Mind & Matter
Whether food, drugs or ideas, what you consume influences who you become. Learn directly from the best scientists & thinkers alive today about how your mind-body reacts to what you feed it.
The weekly M&M podcast features conversations with the most interesting scientists, thinkers, and technology entrepreneurs alive today.
Not medical advice.
At M&M, we are interested in trying to figure out how things work, not affirming our existing beliefs. We prefer consulting primary rather than secondary sources and independent rather than institutional voices. If we encounter uncomfortable truths or the evidence suggests unfashionable ideas may be valid, so be it.
As the host, my aim is to help you better understand how the body & mind work by curating & synthesizing information in a way that yields science-based insights that you can choose to use or disregard in your own life. Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet.
I am motivated to connect the dots and distill general principles from what I learn, preferring to ask questions and play devil’s advocate to debating or incessantly pushing my own viewpoint.
My beliefs:
- Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet.
- All knowledge is provisional and we must work hard to prevent ourselves from becoming attached to our favorite ideas & preferred conclusions.
- Wisdom comes from an iterative, trial-and-error process of learning and unlearning. Letting go of pre-conceived notions can be painful, but pain is information.
Sometimes modern discoveries teach us we must unlearn received wisdom. Other times, modern information overload & historical chauvinism cause us to forget ancient wisdom which stills applies. The framework for learning that I embody is inspired by three Ancient Greek maxims inscribed in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi:
- “Γνῶθι σεαυτόν” (Know thyself)
- “Μηδὲν ἄγαν” (Nothing in excess)
- “Ἐγγύα πάρα δ Ἄτα” (Certainty brings insanity)
Mind & Matter
Cholesterol: Immune Benefits, Heart Health, Statins & Research Malpractice | Uffe Ravnskov | 247
Wide release date: August 25, 2025
Episode Summary: Dr. Uffe Ravnskov talks about his decades-long career challenging the idea that high cholesterol causes heart disease, discussing LDL's protective role in the immune system by binding to bacteria, the harms and biases in statin research influenced by pharmaceutical companies, evidence that high cholesterol benefits the elderly and reduces infection/cancer risks, and how mental stress or infections elevate cholesterol as a response rather than a cause.
About the guest: Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PhD is a physician and independent researcher who earned his MD from the University of Copenhagen in 1961 and a PhD in nephrology. He has worked in various clinics in Sweden since the 1960s, focusing his research on challenging the cholesterol hypothesis in heart disease. Now 91, he has published over 200 papers, authored books like "The Cholesterol Myths.”
Discussion Points:
- LDL cholesterol helps the immune system by sticking to bacteria, clumping them for removal; low LDL increases infection risk.
- Animal studies show injecting LDL protects against lethal infections, while historical data links severe infections to worse atherosclerosis.
- Elderly people with high cholesterol live longer; low cholesterol raises mortality risk more than high levels.
- Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) doesn't cause early death via cholesterol alone—co-inherited coagulation factors are the issue, and FH patients often have lower infection rates.
- Statins lower LDL but increase infection risk, cause muscle weakness/brain issues (often blamed on aging), and show no clear benefit in unbiased meta-analyses.
- Research biases include cherry-picking studies, exaggerating benefits via relative (not absolute) risk, and pharma funding suppressing critical views.
- Mental stress can raise cholesterol by 10-50% in 30 minutes, often misread as a heart disease cause rather than an effect.
- Saturated fat and high cholesterol aren't proven harmful; Ancel Keys' claims ignored contradictory evidence.
- Stopping statins often reverses side effects quickly, improving quality of life.
Related episode:
- M&M 244: Seed Oils & Heart Disease: Oxidized LDL, Cholesterol, Fat & Cardiology | Tucker Goodrich
Reference Paper:
- LDL-C does not cause cardiovascular disease: a comprehensive review of the current literature
*Not medical advice.
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