The Fat Within: Why Atherosclerosis Is a Disease of Production, Not Consumption
For decades, the dominant narrative of cardiovascular disease pointed an accusatory finger at the dinner table. Fat consumed, fat deposited, arteries clogged. The logic seemed intuitive, the dietary guidelines followed, and the low-fat era reshaped what millions of people ate for a generation. Yet atherosclerosis continued. Heart attacks remained the leading cause of death in countries that had dramatically reduced dietary fat. Something in the story was incomplete. The missing piece was hiding in plain sight, inside the body itself. The human body is not a passive recipient of dietary fats. It is an active, continuous, and highly regulated producer of lipids. The liver synthesizes approximately one gram of cholesterol every day regardless of dietary intake. Triglycerides are assembled from glycerol and fatty acid chains, stored in adipose tissue, and mobilized as needed. Phospholipids are constructed constantly to maintain the integrity of every cell membrane in the body. Steroid h...