Reexamining Cholesterol: Why This Conversation Matters Now

It All Started a Few Days Ago

Our friend, Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, texted Christina and me the following message:

Text from Mark

He went on to tell us more about the documentary and where to find it. So that night, we watched it, and very quickly realized just how powerful it is.

This new documentary is built around the work of Dave Feldman. It steps directly into one of the most entrenched conversations in modern health: cholesterol, cardiovascular risk, and how we interpret bloodwork. And it does so in a way that is both provocative and, in many ways, necessary.

I watched it with two lenses. First, as someone who agrees with much of what it is trying to question. But more importantly, as someone who believes deeply that we have, as a society, lost our connection to our own bodies and outsourced far too much responsibility to systems that not only do not know us as individuals, but are often influenced by competing interests, financial incentives, and a framework that prioritizes management over true understanding.

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Rethinking What Cholesterol Actually Means

At its core, Cholesterol Code is not simply trying to say that cholesterol “doesn’t matter.” What it is doing is far more disruptive: it is asking whether we have misunderstood what cholesterol means in the first place.

For decades, we have been taught to view cholesterol through a very narrow lens. A number comes back on a lab report, LDL, HDL, total cholesterol, and that number is often interpreted in isolation, stripped from the broader context of the individual. High LDL? That’s a problem. Lower it. Immediately.

But the film pushes back on that simplicity. It presents the idea that cholesterol is not a static marker, but a dynamic one, something that can shift based on diet, metabolism, and even short-term changes in how we eat. It raises questions about whether LDL, on its own, is a reliable indicator of risk, or whether it is simply one piece of a much larger and more complex puzzle.

A central thread in the documentary is the idea that context matters. That metabolic health, inflammation, insulin sensitivity, and lifestyle all play critical roles in how we should interpret these numbers. That two people with the same LDL reading may be in entirely different physiological states.

The film also explores a pattern that Feldman has helped bring attention to, often referred to as the “Lean Mass Hyper-Responder.” These are typically individuals who are lean, physically active, and often following low-carbohydrate or ketogenic diets. In these individuals, LDL cholesterol can be significantly elevated, while other markers like HDL and triglycerides suggest strong metabolic health.

The documentary asks a simple but powerful question:
Are we looking at a pathology or are we looking at a different, poorly understood metabolic state?

You don’t have to agree with every conclusion in the film to recognize the importance of the question.

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The Bigger Problem: A System Built on Simplification

To understand why this conversation feels so urgent, it helps to zoom out.

Modern healthcare, particularly in the realm of chronic disease, has increasingly relied on simplified markers and standardized responses. Complex systems are reduced to single numbers, and those numbers are mapped to predetermined actions. Over time, this has created a culture where a lab result doesn’t just inform, it alarms.

And fear is a powerful driver.

It pushes people toward immediate action. It discourages pause, reflection, and deeper understanding. It creates a sense that something is wrong, and that the solution must be applied quickly, often without fully exploring the broader context.

The result is a system that, intentionally or not, often treats markers rather than individuals.

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What Matters Most

I agree with what Cholesterol Code is trying to do. But for me, the most important takeaway has very little to do with cholesterol itself.

It is this:

Your body is yours. Your health is your responsibility.

No one else owns that.

Not your doctor.
Not a lab report.
Not a pharmaceutical company.

Those are tools. Advisors. Inputs.

But they are not the final authority.

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A Different Way to Look at Your Bloodwork

If you get bloodwork back and something is flagged, like elevated cholesterol, the most common response today is immediate concern, often followed quickly by a prescription. That response has become so normalized that it rarely gets questioned.

But it should.

Because a number, on its own, is not a diagnosis. It is not a story. It is a data point.

Before reacting, it’s worth asking:

• What else is going on?

• What does the full picture look like?

• How does this align with how I feel, how I eat, how I live?

It’s worth taking the time to learn what those numbers actually represent. To seek out multiple perspectives. To understand the range of interpretations that exist—especially in areas where the science is still evolving and far from settled.

This is not about rejecting medicine. There is tremendous value in the tools and knowledge that modern healthcare provides. But there is a difference between using those tools and surrendering to them.

When protocol replaces curiosity, and fear replaces understanding, we lose something essential.

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Why This Film Matters

What Cholesterol Code does well, regardless of where you land on the specifics, is that it invites you back into the conversation about your own body.

It encourages you to ask questions. To look deeper. To recognize that health is not something that can be fully captured by a single metric or managed by a one-size-fits-all solution.

And perhaps most importantly, it reminds you that you are allowed to think.

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A Small World, A Powerful Reminder

We are living in a time where information is everywhere, but understanding is often shallow. Where authority is abundant, but not always aligned. Where health has become something many people feel happens to them, rather than something they actively shape.

This documentary is part of a broader shift: a movement back toward ownership.

And I’ll end with something that made us smile. Toward the end of the film, we saw our sweatshirt.

Robyn Robbins bravely shared her story about how a ketogenic diet helped her overcome her struggles. In one scene, she was hiking with her husband—and he was wearing our Modern Stone Age Kitchen sweatshirt!

We went back and realized they had visited the Modern Stone Age Kitchen a few years ago. Not only did they pick up the sweatshirt, but they also enjoyed liverwurst and pork rinds while they were here.

But what struck me even more than seeing our sweatshirt was seeing someone willing to share her story publicly.

We need more of that.

We need more people willing to speak honestly about their experiences. More people willing to question the narratives they were handed. More people willing to share what actually worked for them so others can begin asking better questions.

Stories like Robyn’s matter because they help real people see new possibilities. And that’s how change begins. That’s how systems start to shift.

Moments like this are a constant reminder of how small the world really is and how incredible this community is that we are all building together.

Robyn and her husband in the documentary and rocking our sweatshirt!

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Final Thought

So if you take anything away from this, let it be this:

Don’t panic.
Don’t outsource.
Don’t blindly accept.

Learn.
Ask.
Test.
Think.

And then make the decision that is right for you.

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Watch It for Yourself

If you haven’t seen Cholesterol Code yet, it’s worth your time. Whether you agree with it or not, it will challenge you—and that’s the point.

Take the time to watch it. Sit with it. Question it.

And then decide for yourself.