the phytic acid they contain from carrying zinc and other minerals out of the body.